Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1944)

Showmen Select Money-Making Players of Year (Continued from prcccdiiui page) ceptional instance, the number of Cooper pictures in distribution during the period covered by the poll influenced his ascent. He was on the screen during the year in "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "The Story of Dr. Wassell" and "Casanova Brown," the last-named going into release a bit late in the year to figure largely in the 1944 balloting, however. Bob Hope's recession from second place last year to third place in the 1944 listing reflects the converse of the Cooper advancement. The comedian was to be seen in but one new picture, "Let's Face It," during the season. He'd been out in three pictures in the 1943 period, and in two during the 1942 season, finishing fifth that year behind Abbott & Costello, ClarkGable, Gary Cooper and Mickey Rooney. Betty Grable, fourth ranking box office personality by the 1944 poll, was the sensation of the 1943 balloting, taking first position on her second appearance in the list. She'd had three pictures in distribution during 1943. She was out in only two, "Sweet Rosie O'Grady" and "Pin-Up Girl," during the 1944 season. Spencer Tracy Appears on List for Sixth Time Spencer Tracy, like Gary Cooper, appears for the sixth time in the Top Ten this year. He was voted fifth place in the poll of 1938, rising to third in 1939 and second in 1940, dropping back to fifth again in the 1942 poll and — due to spending months on a picture that was shelved — to tenth in 1942. His ascent to fifth place this year stems from his presence on the screen in two pictures, "A Guy Named Joe" and "Seventh Cross," both released in time to figure in the figures on which exhibitors base their ballots. Greer Garson's retention of sixth place, which she occupied last year on her second appearance in the list, is an impressive validation of her popularity in view of the fact that she, like this year's leader, had only one new picture in circulation during the period of the poll. It was "Madame Curie." Miss Garson made her first Top Ten appeearance in the 1942 poll, following release of "Mrs. Miniver." Humphrey Bogart, retaining seventh place, which he earned last year on his first inclusion among the leaders, was to be seen by his followers in "Passage to Marseille" and, briefly, in "Thank Your Lucky Stars," during the season represented. It had been "Casablanca" and "Sahara" in which he'd made for exhibitors the money which lifted him in 1943 to Top Ten rank. Abbott and Costello Had Meteoric Rise to Fame Abbott and Costello, the pair who sky-rocketed to Number One position in their first Top Ten appearance, in 1942, are in eighth place this year on the strength of only one new picture circulated during the' poll period, "In Society." They were out in five during the 1942 period. No other comedy team in poll history has held Top Ten rating for three consecutive years. Gary Grant, in ninth place this year, is the single first-timer in the 1944 list of Money THE NEXT FIFTEEN COMBINED VOTE I I . Wallace Beery 12. Dorothy Lamour I 3. Walter PIdgeon 14. Judy Garland I 5. Alice Faye Red Skelton 16. Ginger Rogers I 7. Mickey Rooney 18. Claudette Colbert 1 9. Irene Dunne 20. Margaret O'Brien James Cagney 2 I . Barry Fitzgerald 22. Roy Rogers 23. Betty Hutton 24. Fred MacMurray Ingrid Bergman 25. Deanna Durbin CIRCUIT I I . Walter Pidgeon I 2. Barry Fitzgerald I 3. Judy Garland Ginger Rogers 14. Ingrid Bergman Red Skelton I 5. Irene Dunne I 6. Wallace Beery I 7. Margaret O'Brien 1 8. Dorothy Lamour 19. Claudette Colbert 20. Mickey Rooney 2 I . Alice Faye 22. Deanna Durbin Betty Hutton 23. Fred MacMurray 24. James Cagney 25. Jean Arthur INDEPENDENT I I . Dorothy Lamour I 2. Alice Faye I 3. Judy Garland 14. Bette Davis 15. Red Skelton 16. Mickey Rooney I 7, James Cagney I 8. Roy Rogers * , 19. Walter Pidgeon 20. Ginger Rogers 21. Claudette Colbert 22. Margaret O'Brien Betty Hutton 23. Fred MacMurray 24. Irene Dunne Roddy McDowall 25. Deanna Durbin Making Stars. His absence from the Top Ten in past years has been a circumstance prompting inquiry from many students of box office values, and his presence in the list this year makes explanation practicable. For years it was the Grant custom to limit his appearances to one a year, or three over a two-year period, each of these grossing high return because of a personal draw which, as has been no secret to anybody, compares with the most potent. He THEY DO THEIR PART Aside from their screen performances, which brought them to the top of their profession in the judgment of the nation's exhibitors, the Money-Making Stars of 1944 have been contributing much of their time and talent in the past year directly to the cause of a nation at war. Foremost among them in the servicemen's opinion is Bob Hope, whose efforts to entertain men on many battle fronts, often at the expense of his screen and radio work, have won him worldwide acclaim and affection. Bing Crosby, too, has been overseas with the troops, with many others. Bond drives have been spurred by appearances of Abbott and Costello and Greer Garson, among others. Most of the stars contribute their share and more to community services. was before his followers in three pictures dur ' ing the season reflected in the 1944 poll — "Destination Tokyo," "Once Upon a Time" and i "Arsenic and Old Lace" — their aggregate earnings for exhibitors accounting for his rise in poll ranking. Bette Davis Returns to Top Ten This Year Bette Davis returns to the Top Ten in the 1944 listing — she held ninth place in 1940 and eighth in 1941 — with "Watch on the Rhine," "Old Acquaintance" and "Mr. Skeffington," as well as an appearance in "Thank Your Lucky Stars," figuring in the box office proceeds of the showmen participating in the poll. The story of the 1944 balloting would not be complete without notation of the fact that the name of Clark Gable is absent from the Top Ten for the first time since the establishment of the poll in 1932. No other star has approached the Gable record for sustained consistency of popularity with the millions who pay their way into theatres. It took the world's greatest war two years to take the world's greatest entertainment personality out of the Top Ten. In the next 15 places are 18 names, counting three ties. Here the women, who gained but three positions among the Top Ten, show to advantage with ten nominations. A former poll winner and several players who have made the top rank in former years appear on the list along with a few newcomers. Notable among the latter are several players who have been designated as "Stars of Tomorrow" in the last few years, one of whom 3!o 14 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, DECEMBER 30, 1944: