Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1939)

January 14, 1939 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 13 HOLLYWOOD '39-40 PLANS; FEWER B'S, MORE ACTION Action Pictures Will Be Emphasized; Not One GlamourGirl Musical or "Screwball" Comedy Indicated Thus Far Planning of product for 1939-40 is definitely underway, marking the earliest start in a decade on the construction of a new season's program. An impressive array of high-powered executives and others who will determine what the exhibitor will get, product-wise, next season have been assembling for a week in Hollywood for that purpose; budgets are being announced even at this early date, and annual sales conventions to signal the start of selling in the field are being arranged. Within the last few days Hollywood has witnessed the arrival and departure of a score of its home office officials, traveling westward to talk about remaining commitments for this season and what might be produced for next. Nicholas M. Schenck, president, and William F. Rodgers, general sales manager of Loew's, were at Culver City; Nate J. Blumberg, president, and W.'A. Scully, general sales manager of Universal, were at Universal City; Maurice Silverstone, Alexander Korda and all of the other United Artists chiefs are now in Hollywood, likewise W. Ray Johnston, of Monogram, and a dozen others. George Schaefer, president, and Ned Depinet, vice-president of RKO, will arrive in Hollywood Tuesday. "Balanced Diet" of Films Besides product identity, it is definitely known that in several cases decisions on policies have been reached. Outdoor adventure pictures, big and little, will feature the release schedules of many a large company, immediately and on into 1939-40. Predominant, too, is the opinion that "Class B" pictures will be fewer. A "balanced diet" of entertainment is hoped for in the new year. Not one glamour-girl musical is on the schedule books at the moment, not one of the "screwball" comedies so vigorously abloom the last two years. Socalled "legitimate" comedies appear instead on the program. Operettas and musical backgrounds, instead of the gamour-girls, are there too, along with topical dramas, historicals, and, as Hollywood Boulevard hears, a sprinkling of stories dealing with contemporary political and social problems. "Alexander Graham Bell" and "Juarez are samples of what might be expected in the way of biographies. Pieces projected on the lives and musical accomplishments of Chopin and George Gershwin indicate the trend in musical production. "Hotel Imperial" and "Idiot's Delight" will portray what might happen if the forces of war actually were let loose in Europe. At least a dozen productions are planned either to glorify or satirize the present day American and social situation, among them Charles R. Rogers' "That Crucial Night," based on the Hitler-Chamberlain conferences in Munich. History will be resorted to for "Gone with the Wind," "Northwest Passage," "Wagons 17,737,879 FEET OF GOVERNMENT FILM A three-year survey released this week showed that Government records were housed in 6,492 rooms and consisted of 2,699,561 cubic feet of paper. Dr. R. D. W. Connor, national archivist, told Congress there were also 17,757,879 feet of motion picture film, 2,346,598 photograph negatives and 5,495 sound recordings. He said more than one-third of the records were exposed to fire hazards and nearly half of them to dust and filth. Westward," "Rulers of the Sea," "Union Pacific," "Gettysburg," "Royal Canadian Mounted Police," "Knights of the Round Table," and others. Twenty-three pictures featuring the 10 Biggest Money Making Stars named by exhibitors in the Motion Picture Herald poll will go into production within the next eight months, according to the studios employing them, to wind up this season, but principally for the next. The actual number of their appearances on the screen will be greater than this, both because present plans are incomplete and because their indicated drawing power will place their services on a premium basis. Shirley Temple, whose "The Little Princess" is now in the cutting room, has "The Little Diplomat" and "Susanna of the Mounties" on her immediate schedule. Clark Gable, whose "Idiot's Delight" is being edited, goes into "Gone with the Wind" and thence back to straight MGM employment in "A Lady Comes to Burk-Bennett," a Texas oil fields story, and "Wings Over the Desert," a story of Arab revolt. Sonja Henie's next picture has not been decided upon but the studio has 10 of them under contemplation to choose from. Mickey Rooney is at work as "Huckleberry Finn," with "Babes in Arms" to follow. These are in addition to his Hardy Family appearances, the next of which is to be titled "The Hardys Ride High." Spencer Tracy goes to Twentieth CenturyFox on loan for "Stanley and Livingstone" and returns to MGM, where he now is making "I Take This Woman," to co-star with Robert Taylor and Wallace Beery in "Northwest Passage," when that interrupted enterprise goes back into production along about April. Taylor is to star in "Lady of the Tropics" opposite Hedy Lamarr and in "Hands Across the Border," a story about hockey and West Point. Myrna Loy is scheduled for "The Return of the Thin Man," opposite William Powell, and Jane Withers is down for three productions, none selected as yet. Alice Faye, shortly to be seen in "Tail Spin," and Tyrone Power, coming up in "Jesse James," are at work in "Rose of Washington Square," now in production. First Convention Is Set by Twentieth CenturyFox While Darryl Zanuck and the Twentieth Century-Fox production executives in Holly wood were starting to plan 1939-40 production —they signed "Annabella" for two this week — the distribution branch in New York decided on April 15th to 17th and Chicago as the dates and place for the 1939-40 sales convention, first to be definitely set this year. Sidney R. Kent, president, will open the meeting, and after that he will travel to Paris to preside at the European convention, May 4, 5 and 6, thence to London, on May 11, 12, 13, and to Rio de Janeiro for the company's first South American convention, in June, returning to New York June 27th. Herman Wobber, U. S. distribution head, and W. J. Hutchinson, foreign sales director, will accompany Mr. Kent to Paris and London, Mr. Hutchinson continuing on down to Rio. The company, already having sold a reputed 11,500 accounts for 1938-39, is reported contemplating a considerably increased budget for 1939-40. As with several other majors, the present season's business is being stimulated by a drive for bookings, known as the "Sidney Kent Drive." Meanwhile Mr. Hutchinson leaves New York this weekend for Hollywood product talks with Mr. Zanuck, joining Robert T. Kane, British production director, who is now in California. 25 Millions Set for 1939 By Paramount Pictures Fifty-eight features to cost $28,000,000. That's the 1939-40 program of Paramount Pictures, as outlined over the weekend by Neil F. Agnew, vice-president in charge of distribution, at a mid-year sales conference, at the Coronado hotel in St. Louis. This is the first definite announcement by any major of full product plans for the new season. Indicating the trend at that studio, Mr. Agnew said that "America's taste in screen entertainment has concentrated itself on fast action and romantic dramas against colorful backgrounds and with human down-to-earth emotions and comedy. Our company has tailored its 1939 program to fit these demands." Thereupon he outlined 31 features to be released this year, some on 1938-39 contracts, many for 193940. They follow : "Zaza" heads the list of new releases, followed by "Paris Honeymoon," starring Bing Crosby; "St. Louis Blues," with Dorothy Lamour; "Cafe Society," Madeleine Carroll, Fred MacMurray and Shirley Ross; "The Beachcomber," Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester; "Hotel Imperial," Isa Miranda and Ray Milland; "Never Say Die," Bob Hope and Martha Raye ; "I'm from Missouri," Bob Burns ; "The Lady from Kentucky," George Raft and Ellen Drew; Cecil B. DeMille's "Union Pacific," with Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea; "Midnight," Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche, and "Man About Town," with Jack Benny and Dorothy Lamour. Additional titles listed were "Beau Geste," with Gary Cooper; "The Gracie Allen Murder Case," "The Light That Failed," "Wife Under Contract," "The Cat and the Canary," "Air Raid," "Are Husbands Necessary?" "Navy Nurse," "Lady Eve," "The Star Maker," with Bing Crosby; "Knights of the Round Table," "The Amazing Marriage," "Invitation to Happiness," "The World's Applause," "Follow the Sun," "Lives of a Texas Ranger," "Disputed Passage,' "Untamed" and "What a Life." One of the first series-producers to be signed by Paramount for 1939-40 was Harry Sherman, (Continued on following page)