Nothing Sacred (United Artists) (1937)

AFTER THE the hilarious BATTLE: Carole Lombard and Fredric March think it over as Walter Connolly looks on, following light sequence in David O. Selznick’s Technicolor Comedy Sensation “Nothing Sacred,” now show¬ ing at the . theatre. It is a United Artists release. 3 -C — Three Col. Scene (Mat .45; Cut .75) screen is written imto Hollywood’s annals. Other players who add to the fun and hilarity in “Nothing Sacred’’ are Walter Connolly, Charles Winninger and Maxie Rosenbloom who appear in featured roles. The comedy romance unwinds its action in Manhattan and its environs and it is the first time that a pic¬ ture with New York for a background has been made completely in tech¬ nicolor. It is a United Artists release. Carole Lombard and Fredric March Set New Record for Epic Battles in “Nothing Sacred” No Holds Barred In Riotous Rough and Tumble Sequence With Hilarious Results Not since the days when Tom Santschi and William Farnum clashed in a superhuman battle for “The Spoilers,” twenty-two years ago, has the screen witnessed a struggle as great as the one between Carole Lombard and Fredric March in the David O. Selznick technicolor production, “Nothing Sacred,” directed by William A. Wellman, which comes to the. Theatre on. Meeting in a hand-to-hand en¬ counter in the first knockdown fight between a man and a woman ever filmed, Miss Lombard and March kicked, punched, shoved and wrestled each other for an entire day, at Selz¬ nick International Studio. For three hours in the morning they rehearsed. Then for five hours, from different camera angles, they flew at each other, fists and feet flying, furniture, vases and bric-a-brac were smashed. The scene is typical of the fast, hilarious pace of the screen play writ¬ ten by Ben Hecht, from a story by James N. Street. Throughout the pic¬ ture the stars give and take punish¬ ment. In other scenes, Miss Lombard and March are sitting at ringside during a wrestling match. Into their laps, breaking the chairs upon which they are sitting, are dumped “Bad Ben” Morgan, 315 pound wrestler, Hans “The Terrible” Steinke, 240, and Referee Mickey McMasters. The squirming mass of humanity wrestles on them and over them, then back to the ring again. Another series of shots finds the stars swimming around in twelve feet of water, fully clothed. There was no fooling about these. Miss Lombard and March jumped in, and stayed wet during a day and a half of shooting. Yet another time they were stuffed into a packing case, and in that cramped space enacted a scene be¬ fore jumping to the rear of a speed¬ ing fire engine and riding home. Where “The Spoilers” left off, Carole Lombard and Fredric March carry on. And another legend of the Carole Lombard and Fredric March in a scene from David O. Selznick’s Technicolor Comedy Sensation, “Nothing Sacred,” released thru United Artists. 14-A — One Col. Scene (Mat .15; Cut .25) Huge Banquet Scene in “Nothing Sacred” Two hundred and twenty-eight guests, waiters, musicians, guards and even a sultan and sultana attended a banquet at Selznick International Studio when a huge scene for the David O. Selznick technicolor production, “Nothing Sacred,” co-starring Carole Lom¬ bard and Fredric March, now at the Theatre, was filmed. A casting call went out for 193 extras to appear on the banquet hall set in formal dress. Mean¬ while, 18 bit players, ranging from a mayor type to colored cops had been signed. A ten piece or¬ chestra, an orchestra leader and a Japanese statesman type com¬ pleted the bit and extra list. Guests of honor at this film banquet are Troy Brown and Hat¬ tie McDaniels. Actors Catch Spirit of Script In Filming “Nothing Sacred” Selznick Set Scene of Mad Bedlam as Players Rollick Through Roles Fredric March portrays an ace reporter in David O. Selznick’s Technicolor Comedy Sensation “Nothing Sacred” now at the . theatre. It is a United Artists release. 7 -B — Two Col. Scene (Mat .30; Cut .50) CAROLE LOMBARD If dizzy, hilarious doings and carryings on during the filming of a picture are any criterion then David O. Selznick’s techni¬ color production “Nothing Sacred,” which opens. at the Theatre, should walk away with all prizes and awards for the maddest comedy riot that was ever devised to shatter the peace and quiet of the amusement world. For reasons well founded on air- guns, splintered stage lights, broken eggs, horseplay and general hilarity, the “Nothing Sacred” set at Selznick International Studios earned a reputa¬ tion as “the dizziest in Hollywood.” Whether the stars caught it from the script or just happened to find their fun-loving natures in close ac¬ cord has not been determined. Gen¬ eral opinion is that Ben Hecht’s screen play, based on a story by James H. Street, has had its effect. At any rate, the fact remains that Carole Lombard and Fredric March, co-stars in the technicolor film, spent all of their spare time practicing with air guns. They were joined by Di¬ rector William A. Wellman, with Charles Winninger and Walter Con¬ nolly taking occasional pot-shots just for the fun of it. This, in itself, wouldn’t be unus¬ ual, but as it happened, their collec¬ tive targets were the lights at the top of the sound stage roof! Wellman won first honors with two lights, followed by Miss Lombard anJ March with one apiece. Winnin¬ ger and Connolly missed. Miss Lombard and March spent their lunch hours tearing around the studio in a fire-truck, siren wide open. The truck had been borrowed from the Los Angeles Fire Depart¬ ment for a picture sequence. The technical department had to post a guard by a six metre yacht standing in a cradle on the set, to prevent the volunteers setting it on fire. Sirens, horns and whistles were standard equipment on the set. One or all were used by the crew to signal¬ ize the visit of an unusually pretty girl, or the completion of a particu¬ larly difficult scene. Highest honor for A visitor was to receive the “order of the bark,” a chorus of barks from all hands. While the players and director traded friendly insults with the great¬ est of cheer, they remained, through experience, quite wary. In one scene, for instance, Winnin¬ ger was supposed to catch a thrown egg. For purposes of protection a dozen had been hard-boiled. But when the egg was thrown, and Win¬ ninger made the catch, closing his hand as he did so, the hen-fruit, his shoes discovered had not received the hot water treatment. One visitor was prompted to re¬ mark, “they should turn the camera around and shoot the other way. What a comedy that would make!” "Nothing Sacred” is one of Mr. Selznick’s important productions for release through United Artists. Carole Lombard in David O. Selz¬ nick’s Technicolor Comedy Sensa¬ tion “Nothing Sacred,” released thru United Artists. 11-A — One Col. Star Head (Mat .15; Cut .25) March Creates New Reporter Role in “Nothing Sacred” A new type of newspaper reporter comes to the screen in the person of Fredric March, after years in which the journalistic lads have been pic¬ tured as open-shirted, sartorially defi¬ cient characters surrounded by paste pots and jumbled heaps of paper. Co-starring with Carole Lombard in the David O. Selznick technicolor production, “Nothing Sacred,” com¬ ing to the.Theatre on ., under the di¬ rection of William A. Wellman, March, as the star reporter of “The Morning Star,” chases his story in a high silk hat and dress suit. At all other times, save when he is seen in a hot, dusty small town his wardrobe is beyond reproach. This explains Director Wellman, is simply in tune with the day. With college men well versed in the social graces, filling the staffs of today’s newspapers, films are changing their conception of reporters. Practically, all of “Nothing Sacred” has New York for a background. Night clubs, sumptuous hotels, ban¬ quet halls and penthouses form the scenes. March and Miss Lombard, concocting a gigantic hoax, move through them all dressed for the oc¬ casions. Even the editorial rooms of “The Morning Star” keep pace with mod¬ ern news offices toward elegance. For the first time, a picture will show re¬ porters sitting at stream lined desks, amid modernistic, chrome covered surroundings. “Nothing Sacred” is a hilarious, comedy satire of Manhattan, screen¬ play for which was written by the inimitable Ben Hecht from a story by James H. Street. Pictorial color shots show the resort playgrounds of the east, including metropolitan New York, Long Island, Havana and Nas¬ sau. Walter Connolly, Charles Winnin¬ ger and Maxie Rosenbloom are fea¬ tured in important roles. It is a United Artists release. Page Eleven