Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1945)

1 11 1: HOLLYWOOD SCENE 1MPLETED .UMBIA u 21 M itgerous Partners (.AMOUNT 11 Groomed Bride i Came Along Hal Wallis) I v of Lead D RADIO crous Ghost REPUBLIC Wagon Wheels Westward UNIVERSAL Night in Paradise STARTED COLUMBIA Rusty Outlaws of the Rockies MGM Abbott and Costello in Hollywood RKO RADIO Radio Stars on Parade REPUBLIC Bandits of the Badlands SHOOTING COLUMBIA Bandit of Sherwood Forest MGM For Better, for Worse They Were Expendable Early to Wed Yolanda and the Thief Harvey Girls MONOGRAM Main Street Girl PARAMOUNT Blue Dahlia Our Hearts Were Growing Up People Are Funny (Pine-Thomas) PRC Congo Pongo Dangerous Intruder (formerly "The Intruder") RKO RADIO Tomorrow Is Forever (International) Bells of St. Mary's (Rainbow) REPUBLIC The Web (Walter Colmes) 20TH CENTURYFOX Dragonwyck Dolly Sisters UNITED ARTISTS Young Widow (Stromberg) Duel in the Sun (Vanguard) UNIVERSAL Hear That Trumpet Talk Lady on a Train WARNERS Danger Signal Janie Gets Married Time, the Place and the Girl Stolen Life Pictures in Work at Low of (0 as Result of Strike ollywood Bureau rhe number of pictures in work fell to 30 t week, the lowest recorded in the past two irs. It was the strike, dragging on with no n of settlement in sight, which thus crippled )duction. Bight features were completed during the ek, and only five new ones were brought :ore the cameras. Of these, two got under y at Columbia. "Rusty" is a story of a boy i his dog, with Margaret Lindsay, Conrad .gel and Ted Donaldson in the cast. Paul rnford is directing; Leonard Picker produc[. "Outlaws of the Rockies" is a Western th Charles Starrett, Carole Mathews and Tex irding. Ray Nazarro is directing for pro:er Colbert Clark. jbott and Costello Film Started by MGM MGM launched "Abbott and Costello in Holrood." The cast includes Frances Rafferty, b Stanton, Jean Porter, and Warner Anderi. Martin Gosch produces; S. Sylvan Sin directs. RKO's entry of the week is "Radio Stars Parade," presenting Wally Brown, Alan rney, Frances Langford, Robert Clarke, lph Edwards and his "Truth or Consesnces" radio show, Skinnay Ennis and his id, Don Wilson and the Town Criers. Republic started a Western titled "Bandits the Badlands," with Sunset Carson, Si Jenks, ggy Stewart and Monte Hale. Bennett Cohis the associate producer; Thomas Carr the ector. cidental News of ctures-to-Come \ top-budget Technicolor musical based on : lives of Beethoven and Schubert is now in rparation at Universal, and scheduled for dsummer production. George Waggner will the producer-director, and Joseph Gersheni the production executive. . . . Arnold Pressrger has added to his production schedule . Paris Tout Les Deux," French language vel by Maurice DeKobra, for which a rerted price of $20,000 was paid. Pressburger ns to film the book under the title, "Together Paris." Paramount will star Academy Award Winr Barry Fitzgerald in a story of modern :w York titled "Third Avenue." Fitzgerald will portray the owner of a run-down boardinghouse on the lower East Side. John McNulty and Anne Froelick are currently preparing the script. . . . Columbia plans to resume its "Lone Wolf" series, popular some years ago. The first picture in the new series will be based on "The Lone Wolf on Broadway," by William Bower. Ted Richmond has been assigned to produce the new series, under the supervision of Leonard Picker. Felix Feist will direct a musical Western for RKO Radio. As yet untitled, the picture will co-star Eddie Cantor and Joan Davis. . . . Charles Coburn and Susanna Foster are to be co-starred in "Shady Lady," which is slated to get under way at Universal next month. George Waggner will produce and direct. . . . Alfred Santell's second assignment at Republic, to go into work as soon as "Mexicana" has been completed, will be "That Brennan Girl," from an unpublished novel by Adela Rogers St. John. . . . Mitchell Leisen will direct "To Each His Own." Charles Brackett's original story of a woman faced with the problem of motherhood out of wedlock. Olivia de Havilland has been signed by Paramount for the starring role. Personnel Intelligence About Hollywood Richard Wallace has been signed by Columbia to a contract under which he will direct two pictures for that studio during the next year. . . . Lou Edelman, who produced "Hotel Berlin" and other pictures for Warners, will join Paramount as a producer within the next few weeks. , . . Bruce Humberstone, director, has had his 20th Century-Fox contract renewed. Charles Dingle has been selected for a featured role in David J. Selznick's "Duel in the Sun." . . . Ann Richards has been given a new contract by RKO Radio. She has just completed a lead in the Hal Wallis production, "Love Letters." . . . John Carroll has been set for one of the two romantic leads in MGM's forthcoming musical, "The Kissing Bandit," which Joseph Pasternak will produce. Sol Lesser has exercised his option on the services of Jeane Cohen, story editor, and has also given Ilse Lehn, writer, a new contract. . . . Under a unique contract, Charles Starrett and his horse, Raider, will continue working for Columbia for another year. This marks the beginning of the cowboy star's 11th consecutive year at Columbia. . . . Bruce Cabot has been signed by 20th Century-Fox for the romantic male lead in the new production, "Fallen Angel." Donald Barry will be starred in a group of gangster films based on the lives of three notorious criminals: The three pictures, all of which William -.0 'Sullivan will produce for Republic, are . "Pretty Boy Floyd," "Baby-Face Nelson" and "Gangs of Kansas City." . . . Loren Tindall, who played the juvenile lead in "Over 21," has had his Columbia contract renewed. Andrew Stone Buys Portion Of Vanderbilt Mansion Producer Andrew Stone has purchased portions of the old Vanderbilt mansion for Use in his forthcoming production, "Petticoat I^ane." . . . Florence Bates has been added to the cast of the current Warner picture, "The Time, the Place and the Girl." . . . Thomas Gomez had his Universal Contract extended. . . . Mona Freeman will replace Ann Blyth in the cast of the current Warner production, "Danger Signal." Miss Blyth was seriously injured in a toboggan accident, and has been forced to give up the role. Robert Emmett Dolan, who supervised the music for "Going My Way," has been signed by Leo McCarey as musical director on "The Bells of St. Mary's," which co-stars Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. . . . Adeline De Walt Reynolds will have a featured role in "The Little Witch," a Paramount short. MGM has purchased the rights to Sinclair Lewis' forthcoming novel, "Cass Timberlake." . . . Pat O'Brien will portray a fabulous showman in "Mike Duffy Presents," original by Nathaniel Curtis, recently purchased by RKO Radio. . . . Joseph Pasternak will produce "Lucrezia Borgia," MGM's version of the life and times of the Florentine lady with a penchant for poison. . . . John Grant will produce Abbott and Costello's next film for Universal, "For Love or Money." Screen Rights for Seven Bought by Paramount During recent weeks Henry Ginsberg has acquired for Paramount screen rights to seven important properties. Topping the list is the current Broadway play, Norman Krasna's "Dear Ruth," which the studio plans to film late this year. The others are Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies," with Bing Crosby and Paul Draper slated for the male starring roles ; Irving Stone's novel, "Immortal Wife" ; "Blaze of Noon," a novel by Ernest K. Gann ; "Lady Seventeen," an original screenplay by Ladislaus Fodor, and "June Bride," an unproduced play by Graeme Lorimer and Eileen Tighe. The most recent property purchased by the studio is "The Sun Field," a novel by the late Heywood Broun. 5TION PICTURE HERALD, APRIL 21, l<»45 35