Story of GI Joe (United Artists) (1945)

* * PLANT THIS ADVANCE STORY TWO DAYS BEFORE YOUR r P4 ZTURE OPENS! IT Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe” Is a Picture of Vast Scope Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” Hollywood’s first picture to glorify the plain Ameri¬ can infantry soldier, the lowly foot-slogging G. I. for whom the late Lt. General McNair asked a just “bit of glory,” is based on Ernie Pyle’s best-seller, “Here Is Your War.” Because of the vast scope of this United Release, which will be shown at the.Theatre on ., the film was divided into two phases with a total shoot¬ ing schedule of 120 camera days. The first phase concentrated on spectacle, the making of a gigan¬ tic backdrop of battle against which the second phase, the hu¬ man, intimate drama of men at war will be enacted as reported by Pyle, outstanding exponent of the foxhole viewpoint. Production of the picture started at the California-Arizona Maneu¬ ver area of the Army on the des¬ ert near Yuma, Arizona. Using the same technique he did in making “The Commandos Strike at Dawn,” Producer Lester Cowan used real soldiers in as many as 150 roles. Leslie Fenton, who was invalided from the British Navy after win¬ ning the D.S.C. in the Commando raid on St. Nazaire, directed the location scenes, which called for the reenactment of the battles of Kasserine Pass, Sicily, Salerno and Cassino—the first time these fronts have been depicted on the screen. These battles were chosen for the film because they encompass the most complete range of Ameri¬ can infantry experience, showing the evolution of foot soldier to fighter, by action in the desert, snow-covered mountains, beach¬ heads and other terrain. They show the Yanks depending for survival, upon their own strength, skill and cunning in a situation where mud, snow and sleet were additional enemies. Lucien Hubbard, associate pro¬ ducer, is another battle-wise vet¬ eran on the picture having served in the South Pacific theatre with General MacArthur as a war cor- resnondent for Reader’s Digest. Both Fenton and Hubbard are also picture veterans of many years. Burgess Meredith, who plays Ernie Pyle in the film, was chosen from a long list of aspirants. An all-around theatre man, who has successfully invaded every phase of the entertainment world in the capacities of actor, writer and di¬ rector, Meredith, a captain in the army, was placed on inactive sta¬ tus by the War Department in or¬ der to portray the beloved war correspondent. Neither effort nor expense was spared to make Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe” an authentic and compelling tribute to the American infantryman. STRANGE GIFT is the polka dot tie Corp. Chester Nolan receives at the battle front from his folks for Christmas. The scene is front Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” the United Artists release, starring Bur¬ gess Meredith soon to be shotvn at the . Theatre. The G. I. on the right is Sgt. Fred Sprague. 25B—Ttvo Column Scene (Mat .30) Battle Scene Ruins ‘Rebuilt’ Only in Hollywood could it hap¬ pen . . . where destroyed buildings are actually built! Obviously it was a much more difficult task than just to build in the accepted sense, and if you don’t believe it, ask William McLellan, who directed a crew of 112 men to reproduce the ruins of Cassino, Italy, for the filming of Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe” which will be shown at the . Theatre starting . From official photographs of the bomb and shell-torn town, James Sullivan, art director, constructed a model from which measurements were taken for the architect's plans. With these plans and constant checking of the photographs, Mc¬ Lellan reproduced the ruins of Cassino in such fathful detail that returned veterans of the Battle of Cassino, who visited the “ruins” felt instantly “at home.” A typical remark is, “I was crouched in this doorway and shot me a sniper in that window on the left.” The painstaking reproduction is in line with Producer Lester Cow¬ an’s objective of the most authentic . picture of World War II. Based on Ernie Pyle’s best seller, “Here Is Your War,” it will be the first film to tell the story of the war from the standpoint of the U. S. Infan¬ try. The Army lent a contingent of troops, complete with tanks and heavy artillery, to re-enact in vivid detail the crucial battles of this war. Most of the troops are veter¬ ans of the very battles which were screened. ^ Burgess Meredith plays the role of the famed war correspondent and Academy Award-winning Wil¬ liam A. Wellman directed. Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe” is a United Artists release. BITTER TASTE OF DEFEAT in this scene from Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” the next attraction at the . Theatre. The heart-breaking retreat from Kasserine Pass is about to begin. Burgess Meredith, left, plays the role of the famous eorrespondenl in the film. 24B — Tivo Column Scene (Mat .30) ttSwwuwwHBLiii ought unstinted praise from Cowan and Burgess Meredr e famed war correspondent in this film now showing . . Theatre. ’ muttered Wellman, “I had a good director and swell act< do you mean that?” Meredith asked. I” replied Wellman, “I had those actual G. I.’s for my play n together and told them I wasn’t going to have any top 1 them what I wanted in the scene nor was I going to try m lply read them Ernie Pyle’s column on the retreat. An led! You should have seen their faces. When I finished, r We went to work. Affected by Ernie’s words, the men g dramatic values that I wanted. What might have been a requiring three or four days to shoot if we had used act in a morning. you like the scene, congratulate the G. I.’s and give P s was the director in this case. MEET ‘AXIS SALLY’ |^s a surprise, Infantry Cap¬ lin Milton M. Thornton, one of the technical advisers for Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” invited his brother, Air Corps Captain Charles H. Thornton, on the set of this United Artists release. When the flier arrived, he heard a girl’s voice, crooning and teasing. “Axis Sally!” he said. “What did they do, get a record of her?” Whereupon Captain Milton Thornton introduced him to “The Voice of Axis Sally, in the person of Shelly Mitchell, former singer with Xavier Cu- gat’s band. The brothers have heard the real Axis Sally many times overseas. The powerful film tribute to the American infantryman, in which Burgess Meredith por¬ trays Ernie Pyle, is the next attraction at the The¬ atre. Ernie Pyle Film Posed Many Problems For Producer Lester Cowan In selecting an actor to portray the role of Ernie Pyle, Producer Lester Cowan faced a formidable task. He had to find an actor who lived up to the picture of the war corre¬ spondent in the minds of 40,000,000 readers. As the pro¬ ducer realized, Pyle’s readers didn’t scan his column for in¬ formation. They read his words bcauese they felt they knew him and because his friendly Hoosier personality shone through his writings. As Quentin Reynolds once said: “The three great discoveries of this war are the Jeep, Spam and Ernie Pyle.” Yes, Lester Cowan had a prob¬ lem to solve. The answer, after exhaustive tests in which many known and unknown aspirants for the role were inte4»newed, proved to be Burgess Meredith. And so Captain Burgess Meredith was placed on inactive duty by th* War Department to play Ernie Pyle. The resemblance between the two men was amazing and it was increased by the actor’s personal inventory of Pyle’s mannerisms and characteristics following a visit to the columnist’s home at Albuguerque, New Mexico. Meredith, who is a reknowned star on both the stage and screen, admittedly faced the most difficult role of his career. However, his colorful range of characterizations in such films as “Winterset,” “Second Chorus,” “That Uncer¬ tain Feeling,” “Of Mice and Men,” “Tom, Dick and Harry” and “San Francisco Docks,” had provided him with an enriched background. The inspired performance which he gives as Ernie Pyle will exceed the fondest hopes of those who knew the famous correspondent. Once he had found a star, Cow¬ an’s next task was to discover a director to quide the destiny of the film. It had to be a man cap¬ able of mingling the pageantry of war with an intimate drama of taut emotions. Who could question the wise choice of Academy Award winner William A Wellman whose long career is studded with such successes as “Wings,” “The Pub¬ lic Enemy,” “A Star Is Born” and many others? In casting other leads in the film, Cowan felt that new faces would help heighten the truthful¬ ness of the production. Many of the speaking parts were filled by actual veterans of the North Afri¬ can and Italian campaigns. Others Burgess Meredith On His Toes Burgess Meredith, who portrays the famous war correspondent in Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” is determined not to permit his wife, Paulette Goddard, to out¬ smart him. According to his story, Paulette, having diligently kept up with her studies, is now speaking French like a native. She likes nothing better than to jabber long sentences at her mate and then watch his confusion when he doesn’t understand. Meredith is doing battle, how¬ ever. He consulted his friend, Jean Renoir, the celebrated direc¬ tor. as to a good French teacher. The teacher reported daily on the set of the film, where the actor busied himself with the text books learning the language. He has reached the stage of replying “the pen of my grand¬ mother is lost in the garden of my cousin” to Paulette’s flurry of words and she reports his pronun¬ ciation as very good, even if what he is saying doesn’t make any sense. Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe,” which opens at the Theatre on is a United Artists release. $2,000,000 For “6.1.” Tribute The late Lt. General McNair’s plea to America for a “bit of glory” for this war’s foot soldier receives an answer from Lester Cowan, whose production of Er¬ nie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe” is scheduled to be shown soon at the . Theatre. This United Artists release, star¬ ring Burgess Meredith, is based on the celebrated war columnist’s best-seller, “Here Is Your War.” Pyle mirrored to millions the thoughts and actions of the G. I.’s who fight, eat and sleep in the mud, dust and din of the fighting fronts. Here is Ernie’s own tribute to the mud-slogging soldier: “I love the infantry because they are the underdogs. They are the mud-rain- front and wind boys. They have no comforts, and they even learn to live without the necessities, and in the end they are the guys that wars can’t be won without.” And these words best reflect the spirit of the picture. It is a $2,000,000 undertaking for Cowan and the most important endeavor of the dynamic producer’s career. Not only does Ernie Pyle’s “Story of G. I. Joe” provide an authori¬ tative account of the foot soldier in World War II, it also encompasses every type of land fighting. And this is information worthy of screening where the masses will see it. The battles of Kasserine Pass, Sicily, Salerno and Cassino are depicted on the screen for the first time. These battles were selected for re-enactment because they em¬ brace the most complete range of American fighter by action in the desert, snow covered mountains, beach heads and other terrain. 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