Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1945)

THE HOLLYWOOD SCENE COMPLETED lOLUMBIA Fen Cents a Dance Fighting Guardsman Thousand and One Nights MONOGRAM kadio Murder (for! merly "Robot • Murder") REPUBLIC New Faces of 1945 Desperadoes of Dakota iOTH CENTURYFOX 1 Colonel Efj&ngham's Raid Bell for Adano UNITED ARTISTS Guest Wife (SkirballManning) UNIVERSAL Invitation to Death STARTED MONOGRAM County Fair Flaming Frontier PARAMOUNT Well Groomed Bride You Came Along (Hal Wallis) RKO RADIO Most Dangerous Game REPUBLIC Amazing Mr. M UNIVERSAL Strange Confession V/ARNERS Too Young to Know SHOOTING COLUMBIA Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion Over 21 Kiss and Tell (Sol Sie'gel) MGM Yolanda and the Thief Harvey Girls Her Highness and the Bellboy Weekend at the Waldorf PARAMOUNT Masquerade in Mexico Too Good to Be True PRC Undercover Girl Stranger in the Family (formerly "Deadline") Enchanted Forest RKO RADIO George White's Scandals of 1945 M an Alive Those Endearing Young Charms Spanish Main Invisible Army REPUBLIC Bells of Rosarita 20TH CENTURYFOX Caribbean Mystery Two-Faced Quilligan Dolly Sisters Captain Eddie State Fair UNITED ARTISTS Paris — Underground (Bennett) Captain Kidd (Bogeaus) UNIVERSAL Naughty Nineties Lady on a Train That's the Spirit Night in Paradise WARNERS This Love of Ours Three Strangers Mildred Pierce INDEPENDENT Ten Little Indians (Popular Pictures) Hal Wallis Starts Picture for Paramount Release Hollywood Bureau With the beginning of the rainy season, proluction activity slackened slightly last week. Ten features went to the cutting rooms, and :ameras were trained on eight others. As of the weekend, the shooting index stood at 41, a 'decline from the previous week's level of 43. j At Paramount, work started on the Hal Wallis production, "You Came Along," which previously had been known as "Don't Ever Grieve Me." It's about a returned flier who, although tie is suffering from an incurable disease, marries the girl he loves at her insistence. Shortly thereafter he dies. Nevertheless, the film ends an a hopeful note — according to the Paramount publicity department. John Farrow is directing a cast which includes Robert Cummings, Lizabeth Scott and Don DeFore. Another new Paramount venture is "The Well Groomed Bride," presenting Ray Milland, Olivia de Havilland and Sonny Tufts. Sidney Lanfield is directing for Producer Fred Kohlmar, and the story is some light-hearted nonsense about a girl, a boy and the last rejmaining magnum of champagne in the city of jSan Francisco. Republic Starts Picture •Starring Schildkraut I Republic launched "The Amazing Mr. M," ihe story of what happens to a peace-loving amily which adopts an actor. Joseph Schild:raut plays the title role, and others in the cast include Eugene Pallette, Billie Burke, Raymond Walburn and Ann Gillis. Joseph Kane is the associate producer and director. I Warners' entry is "Too Young to Know," which presents Joan Leslie, Robert Hutton, bolores Moran and Arthur Shields. It's Fred ie Cordova's first directorial assignment, and William Jacobs is producer. The greater part Df the action takes place in India. Monogram trained cameras on two : "Flaming Frontier" and "The County Fair." The prst is a Johnny Mack Brown-Ra)Tnond Hatiton Western which Lambert Hillyer is directfing for producer Scott Dunlap. The second presents Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and Billy Benedict in a story about horse racing at a county fair. The producers are Sam Katz MOTION PICTURE HERALD, FEBRUARY 10, 1945 man and Jack Dietz. Wallace Fox is the director. RKO Radio launched "The Most Dangerous Game," presenting John Loder, Audrey Long, Edgar Barrier and Russell Wade. The protagonist is a jaded fellow who, tiring of big game hunting, takes up the hunting of his fellow men instead. Robert Wise directs; Herman Schlom produces. Universal started work on a mystery-drama, "Strange Confession," which John Hoffman is directing. The cast is headed by Lon Chaney, Brenda Joyce and J. Carrol Naish. Borzage Joins Republic As Producer-Director Frank Borzage has completed a deal with Republic whereby he will join that studio as a producer-director with his own unit. Borzage will have all authority over selection of stories and casts and purchase of his own vehicles, as well as a financial interest in them . . . Sam Bischoff, who has been working on the Technicolor film, "A Thousand and One Nights," has resigned as a producer at Columbia . . . Errol Flynn will head the male cast of "Objective, Burma" in a new Warner production to be titled "Target, Japan." Raoul Walsh is slated to direct, and Jerry Wald to produce. Jack Grant, who has been story editor for PRC for the last eight months, has been elevated to associate producer and assigned to do "King of Proxy Street" and "Transcontinental" . . . "Springtime in Texas" will be the title of the next Monogram film in the Jimmy Wakely series. Philip N. Krasne is to produce it. . . . Vincent Sherman has been set to direct the Warner production, "Janie Gets Married^" and David Butler will direct "The Time, the Place and the Girl" for the same studio. "Hired Husband" has been assigned to Universal producer John Grant to develop for Abbott and Costello. . . . Ida Lupino has been selected by Hunt Stromberg for the title role in "Young Widow," which Stromberg will make for United Artists release. William Dieterle is scheduled to direct. . . . Edgar Ulmer, who directed "Strange Illusion" for PRC, has been signed by that studio to a long term contract. . . . Julie Gibson has had her Paramount contract renewed. Vernon Keays has been named to direct "Rhythm Roundup," third in a series of four Western musicals being produced by Colbert Clark for Columbia. . . . Jack Schwartz has purchased "Gallant Shepherd," an original story by Taylor Caven. It will be produced for PRC release. . . . Producer Fred Kohlmar will leave Paramount shortly after completion of "The Well Groomed Bride." Arthur T. Herman will develop and produce "The Runaround" for Universal. . . . Arnold Albert, recently elevated to producer status at the Warner studio, has been assigned "Night Shift" as his first production. . . . Leigh Jason will direct the Columbia feature, "Song of Broadway," which Burt Kelly is slated to produce. . . . MGM will continue its series of "Hardy Family" pictures without Mickey Rooney, and Booth Tarkington has been signed to write a short novel on which the next in the series will be based. Carey Wilson is scheduled to produce it. "California, Here We Come," based on the American Rangers' rescue of prisoners on Bataan, will be a high-budget production at 20th Century-Fox. . . . Milburn Stone has been added to the cast of Universal's "Strange Confession." . . . What is described as a record number of 53 writers are preparing and polishing scripts for 41 RKO Radio pictures. The list includes such names as Clifford Odets, Dudley Nichols, John Twist, DeWitt Bodeen, Borden Chase and Aeneas MacKenzie. Andrew Stone has announced plans for a top-budget musical, "Pan-American Sensations of 1946," which will combine star theatrical talent of the Americas and will be filmed in part in South America. . . . Producer Louis D. Lighton has been signed by 20th CenturyFox to a three-year contract. He is currently preparing "Anna and the King of Siam." . . . Republic has signed George Archainbaud to direct "Girls of the Big House." Castle Gets Leave to Direct Stage Play in New York Eve Arden has had her Warner contract renewed. . . . William Castle has been granted six months' leave of absence from Columbia in order to go to New York to direct a stage play, "Star Spangled Widow." . . . Myrna Loy is set for the starring role in MGM's forthcoming comedy, "Guardian Angel," which Clarence Brown will produce. Ira Uhr has been signed by Republic as executive in charge of talent. . . . Jeanne Grain, currently working in "State Fair" at 20th Century-Fox, has had her contract renewed. 41