Since You Went Away (United Artists) (1944)

No Pain in So Called Dog’s Life Hilton Family Joins Legendary Immortals Temple Is No Longer Curly-Top If the treatment of Soda the dog on the set of David 0. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away,” the film now playing at the .... Theatre through United Artists release, was an example of the much dis¬ cussed “dog’s life,” then Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker, stars of the film, are willing to lead that kind of life. Soda’s life can be better described as a “life of Riley.” Soda, a prize-winning English bulldog named Dick Whittington in real life, is the much pampered pet of the Hilton household in Selz¬ nick’s panoramic film of the home front. Soda—or Dick—is a member of dogdom’s “400” and is the off¬ spring of two champions. Now five years old, the lugubri¬ ous looking bulldog who weighs some 70 pounds or more was weakest and most spindly of the litter. But his owner, B. O. Bracey, gave the pup special care. The re¬ sult is nearly 100 pounds of dog. Soda got a chance at a screen career when he was presented to Mr. Selznick by Mrs. C. L. Savage, a friend of the producer. Mrs. Savage and Shorty Stohlman, the dog’s trainer, introduced Soda to Selznick and then said solemnly: “Listen.” Mr. Selznick listened, very in¬ tently and patiently. After several minutes he surrendered: “I don’t hear a blamed thing.” “That’s it,” said Mrs. Savage triumphantly. “What’s it?” Selznick demanded. “You don’t hear anything,” Mrs. Savage explained. “You have a movie called ‘Since You Went Away’ that requires the services of a bulldog. You need a dog whose breathing won’t drown out the lines of the actors. Here he is.” Dick Whittington—the dog with the silent breath—got the job and a contract. To the best of anybody’s knowl¬ edge, Soda enjoyed screen work. He developed a passion for the camera after two or three days of shooting and when not sleeping— his first passion—he could be found stretched out in front of the business end of the photographic machinery. Soda’s particular affection went out to Shirley Temple and Monty Woolley. Miss Temple reciprocated, but Mr. Woolley, burdened as he is with a substantial beard, was a little loath to accept Soda’s rather heavyhanded attempts at friend¬ ship. Hamilton Is “You” In “Since You Went Away” Neil Hamilton asserts that he has the nearest thing to a title role in David O. Selznick’s film, “Since You Went Away,” playing at the .... Theatre through United Artists release. The film stars Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker. But, as Ham¬ ilton points out, he plays the sol¬ dier husband of Miss Colbert, the “You” who went away. Butler and Scarlett O’Hara and the great plantation of Tara in Selznick’s illustrious predecessor, “Gone With the Wind,” typify the Civil War to motion picture fans, so will the Hiltons and the Hilton home come to typify life on the home front during this second World War. In the seven-star cast, the three Hiltons and Tony, are Monty Woolley as a gruff but thor¬ oughly ingratiating paying guest when finances get tough, Lionel Barrymore as the family’s friend as well as minister, and Robert Walker as the older Hilton girl’s soldier sweetheart. Many fictional families have so endeared themselves to book and film lovers that they seem more real to them than actual families who live right next door. Who can ever forget Louisa M. Alcott’s lovable Marches—Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy—in “Little Women”? They brought to us a simple but unforgettably beautiful portrait of 19th Century New England family life. And John Galsworthy’s dignified Forsythe family which epitomized Victorian England’s upper middle-class, and Mazo de la Roche’s romantic Jalna family which gave us the tremendous scope of ranch life in Canada. All three of these families and many more have been immortalized in both fiction and films, but none will be better loved than the Hilton family which has just been intro¬ duced to eager fans in David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away,” now in its second week at the .... Theatre through United Artists release. In this tender heart-warming saga of the home front, Selznick has concentrated his talent for character building not so much upon one individual, as upon a family group, the delightful Hil¬ tons who live somewhere in our middle west. Anne Hilton, the courageous mother, is portrayed by Claudette Colbert, and her two teen-age daughters are played by Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple. The father, who has waived his 3-A draft status to enlist for the army overseas, exists only in their memory. For this very reason Anne Hil¬ ton strives earnestly to keep that memory alive in the minds of her daughters. Tony, who was best man at the Hiltons’ wedding, is dashing, romantic, and while still in love with Anne, is as loyal to her ab¬ sent, fighting husband as she is. Joseph Cotten, as Tony, gives this role the best performance in his spectacular career. Producer Selznick and Director John Cromwell took extarordinary pains with each minute detail of “Since You Went Away,” so that the Hiltons are not just so many more strange people and their home just another house. They have created a feeling that you know this family intimately, that you have been many times in their home and that you consider them your close friends. The average American family will see itself, its trials and strug¬ gles, its heartaches and its merri¬ ment, all portrayed by the Hilton family. Just as surely as Rhett Selznick Faith Gave Jennifer Opportunity Today it is screen history that Jennifer Jones has received the highest honor the motion picture industry may bestow— the Academy Award for the best feminine performance of the the year as The Maid of Lourde s in “The Song Of Bernadette.” No less triumphant in Miss Jones’ amazing success in this, her first film, was David O. Selznick who was the first to recognize tal¬ ent in the young actress and who has, quietly and confidently, guided her career to its present heights. Her current appearance under his sponsorship is as the daughter of a modern American family caught in the emotional tide of war in Selznick’s own production, “Since You Went Away,” which is playing now at the .... Theatre through United Artists release. This is Selznick’s first film since “Gone With the Wind,” and is making just as much., a sensa¬ tion in its way as its illustrious predecessor. Co-starring with Miss Jones are such celebrities as Clau¬ dette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Shir¬ ley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker. When Producer Selznick first en¬ countered Miss Jones in his office in New York, she was then known as Phyllis Isley, down on her luck and not too optimistic over the possibilities of an interview with a Hollywood magnate. Only the day before, through sheer nervousness, she had fumbled an attempt to win the lead in “Claudia,” which was then being cast. That has been the final blow of many. Selznick, however, after a brief chat with her, decided that she had great possibilities and brought her to Hollywood, but went against the usual procedure of immediately casting her in a picture. Instead, he changed her name to Jennifer Jones and placed her in his sum¬ mer stock theatre in Santa Bar¬ bara where she played in a William Saroyan one-acter called “Hello, Out There.” Deciding that the moment wasn’t right to launch his new candidate in a film, Selznick sent her back to New York for additional training in voice, diction and technique. When 20th Century-Fox bought the film rights to “The Song Of Bernadette,” Selznick launched an intensive, one-man campaign laud¬ ing the possibilities of his “un¬ known” actress for the coveted role of Bernadette. That Selznick’s per¬ suasive words were justified has now been proved by what has turned out to be the outstanding performance of 1943. And the Selz¬ nick tradition for star-making, brilliantly exemplified by his selec¬ tions of Joan Fontaine for “Re¬ becca” and Vivien Leigh for “Gone With the Wind,” received new im¬ petus with the well-deserved fame of Miss Jones. Robert Walker plays a romantic starring role in David O. Selznick’s unusual production of life on the home front opening at the .... Theatre on ... . through United Artists release. 36A—One Col. Scene (Mat .15) Collegians Help Solve War Problem War-time problems are sure to find solution in one town, anyway —Hollywood. The latest difficulty has been with getting enough extras for many of the big scenes of which Hollywood directors continue to be so fond. But even this prob¬ lem has been solved—and success¬ fully. When David O. Selznick, pro¬ ducer of “Since You Went Away,” the seven-star hit now playing at the .... Theatre through United Artists release, needed lots of young men and women for a tre¬ mendous hangar dance he was planning, he went to the one re¬ liable source of numbers of young people—the colleges. And he got what he needed. More than 700 boys and girls from the campuses of the Univer¬ sity of Southern California and the University of California at Los Angeles were pressed into service. Naturally the kids loved acting —as what American kid doesn’t— and they were getting the chance to work for David O. Selznick whose famed “Gone With the Wind” and “Rebecca” are still re¬ garded with awe, so they pitched in with a will. And they gave a great account of themselves, ac¬ cording to John Cromwell, who guided them through many of the exciting scenes for “Since You Went Away.” Between “takes” the kids sent letters to loved ones in the fighting areas. One girl wrote her sweet¬ heart, a seaman on a merchant ship plying between New York and Murmansk—another to a brother imprisoned by the Japs somewhere in Malaya. Others knit sweaters and helmets for servicemen and busied themselves with war tasks of other kinds. And during “takes” they made the place hum. They made great “extras.” When Shirley Temple returned to the cameras for work on David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away” she was no longer the little Shirley of the much publicized 55 golden curls. Instead she was a typical “Miss America” — adoles¬ cent variety. Shirley, one of the seven stars of the Selznick hit film, his first since “Gone With the Wind” and “Rebecca,” was greeted with open arms by those who had worked with her in the old days. The young star still retains that sunny disposition and the flair for mis¬ chief which made her such a favorite when she was only a child. Now Shirley is interested in ac¬ tivities of a maturer social variety. She likes to swim, worries about her suntan, goes to the movies regularly and writes fan letters to her favorites, enjoys “cutting a rug” and reacts enthusiastically to the hottest boogie-woogie. In “Since You Went Away” there is a close parallel between Shirley’s own life and the one she portrays on the screen. Besides the truth about Shirley’s interest in school both in the film and in real life there is a further parallel in her love of pets. In “Since You Went Away” one of her pets is the bulldog, Soda. In real life her proudest possession is Pancho, a little cocker spaniel. Shirley shares starring honors with Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker in the film which is at the .... Theatre through United Artists release. Walker 9 Wynn Get Stripes At Last Both Robert Walker and Keenan Wynn have finally gotten their long-awaited promotions. Walker, the private of “Private Hargrove,” is now a corporal in David O. Selznick’s heartwarming drama of the home front, “Since You Went Away,” at the . . . . Theatre through United Artists release. Wynn was not only promoted but moved into a new branch of the service. From a private in “See Here, Private Hargrove,” he was promoted to Lt. Commander (j.g.) —the Navy. The inevitable moment of parting leaves Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker speechless in this scene from David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away,” opening on ... . at the .... Theatre through United Artists release. 34A—One Col. Scene (Mat .15) Robert Walker Learns About Soldiering Robert Walker has something of a record in the three roles that skyrocketed him to fame. He’s por¬ trayed a member of the armed forces in all three. In “Bataan” he won overnight fame as a heroic sailor in the South Pacific; in “See Here, Private Hargrove,” he depicts a buck private, and in “Since You Went Away,” David O. Selznick’s big new film at the .... Theatre through United Artists release, Bob is once more in the Army, this time a corporal in the Air Corps. Page Thirteen