Nothing Sacred (United Artists) (1937)

Reporter Reigns As Romantic Ace of Screen Says Blonde Heroine of “Nothing Sacred” According to Carole Lombard, the newspaper reporter has hit the top as the screen’s most romantic character. At the moment Carole is co-starring with Fredric March in David 0. Selznick’s technicolor picture, “Nothing Sacred,” di¬ rected by William A. Wellman, current attraction at the Theatre. It has a newspaper theme, Carole Lombard in David O. Selz¬ nick’s Technicolor Comedy Sensa¬ tion “Nothing Sacred,” released thru United Artists. 12-A — One Col. Star Head (Mat .15; Cut .25) Fun on Set Makes For Fun on Screen Thumbs down on those sedate mo¬ tion picture sets, where “quiet, please” signs adorn the walls, and as¬ sistant directors tip-toe around in sponge rubber shoes, shushing as they go. Hollywood Stars are finding they can do their best work when there’s fun on the set. The old idea that a sound stage’s quietude should be second only to a hospital hall, if not actually first, has been shattered by the ring of merry laughter and cross¬ fires of witty conversation between scenes. Foremost in the anti-austerity movement among the stars are Carole Lombard and Fredric March, now co- starring in David O. Selznick’s tech¬ nicolor production, “Nothing Sacred.” Their willing collaborator is Director William A. Wellman, with Walter Connolly and Charles Winninger well up in the front ranks. To visit the “Nothing Sacred” set at Selznick International Studio dur¬ ing the filming of the picture was to see the new school of motion picture making at its best. Miss Lombard, who declared, “I don’t think I could last a week on a funless set,” always entered the day’s shooting with a cheery “hello” for everyone. During the day, she sat in the midst of things, not off in a corner, trading conversation with all comers. March offered impromptu comedy acts between scenes, when he wasn’t busy swapping friendly insults with Director Wellman, who can hold his own in any company. “All that silence and cold formality can do to a set,” declares March, “is make it deathly boresome. All you need to keep you fresh all day is to loosen up between scenes, with con¬ versation and laughter. I’m against all this ‘quiet’ stuff, except for cer¬ tain occasions.” Director Wellman says, “The best motion picture tonic in the world is the incidental fun. There is plenty of tension connected with working before the cameras, and it can’t be kept up all the time. You’ve got to have let-downs. No set of mine will ever be accused of going sedate.” The director has found, he said, that shooting actually progresses faster under povial conditions. Stars find their own work improved. So the motto of Hollywood is be¬ coming “let the fun ring out!” All of which may account for the standout comedy which the Selznick production staff has turned out in “Nothing Sacred,” now at the. Theatre, which is being released through United Artists. and has convinced Carole that the screen sheik takes second place when the reporter comes into the picture. “The boys with the pencils and pads,” she says, “have left the sheik, the rich playboy, the matinee idol, the soldier and adventurer far behind in romantic interest. “I don’t know why it is, except for the fact that a reporter’s life seems to be paced for the fast tempo of screen entertainment so popular today. I’m not going to be one of those women who say it’s because a reporter’s career is so interesting. He does, however, live a fast, varied life, at least on the screen. “More pictures than ever before are using either the reporter or the surroundings of an editorial room for fast-paced material. “Love is News,” “Libeled Lady” and “Love on the Run” are examples. And just so it won’t be confined to one sex, you might also add “Front Page Woman.” “You might also notice that mo¬ tion pictures have kept pace with the newspaper trend toward surround¬ ings far different from the days of ‘The Front Page.’ In “Nothing Sac¬ red,” for instance the editorial rooms of ‘The Morning Star’ are not the plain walls and paper-heaped floors, but are modernistic in design, green, grey-green and chrome in coloring, with indirect lighting and all other conveniences. Even ;the typewriters are the noiseless kind. “The reporters of today’s pictures have also undergone a change. They don’t walk around with open-collared shirts and baggy trousers. We find them well-dressed young men, ready to step ir)to any drawing room. And, I might say in passing, they’re much more like the reporters with whom I have come into contact. “These calm, assured, well- groomed young gentlemen seem to have scooped the Hollywood heart¬ beat.” Charles Winninger is the busiest actor in Hollywood for his inimitable talents are in demand by every im¬ portant producer in the cinema capi¬ tal. In “Nothing Sacred,” current United Artists release, he gives one of his finest characterizations. Charles Winninger Reveals Formula for Screen Success Featured Player in “Nothing Sacred” Suggests Special Course of Training If all aspiring young film players took a one-year course in medicine show trouping, their talents would develop two-fold in half the usual time. Quite proud of his medicine show days is this talented screen actor, who is playing in David O. Selznick’s technicolor picture, “Nothing Sacred,” co-starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March, under the direction of William A. Wellman, at the.Theatre. “I don’t think that any phase of my professional career has been more interesting, more richly endowed with human contacts, than those days, years ago when I traveled with the ‘Winninger Family Varieties.’ “Our family act was a medicine show only a brief period, for we started out — mother, father, brothers and sister — as a musical aggregation, and later played the Middle West as a theater company, devoted to the roaring melodramas so popular then. The medicine shows, however, brought us close to our au¬ dience. “Do you think bank nights are something new? Well, let me tell you about a popularity contest that ran from town to town before mo¬ tion pictures were serious enough to even think about. “The prize offered by the medicine show was ‘this handsome diamond ring, absolutely flawless, a gem of gems from the Kimberley fields for the girl voted most popular in town.’ A purchase of one bottle of magic elixir entitled the purchaser to ten votes. Each bottle purchased repre¬ sented a profit of several hundred per cent. “All the young bloods of the town vied with each other to corral votes. Bottles sold by the score. And when the voting had ended most of them were left behind, to be sold again. “By the time the winner discovered the ‘gem of gems’ was worth about $15 cash, the troupe, tent and all, was miles away. “I remember, too, one of my first lessons in human nature—that people are willing to pay only for something hard to get. In this case, the family musical act was forced to perform in a tent, because the town opera house had just burned to the ground. In¬ stead of paying at the ticket window, everyone stood outside the tent and listened, free of charge. “Medicine shows still roam the country, down South and in the Mid¬ dle West, and, I might add, they haven’t changed a bit.” “Big Ten” Athlete In “Nothing Sacred” Another world-famous athlete has succumbed to the lure of mo¬ tion pictures, following in the wake of Johnny Weissmuller, Bus¬ ter Crabbe, Frank Shields and others who added cinema gold to their sporting glory. It was learned that Sammy Stol- ler, the “world’s fastest human” of 1937, has become an actor. He made his motion picture debut in David O. Selznick’s technicolor picture, “Nothing Sacred,” now at the . Theatre, co-starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March, and directed by William A. Well¬ man, as a bit player. Stoller, who was graduated but recently from the University of Michigan, is this year’s Big Ten champion in the 100 yard dash and wears the same crown of the N.C.A.A. He is co-holder of the world’s record in the 100-yard dash, 9.4 seconds, and of the 100 meter dash, 10.3. Since high school days, Stoller has raced 25 times against the sprinting marvel, Jesse Owens, and won on three occasions. With Owens he shares the world mark of 6.1 seconds for the 60 yard dash. Sammy is un¬ defeated this year. Unlike other sports notables who quickly crashed the big money in pictures and lasted briefly on the cinema screen, Stoller is serious about starting at the bottom and working up. “I majored in speech and radio at Michigan,” he said, “and I think I can prove myself a capable actor.” Carole Lombard and Charles Winninger in a scene from David O. Selz¬ nick’s Technicolor Comedy Sensation “Nothing Sacred,” released thru United Artists. 8 -B — Two Col. Scene (Mat .30; Cut .50) Carole Lombard Qualifies In Riotous Action Scene In “Nothing S acred 99 Carole Lorrfbard is “the fall guy’’ of motion pictures, the star whose tumbles, fights, spills and wrestling matches, if laid end to end, would form an arnica-littered trail turning even the most hardened football team trainer green with envy. The golden-haired star, five feet two inches tall, and weighing 112 pounds, for some reason or other has been picked for more shock-absorber parts than any other feminine screen personality. Her latest, which she de¬ clares leaves everything else far be¬ hind for sheer gruelling action, is in the David O. Selzinck technicolor pic¬ ture, “Nothing Sacred,” to open on .at the. Theatre, co-starring Fredric March, and directed by William A. Wellman. There is one scene, a terrific knock-down, drag out battle in a hotel suite bedroom, in which Carole and Freddie swing punches, hit the floor, bounce into flower vases, sail across a bed, clinch, wrestle and shove to the point of exhaustion. It took eight hours of rehearsal and shooting before it was recorded on film, leaving the players so thoroughly exhausted they were given a half¬ day’s leave the next day in which to recuperate and apply treatment to various and sundry bruises. Although thoroughly rehearsed, not only for the breathless lines be¬ tween blows, which required delicate timing, but also to avoid possible serious injury through misjudged punches, the scene itself was per¬ haps the most vigorous action of its kind ever recorded by a camera. Carole’s forearms were blue, March’s wrists were scratched, and both were gasping by the time the last closeup was completed. Fortunately for Carole, she had come to this postgraduate course in man-mauling from a film school of hard knocks, harking back to her start as a comedy actress, when she fell into everything from swimming pools to beds of cactus. There was, for instance, the scene in “Love Before Breakfast,” when she mauled around with Preston Foster, finally winding ,up with a black eye. And remember “My Man God¬ frey?” There was nothing gentle about the tussle in the shower, not to men¬ tion the gallons of water that spilled over Carole, fully dressed though she was. Up to “Nothing Sacred,” however, the prize of prizes was the scene in “We’re Not Dressing,” wherein Bing Crosby pursued Carole. The nimble¬ footed Lombard scampered as fast as she could, and proved too fast for Crosby. There was only one thing for Bing to do, so, in the most approved gridiron style he sailed off in a fly¬ ing tackle. Carole landed with a thud, and with six strained vertebrae. It’s a good thing, opines Lombard, that tennis, riding and swimming keep her in condition. March “Takes It" In “NothingSacred If you want to be a motion pic¬ ture star, learn how to “take it.” Not all the falls and painful epi¬ sodes of the screen are confined to doubles and if you don’t believe us just ask Fredric March. He’s took it, and plenty of it, in David O. Selz¬ nick’s technicolor picture, “Nothing Sacred,” in which he is co-starred with Carole Lombard at the. Theatre. There was, for instance, the case of the trained movie mongrel, “Wimpy,” who proved that while a cat may look at a king, it isn’t every day a dog can chew on a star’s ankle —and get paid for doing it! In one scene, between Freddie and Carole Lombard, “Wimpy” was called upon to poke a canine muzzle through a hole in the fence, and tug on March’s trousers. March wore a fiber protector beneath his trouser-leg. Director William A. Wellman shot the scene once, twice, three times. “Say,” complained March, “this hound is getting smart. He’s biting below the protector!” On the fourth take “Wimpy” not only chewed’ below the fiber, but came away with the bottom of March’s pants for a trophy. A few minutes later, Carole and Freddie were standing together in a scene, and a boy on a fast-moving bicycle burst between them. One pedal caught March squarely in the stomach. He rallied bravely and fin¬ ished the scene, and then took time out. In a half-hour he was being pelted with ice, by some small boys on the back of a wagon. A sharp bit caught him on the nose and opened a cut. That, however, isn’t the half of it. Before the picture is over, March goes to the mat with burly Maxie Rosen- bloom, ex-light heavyweight boxing champion, in a rough and tumble bat¬ tle, and trades punches with Carole, whose good right arm has been tem¬ pered by tennis. All of which may give you some idea of the wild farce written for the screen by Ben Hecht, who wears a glass hat and has his office decorated with palm fronds and bamboo. The whole thing is bas£d on a story by James H. Street. It is released through United Artists. Page Thirteen