Motion Picture Herald (Sep-Oct 1943)

34 MOTION PICTURE HERALD September 18, 1943 THE HOLLYWOOD SCENE From HOLLYWOOD BUREAU On the evening of the opening of the Back the Attack campaign the gentlemen of the Hollywood Victory Committee, settling down to draw a long breath after the hurry and flurry of putting the Hollywood Bond Cavalcade together and getting it aboard train, did a bit of checking up and discovered that the organization had provided 65 top personalities— not counting the members of Kay Kyser's band — for the Cavalcade, The hero Airmadas and the opening broadcasts. Next morning they resumed the regular round of providing more personalities for more enterprises in kind, from transcontinental transcriptions to week-end camp shows for adjacent training stations. Every day's another day in the affairs of the HVC, and will be until the need that brought it into existence shall have passed. The incredible Frank Sinatra has finished his stint in "Higher and Higher," the RKO Radio musical, and returned to New York for some Hit Parade broadcasting and a hitch of singing at the Wedgewood Room in the Waldorf-Astoria. Before he left he signed his name to a seven-year contract placing his cinema destiny under the control of RKO Radio, to which plant he's to return at Thanksgiving time for his next picture, the title and character of which is not as yet decided upon. RKO Also Has Crosby For One Picture Without wish to speculate, it could be noted that Mr. Sinatra is, at this point in his career, a mighty useful piece of trading stock, as the studios prosaically phrase it, and that the RKO Radio studio is on the receiving end of a deal consummated some time ago which gives it the services of Bing Crosby for one picture. It's of record, too, that Paramount, the other day, announced a picture project under the title of "Divided by Five," which concerns a crooner whose contract is shared by five persons, as Sinatra's was, but didn't announce a star. The Paramount announcement of the "Divided by Five" project preceded the RKO Radio announcement of the Sinatra contract. Be not dismayed if both RKO Radio and Paramount wind up with both Crosby and Sinatra singing in their portfolios of 1943-44 product. 20th-Fox to Spend Million On Additional Scenes Twentieth Century-Fox has allocated $1,000,000 for the shooting of additional scenes for four pictures which had been completed, as to shooting, and regarded as ready for release. They are "The Song of Bernadette," being built up to road show dimensions ; "Guadalcanal Diary," "Jane Eyre" and "The Gang's All Here," the last-named being spoken of, at the moment, as carrying the biggest budget in the studio's history. (The studio is also shooting some additional scenes for "Roger Touhy, Last of the Gangsters," but that operation is by way of implementing some FBI suggestions and does not figure in connection with the other four.) This expenditure on the part of Twentieth Century-Fox, which has had its parallel in other quarters, and in other degrees, calls attention to Fifty Films Shooting Twelve films finished" shooting and eight started during the week, bringing to an even 50 the number of pictures before the cameras. Especially of interest to exhibitors is the start of shooting on "Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels, His Life and Loves", placed in production by exhibitor-producer W. R. Frank, with Alfred Zeisler directing. Distribution outlet for the property is to be determined, according to Mr. Frank, after completion of the picture. The cast includes Paul Andor, Claudia Drake, Donald Woods, Siq rid Gurie, H. B. Warner, Robert Barrat, Gloria Stuart, Beryl Wallace. Col umbia started "Hey Rookie", under production of Irving Briskin, with Charles Barton directing. MGM turned cameras on "Two Sisters and a Sailor", a Joseph Pasternak musical, directed by Richard Thorpe. It presents June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven, Jimmy Durante, Van Johnson, Ben Blue, plus the Harry James and Xavier Cugat orchestras. Monogram launched "Lady, Let's COMPLETED Columbia Return of the Vampire Monogram Million Dollar Kid Big Brother Sweethearts of the U. S. A. Sultan's Daughter RKO Radio Rookies in Burma Republic Overland Mail Robbery Hands Across the Border In Old Oklahoma 20th Century-Fox Pin-Up Girl Universal His Butler's Sister Warners In Our Time STARTED Columbia Hey Rookie MGM Two Sisters and a Sailor Monogram Lady Let's Dance Charlie Chan in the Secret Service PRC Devil Riders Republic O My Darling Clementine 20th Century-Fox Home in Indiana Independent Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels SHOOTING Columbia Ten Percent Woman Cover Girl There's Something About a Soldier Day Will Come Dance", probably the biggest picture in its history, budgetwise, starring Belita, with James Ellison, Frick and Frack, Walter Catlett, Maurice St. Clair, and the Eddie Le Baron, Henry Busse and Mitch Ayres orchestras. Scott R. Dunlap is producing, with Frank Woodruff directing. The same studio got under way with its first Sidney Toler Chan picture, "Charlie Chan in the Secret Service". PRC started "The Devil Riders", a Buster Crabbe Western, with Al St. John. Sig Neufeld is producing. Republic went into action on "O My Darling Clementine", an Armand Schaefer production, directed by Frank McDonald, with Frank Albertson, Lorna Gray and Lillian Randolph. Twentieth CenturyFox started the Technicolor film, "Home in Indiana", Andre Daven producing and Henry Hathaway directing. It presents Walter Brennan, Lon McAllister, Jeanne Crain. The situation at the weekend: Goldwyn Up in Arms MGM Kismet Canterville Ghost Rationing Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble Broadway Rhythm Meet the -People White Cliffs of Dover See Here, Private Hargrove Mr. Co-Ed Gaslight Paramount Going My Way Henry Aldrich, Boy Scout Story of Dr. Wassell Frenchman's Creek Hail the Conquering Hero Our Hearts Were Young and Gay PRC Return of the Rangers RKO Radio Curse of the Cat People Dangerous Journey Tender Comrade Higher and Higher Revenge Falcon and the Co-Eds 20th Century-Fox Buffalo Bill Tampico Lifeboat Lodger UA Jack London (Bronston) Univ al When Ladies Fly Passport to Dakar Gung Ho Third Glory Warners Uncertain Glory Destination Tokyo Shine On, Harvest Moon Rhapsody in Blue Passage to Marseille a state of decision with regard to production which may have escaped notice of Hollywood's more eloquent and less veracious critics. It is an open secret that budgets are well up from previous year totals. No adding machine is required to document that observation. The abandonment of the B budget picture by most of the larger studios is documentation enough. The scope and casting of the_ "A" budget films coming off the production line tell the same story. It is no secret, either, that theatre receipts are up and money is rolling in. It is the pattern of detractors' thinking to expect producers to cut budgets all along the line, at a time like this, on the theory that the box office take would not decline, no matter what was offered.