Since You Went Away (United Artists) (1944)

Statistics Show Film Magnitude A peep into the statistics on David O. Selznick’s long awaited “Since You Went Away,” which arrives at the .... Theatre on .... through United Artists re¬ lease reveals in clearest form the tremendous task involved in the production of a major motion pic¬ ture. The facts emerge even more sharply when they are compared to the figures on “Gone With the Wind,” probably the greatest film to date to come out of Hollywood. With its running time of more than three hours, “Since You Went Away” qualifies as the second long¬ est film to emerge from Hollywood. It is topped only by “Gone With the Wind.” Just as “Gone With the Wind” ran longer in footage, it took a more time-consuming period to produce. “Since You Went Away” was before the cameras 127 days, just ten days shorter than the shooting schedule of its distin¬ guished predecessor. Its 300-plus pages establishes the script of “Since You Went Away” as the longest ever written. Selznick himself did the writing under the assumed name of Jeffrey Daniel, a combination, incidentally, of the names of his two sons. To say that the production is star-studded is putting it mildly. Where “Gone With the Wind” had four stars — Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland and the late Leslie Howard—“Since You Went Away” goes three better with a cast of seven leading players— Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barymore and Robert Walker. In addition, Hattie McDaniel, Nazimova, Agnes Moorehead, Al¬ bert Basserman, Jane Devlin, Keenan Wynn, Craig Stevens, Gor¬ don Oliver, Dooley Wilson, Butter¬ fly McQueen, Charles Halton, Rhonda Fleming and Vicki Styles are among the score of strong per¬ sonalities who make up the sup¬ porting company. One of Holly¬ wood’s ace craftsmen, John Crom¬ well, directed. With 5035 extras called for scenes, “Since You Went Away” displays -a two to one gain over “Gone With the Wind” which used a total of 2,500. The former has 205 speaking roles as compared with the 55 of the latter. Another astonishing statistical fact lies in the revelation that it demanded 1137 items to furnish the average, middle-class American home wherein most of the action of “Since You Went Away” takes place. A stickler for realism, Producer Selznick instructed his production aides to go to the truthful limit in creating a typical mid-Western home for a moderately successful man, his wife, their two daughters and a servant. Accordingly, a two- story house comprising a living room, dining room, kitchen, porch, h'alls, den and three bedrooms was completed on two sound stages. Out of this concern with realism Selznick has produced a film which is the complete picture of the American home front. It is a true story of the people, the places and the emotions of all America. Selznick At Height of Career; Heir To Great Film Tradition David O. Selznick, now at the height of his productive genius, is to motion pictures what families like the Barrymores and the Drews are to the theatre. Like the Barrymores and the Drews, Selznick is heir to a tradition. While the great stage families lived and brought up their children back stage, so to speak, in an en¬ vironment filled with the smell of greasepaint and costumes and clut¬ tered with all the trappings of the stage, the Selznicks were founding their own heritage, cutting their teeth on torn movie stubs and learning their ABC’s reading the titles on silent movies. If we can say that there is cold cream and greasepaint in the blood of the theatre’s great families, we cannot forget the celluloid and Kleig lights which must surely flow through the Selznicks. It has fallen to David to carry on a great name which his father, Lewis J. Selznick, a pioneer in both the production and exhibition of motion pictures, brought to the in¬ dustry in its infant days. And David has been eminently successful in that responsibility. Today the name Selznick brings to mind immediately some of the finest films ever to be produced: “Nothing Sacred,” “A Star Is Born,” “A Tale of Two Cities,” “David Copper- field,” “Dinner At Eight,” “A Bill of Divorcement,” “Intermezzo—A Love Story” and, of course, the im¬ mortal Academy Award winners, “Gone With the Wind” and “Re¬ becca.” Now the Selznick tradition moves forward with still another great film, “Since You Went Away,” the human drama of the home front at the .... Theatre through United Artists release with a cast of thou¬ sands and starring Claudette Col¬ bert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker. David O. Selznick has continued the pioneering spirit which made his father’s slogan, “Selznick Pic¬ tures Make Happy Hours,” a reality. When he was executive as¬ sistant to the managing director at Paramount, Selznick fought vig¬ orously for a system of unit pro¬ duction with each associate pro¬ ducer responsible for the picture he made. In that way a film would be a unified entity made under the watchful and expert eye of one man. In that way each film would realize the complete quality of its own story. But the executives at Para¬ mount disagreed with the young producer and Selznick left for RKO, where he could put his ideas into operation. Selznick has never been satisfied with product that is just “all right.” He is known in the industry as a perfectionist to whom each small detail is of great consequence in the finished film. And this pas¬ sion for unsurpassed quality is evi¬ dent in each of the truly colossal films with which he has been con¬ nected. Everyone knows of the Hollywood Welcomes Man’s Best Friend Hollywood has entered its dog days—and is enjoying them. It is beginning to appear that the dog is not only the man’s best friend, but one of his best comedians. Latest producer to put on the dog is David O. Selznick, who engaged a massive English bulldog for a full-sized role in his new produc¬ tion “Since You Went Away,” now playing at the .... Theatre through United Artists release. The dog, Soda, lends his special canine tal¬ ents to a cast of 5000 with leading roles played by Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker. So far as the records show, Soda is the first bulldog to get feature film billing. Lately there have been collies, scotties and terriers scam¬ pering across the screen, but no bulldogs. The collie, of course, was the popular Lassie of “Lassie Come Home.” For Scotties, there have been Fala of screen short sub¬ jects and a dog named Whiskers who impersonated Fala, the White House pet, in the comedy “Princess O’Rourke.” Then, of course, there is Daisy, who has just about at¬ tained star billing in the “Blondie” series. three-year search for a leading lady for “Gone With the Wind.” Every¬ one is aware of the unyielding in¬ tensity with which Selznick oper¬ ates. Selznick believes that it is the job of the producer to judge a trend among the moviegoing public and then to produce films which will satisfy that demand. This has been true in each of the great dramas he has produced. It is true of “Since You Went Away.” Robert Walker registers indecision in this tense scene with Monty Woolley from “Since You Went Away,” David O. Selznick’s touch¬ ing drama of the home front play¬ ing at the .... Theatre through United Artists release,,' 31A—One Col. Scene (Mat .15) Film House of Representatives in “Since You Went Away” Every one of the forty-eight states is represented in the cast of David O. Selznick’s grand new drama of the home front, “Since You Went Away” now playing at the . . . Theatre through United Artists release. And that broad representation is exactly as should be, for Selznick’s film is the first serious attempt by a movie-maker to picturize the dynamic sweep of contemporary America. Selznick’s casting aides made no special attempt to get the geo¬ graphical representation, it just de¬ veloped with the assembled film company of seven stars, a score of featured players and some 5,000 bit parts. Hollywood’s Champ Star Discoverer History has a way of repeating itself, particularly when it gets a helping hand from David O. Selz¬ nick, the Hollywood star-builder. Five years ago, after testing hundreds of beautiful and talented girls, Selznick put the then un¬ known English actress, Vivien Leigh, in the most sought-after part Hollywood ever had—that of Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone With the Wind.” In this one screen appear¬ ance she became the talk of the screen world. Selznick has done it again with the newest star on his contract list, Jennifer Jones, who, with her first screen performance in “The Song of Bernadette,” became the talk of Hollywood. Now in his own pro¬ duction, “Since You Went Away,” she shares stellar honors with Clau¬ dette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Shir¬ ley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker. Miss Jones is the beautiful and winning daughter of Phil R. Isley, former tent showman who has a string of film houses in Texas and Oklahoma. She has had dramatic school, tent show, radio and stock company experience, but nothing to bring her any degree of prominence until Selznick offered her a screen contract a year ago. At that time, 20th Century-Fox was casting “The Song of Berna¬ dette,” and most of the important actresses in the cinema city were anxiously considering themselves for the job. Selznick, who was not then ready to put “Since You Went Away” before the cameras, advised Fox executives that they had better test his Miss Jennifer Jones for the part, and offered to wager that when they had tested everyone else in sight, his unknown candidate would win the part. His judgment was correct; scores of players were tested for the part, yet Miss Jones got the job. Her instantaneous suc¬ cess is now screen history. “Since You Went Away,” like “Gone With the Wind,” runs slightly over three hours in length, but also, like its famous predeces¬ sor, is so magical in its story-telling the end comes too soon. In it Miss Jones plays Jane, the 18-year-old daughter of Anne Hilton (Claudette Colbert), with Shirley Temple cast as her sister “Brig,” an adorable 15-year-old. Although Shirley was one of the most famous child stars of the screen, she retired from the screen for two years to devote her time to school. Now Mr. Selznick, starring her in what is virtually her first grownup role, is so pleased with her performance in “Since You Went Away,” which is playing now at the .... Theatre through United Artists release, he has signed her to a long-term contract. He is con¬ vinced that this former child film actress, who has just passed her 16th birthday, will be one of the stars to be reckoned with in the next few years. Page Nine