Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1940)

Edward Lindsay-Hogg, wealthy AngloIrish sportsman. When Geraldine and Lindsay-Hogg, who some years ago became a naturalized citizen of the Eire Republic, left Dublin for Hollywood, several weeks after war broke out, they were asked to head the American drive for funds to be administered by the Irish Red Cross in caring for the fast growing ranks of war refugees in neutral Ireland. "Since the Aihenia disaster," Lindsay-Hogg explained, "there has been an average of two sinkings a week off the Irish Coast. The survivors of these wrecks have swelled the already large number of unemployed and destitute, many of them refugees evacuated from England. The ordinary channels of charity have not been able to care properly for these people and accordingly this special Emergency Fund was created." James Cagney, Dudley Digges and Maureen O'Hara are among the actors active in support of the drive, which has been aided by a short reel produced by Warner Brothers, collection boxes in a number of theaters and Hollywood and New York night clubs, and private subscriptions. "Infilmation, Please" lOR years we have been tiptoeing onto sound stages and, when the warning bell rang for quiet, refraining from even taking a deep breath for fear it would register as an offstage gasp. It was something of a shock, then, albeit a pleasant one, to visit the New York studio of Fox Movietone News one afternoon recently. The production was the sixth in RKO's series of "Information, Please" film shorts, featuring the omniscient stars of radio's number one quiz program; and the method of its production was as unique as its subject matter. To begin with, the entire stage, except for one end where the experts' table faced the cameras and sound recorders, was fitted out like a small theater. Next, Clifton Fadiman, the interlocutor of the radio show, explained to the several hundred invited guests that they were welcome to laugh at the questions and answering quips with just as much freedom as if they were listening to the show on their radios. There was only one restriction: NO promptings, please! The film short, like the air show, he pointed out, was completely unprepared and unrehearsed and the action of the ensuing two hours proved his point. With Christopher Morley, as their guest guesser, "Information Please" experts John Kieran, Franklin P. Adams, and Oscar Levant, extemporized versatilely in answer to Fadiman's barrage of questions. There was no "Cut," or "Let's take that again." Six reels of film were shot; the best (not necessarily the most correctly answered) scenes will be cut into one reel. The film quiz was much like its radio parent, and the experts' knowledge of everything from geography to cheese was tested. The innovation not possible on the air was the acting out of pantomime skits before the experts, who were asked to identify such fancies as an armor clad extra, parading by in an empty flour barrel, as representative of the title "When Knighthood Was In Flower." As on the air show, there is a penalty in the film for muffed questions — RKO pays twenty-five dollars to the Will Rogers Memorial Fund for every quiz that stumps the experts and their guest. Unlike the air show, however, the film production does not accept suggestions from the public, the question being prepared by Dan Gollenpaul, the originator, and Fred Ullman, Jr., the producer of the program, and a board of advisors. Oh, Nurse, Are You Beautiful? I HERE never has been such a contagion of hospitalization among the celebrities of Hollywood as there has been recently. Envious eyes are turned toward the nurses who care for these famous bruised and injured. "It's all in a day's work," one pretty nurse told Cal, "but movie people (especially the men) are harder to nurse than other patients because they never relax from their work and worries for one minute. Joe E. Brown's nurse had almost to hold him in bed during a big football game. Joe wanted to get out of bed to lead cheers. "Director Leo McCarey is the worst of all. He starts at six every morning yelling commands either by phone or by dictating to stenographers. He's supervising the picture, 'My Favorite Wife,' you know, and doing it right from his bed. Every night, temperature time or no temperature time, his room has to be darkened and a white screen put up where he can view that day's rushes. What with all the nurses in the hospital finding some excuse or other to be in Mr. McCarey's room at 'preview' time, it's awful." "And what of Clark Gable?" we asked another nurse, when Gable was under treatment for laryngitis. "Oh," she said with a pout. "All he demands is a plain, middle-aged nurse who doesn't care a darn for movie stars. And the rest of us can go hang as far as he's concerned. But he is wonderful, At a Troc party in her honor, Paul Hesse (our cover photographer) congratulates Bette Davis on winning a national magazine award as the person who did most for motion pictures during the past year Hyman Fink records the happy ending to the love story of Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman, who ruled out the usual film elopement and had their wedding quite publicly in a church! just the same, isn't he?" she asked. You can't beat the Gable charm; even when he spurns 'em, they go for him. On the Record DIG news of the movie music month is, of course, wizardous Walt Disney's "Pinocchio." You'll be hearing the tunes from it all season. First to bat is Buddy Clark who does six of the seven songs: "When You Wish Upon a Star," "Turn on the Old Music Box," "Give a Little Whistle," "I've Got No Strings," "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee," "Three Cheers for Anything." (Varsity 8156-7-8.) You can't go wrong on any of them. Sammy Kaye, too, swings and sways his way through what he has picked as the two hit songs from the picture: "Turn On Your Old Music Box" and the star wishing piece. (Victor 26455.) M-G-M's and Nelson Eddy's "Balalaika" overflows with solid, lusty baritoning. If you like Eddy, "Ride, Cossack, Ride," "The Volga Boatmen" and "At the Balalaika," with Nelson booming out in the grand style, are necessities. (Columbia 17172-D, 17173-D.) The Astaire-Powell "Broadway Melody of 1940" has Cole Porter, one of the nation's cleverest tunesmiths, at work. "I Concentrate on You" is a swingy little ditty, while "I've Got My Eyes on You" sounds like one of those typical Porter ballads which ends up on the Hit Parade. Les Brown does very nicely — in a semi-swing way — by both of them. (Bluebird 10551.) Tony Martin sings "It's a Blue World" from his Columbia starrer, "Music in My Heart," and "All the Things You Are." (Decca 2932.) The latter is one of the loveliest things Jerome Kern ever wrote and Tony skillfully realizes that fact. "Oh, What a Lovely Dream" is the other interesting musical item from "Music in My Heart." Freddy Martin, in that smooth sleek way of his, couples it with "Am I Proud" from Paramount's "Sweet Moments." (Bluebird 10562.). As a gesture to Zanuck's film "Swanee River," the Plantation Singers sing four of Stephen Foster's best known songs. Heading the list is Photoplay's "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair." Jeanie's companion piece is "My Old Kentucky Home." Then, back to back, are "Swanee River" and "Oh! Susannah." (Varsity 8141-42.) 2tf r&tL m\ HAIR KILLS ROMANCE! You know that gray hair spells the end of romance . . . yet you are afraid to color your hair! 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