Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1940)

24 MOTION PICTURE HERALD April 6, I 940 THE HOLLYWOOD SCENE Poksie Putts Just completed, and previewed to enthusiastic Hollywood response, is the first short subject (see page 43) which has engaged the attentions of the melodious Bing Crosby since the start of his starring days. The short pictures set him in films through the Pathe Campus Comedy and Mack Sennett route. Herb Polesie, who produced the picture, pithily called "Swing with Bing," had been awaiting favorable weather the last several years to catch the Crosby golf talents at actual work in the singer's annual Rancho Santa Fe Pro-Amateur golf tournament. This year he not only caught Bing but such other assorted talent as Byron Nelson, Jimmy Thompson, Walter Hagen, Bud Ward, Lawson Little and Leo Diegel, all of fame on tee and green; Richard Aden, of the screen Arlens; Arthur Q. Bryan, of radio's "Grouch Club" program, cast as "Wilbur Dubb" ; Ty Cobb, baseball immortal ; Jimmy McLarnin, representing the prize ring, and Marshall Duffield, former AllAmerican gridiron star. Bing sings, appropriately, "The Little White Pill on the Little Green Hill," by John Burke and James V. Monaco, who have written before for the Crosby voice, while Polesie, in addition to producing the short subject, was director and narrator. Starting out in radio, Polesie traveled to Hollywood in 1936 to produce the Wallace Beery air show, and put Judy Garland and Deanna (then Edna Mae) Durbin on their first transcontinental air shows, as guest artists. Hollywood's history has been compressed within a short span, its buildings constructed always in a hurry. Those were the days when the National Broadcasting Company studio, where the Polesie shows were produced, was on the RKO Radio lot, and not entrenched in its present chromium and neon grandeur on Sunset Boulevard. Polesie has been making pictures with Crosby for the last three years, since leaving the J. Walter Thompson Agency, for which he'd done his production work on the air. Prior to that, and after graduation from the Carnegie Tech Dramatic School and producing for Pittsburgh's radio station KDKA, he'd been on Broadway as the author of the 1932 stage play "Heigh-Ho, Everybody," foretelling, perhaps, the vocal affiliation to come. The play concerned a crooner who caught cold when called for an audition. His voice registered so well despite, or because of, his attack of grippe, that his agent had to keep him in a draft from then on. Most recently, Polesie produced and was co-author with David Butler of Universale "East Side of Heaven," and associate producer of Paramount's "Doctor Rhythm." PRODUCTION SLIGHTLY OFF Slacking off slightly from its high point of last week, Hollywood production this week accounted for the completion of nine films, two fewer than the week before, started five, against the seven of last week, and had 27 shooting, 28 being prepared and 62 being edited, respectively four fewer, nine more and one less than in the preceding period. Completed were the third of the Elliott westerns, at Columbia; "Waterloo Bridge" and "Twenty Mule Team," Metro Goldwyn Mayer; "Cowboy from Sundown," Monogram; "The Ghost Breakers," 'Paramount; "Women in War," Republic; "Million Dollar Diamond" and "Maryland," Twentieth Century-Fox, and "Ski Patrol," Universal. Columbia started "Babies for Sale," Monogram "Land of the Six Guns," Republic "Gangs of Chicago" and "Doctors Don't Tell" and Twentieth Century-Fox "Rain or Shine." Warner Brothers succeeded MGM as the studio with the greatest number of pictures shooting, having before the cameras "The Sea Hawk," "All This and Heaven, Too," "Torrid Zone," "Brother Orchid" and "The Life of Knute Rockne." Shooting at MGM were "Pride and Prejudice," "The Mortal Storm," "Susan and God," and "Boom Town." Columbia had "The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady," Paramount, the untitled Henry Aidrich feature, "North West Mounted Police" and "I Want a Divorce"; RKO Radio, "Tom Brown's School Days," "Anne of Windy Poplars" and "The Villain Still Pursued Her"; Republic, "The Crooked Road" and "Gaucho Serenade"; Edward Small, for United Artists release, "South of Pago Pago"; Twentieth-Fox, "The Young People"; Universal, "If 1 Had My Way," and Walter Wanger, for U A, "Personal History." Two short subjects were finished and the same number started. Name News Harry Edington, RKO Radio executive producer, went to Ne\* York for conferences with George Schaefer. Lewis R. Foster has been assigned to write the screen play of "Senate Page Boys" for Charles R. Rogers Productions. Adolph Schimel, Universal home office attorney, returned to New York after studio conferences. Barre Lyndon has been assigned to work on the screen play of "Whitechapel" for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Maurice Bergman, Columbia advertising and publicity head, returned to New York after studio conferences. Erich Pommer, RKO Radio producer, left for New York to witness current stage plays. Warren Duff has been assigned to work on the screen play of "Jupiter Laughs" for Warner Brothers. S. Barret McCormick, RKO Radio advertising and publicity head, returned to New York after studio conferences. William Scully, Universal sales manager, arrived at the studio. Paul Osborn has been assigned to work on the screen play of "The Yearling" for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Norton S. Parker has been assigned to work on the screen play of "The Cattle Train" for Harry Sherman productions. The William Herndon agency set the assignment. Wally Klein's Warner Brothers writing contract has been extended. Eddie Cantor has left for New York, his first stop in a series of personal appearance tours. Leon Gordon has' been assigned to work on the screen play of "Road to Rome" for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Nate Watt is to direct "Flying Heels" for Fine Arts. John Huston has been assigned to work on the screen play of "High Sierra" for Warner Brothers. Mary McCall has been chosen to do the screen play of "Bombay Nights" for MetroGoldwyn-Mayer. Signs Joe Louis Sherman S. Krellberg has signed Joe Louis, world heavyweight boxing champion, to play a leading role in the 15 episode serial, "The Sign of the Zombies." The film will be concerned with G-man activities "in routing out racketeering gangs who prey upon1 Negro communities." In addition to the serial, an eight reel feature version of the story will be made. Production is scheduled to start May 1st.