Bad Men of Missouri (Warner Bros.) (1941)

"BAD MEN OF MISSOURI"—PUBLICITY Still BM-91; Mat 202—30c OUTSIDE THE LAW—Dennis Morgan (center) calls a confab of his bandit band, in “Bad Men of Missouri”, the lusty saga of the notorious outlaw-heroes who made Missouri great. Prentice, Wisconsin DENNIS MORGAN .. fell a tree with equal ability . . . can sing, act or . was born in . . . became interested in acting and singing during his highschool days . after college got job as singer and announcer on local radio station . sixty consecutive one-night-stand performances of “Faust” ... played “stock” and vaudeville . . became acquainted with Mary Garden, who arranged a screen test which brought him a Warner contract . . scored hits in “Three Cheers for the Irish,” . once played . since then has “River’s End,” ‘Kitty Foyle” and “Affection Mat 103—15c ately Yours”. WAYNE MORRIS ... is a native son of California . . . full name was Bert De Wayne Morris . . . shortened .it for brevity . gan theatrical career at the Pasadena Community Playhouse where he acted in many famous plays ... was signed by Warner Bros. and shortly won praise for his performance in “Kid Galahad” .. . has travelled considerably . ..is an ardent sports fan and athlete . . is six feet two inches tall... weighs 190 lbs. . . . is featured in the role of one of the “Younger Brothers” in Warner’s saga of the Old West, “Bad Men of Missouri,” currently showing at the Strand. JANE WYMAN .. Folks . . name again Reagan . Maureen... manicurist, movies .. five inches tall ... Mat 104—15c “Bad Men of Missouri.” ARTHUR KENNEDY started his career as a Shakespearean actor .. . has worked with Maurice Evans, Ethel Barrymore and Guthrie McClintic . . . attended Carnegie Tech Drama School . . . was associated with the Group Theatre in New York ... came to Hollywood where he became an immediate success with his portrayal of Cagney’s brother in Warner Bros.’ “City for Conquest” . followed that by a brilliant performance as a prize fighter in “Knockout” for the same studio . .. now appearing as one of the Younger brothers in “Bad Men of Missouri,’ Warner’s latest adventure film, now at the Strand. OPO ca switchboard operator, model, and blues singer before hitting the . likes to write . . ability when two of her stories appeared in a nationally famous magazine . weighs 118 lbs. . brown eyes and blonde hair. . romantic interest in Warner Bros.’ current film, .. currently starring in Warner Bros.’ “Bad Men of Missouri.” Mat 105—15c . was born Sarah Jane . not so long ago she changed her . this time to Mrs. Ronald they have a baby girl named .. got her first film break in Warner’s ‘Mr. Dodd Takes the Air” . . . had been secretary, . proved her . . Is five feet aes . supplies the Mat 102—15c Hold Your Hats, Boys! Movie-goers stand a_ good chance of being shocked at the bad manners of Cole, Bob and Jim Younger, the gentlemen bandits played by Dennis Morgan, Wayne Morris and Arthur Kennedy in the new picture, “Bad Men of Missouri.” Indoors and out, in the presence of ladies and out, they keep their hats on. It’s authentic, however. In those days in the restless, postCivil War Middle West you had no time, when the enemy showed up, to put your hat on before you drew. The only time it came off in waking hours was when someone shot you out from under it. Retort Courteous Arthur Kennedy was discussing a friend who’d been drafted, as the cast of “Bad Men of Missouri” exchanged small talks between takes. ‘‘He went to Texas in the flying branch,” Arthur said, “but they’re sending him back in the mechanized cavalry services.” “He’ll probably arrive,” said Wayne Morris, “marked ‘Returned with Tanks.’ ” No Hard Feelings One of the banks robbed by the Younger brothers, Robin Hood bandits of the Middle West, seventy-odd years ago, has asked Warner Bros. for certain Cole Younger souvenirs used in a picture the studio has just filmed, “Bad Men of Missouri.” The institution that once contributed to a “dead or alive” fund for Cole Younger’s capture wants to display in its windows old photographs, part of a Confederate army uniform and an old Colt revolver, all onetime property of the bandit. Still BM-31; Mat 101—15c JANE WYMAN and ARTHUR KENNEDY carry the romantic interest in “Bad Men of Missouri.” She’s From Missouri! Jane Wyman, feminine lead in Warners’ “Bad Men of Missouri,” in which she plays Mary Hathaway, feels right at home in her part, since she comes from a few miles from Harrisonville, seat of the Younger Brothers’ activities. In her girlhood Jane, she readily admits, was a tomboy. She played “cops and robbers” rather than fool with dolls and dishes and she always managed to be Jesse James or Cole Younger, in every game. GUNS THAT WROTE HISTORY—Wayne Morris, Dennis Morgan, and Arthur Kennedy as the famous Younger brothers, bandit-heroes of Still BM 376; Mat 204—30c pioneer days, in the Strand’s current action hit. “Bad Men of Missouri”. @ CURRENT FEATURES e Old West Lives Again In ‘Bad Men of Missouri One of the biggest collections of props ever gatherec on an indoor set in Warner Bros.’ history was used in “Bad Men of Missouri,” starring Dennis Morgan, Wayne Morris, Arthur Kennedy and Jane Wyman, and currently showing at the Strand. On the gigantic Stage 22 have been accumulated nine covered wagons, of the full-sized, prairie schooner type, fifteen horses, more than a thousand pieces of saddlery and _ harness _ equipment and five thousanc pieces of atmosphere equipment. The covered wagons are authentic and can be and are used on outdoor shots. The saddle and harness equipment conform to the period depicted, 1865 to 1867, and the barrels, kegs, spades, farm implements, tents, coil lanterns, storm candlesticks, tallow lamps, wooden pails, firkins and tubs likewise conform. There are more than fifty canvas covered canteens of the period, guns actually used in the Civil War, similar swords and small firearms, axes, picks, campfire utensils, light tripods and bootjacks. There are authentic old crazy quilts and Civil War type bedding. The kegs and barrels used are all wooden-hooped and so are the many buckets. Washtubs of the era are similarly hooped and even the type of soap used in the shots has been made up to resemble that peculiarly grayish yellow material that ruined the hands of good farmwives of the day. Even the staff, technicians and all, got into the spirit of the thing, an enthusiasm climaxed when script girl Virginia Moore appeared on the set wearing high heeled fatigue boots of the time, a pair of Civil War dungarees, a genuine Missouri hickory shirt and a Confederate hat. Children in the shots, of whom there have been nine, wore the colorful calico of the period. Bright reds, blues and purples were popular for the_ kids’ dresses and shirts, while the women kept in the mood of the thing with similarly gay calicos, voiles and even muslins. The set and its equipment are a tribute to the ingenuity of the movie prop business and form an olio that might well be preserved by oil and canvas as a true representation of the customs, attire and equipment of the farm people of the day. Some of the stills taken by still man Johnny Ellis prompted one visitor to compare the general panorama to a Benton painting of the post-rebellion era. A Rootin’, Tootin’ Broadway Cowboy! Films have shattered Arthur Kennedy’s_ stage-born conceptions of the acting profession, the youthful former Shakespearjan actor disclosed in a recent interview. “It’s just as important in this business for an actor to ride a horse satisfactorily, if the script calls for that, as to be able to act,” he remarks. “I can see the logic of it, and the necessity. “But it jars a fellow’s preconceived, high-and-mighty notions of acting Art with a capital A.” While talking, he was demonstrating — and practicing — an art he has had to master for use in Warner Bros.’ film “Bad Men of Missouri,” a lusty, colorful saga of west, which is currently showing at the Strand. That art (with a small a) was twirling a big Colt six gun, and skillfully slapping it back into his holster without using both hands, or fumbling, or groping. Among the other little “tricks of the trade” he had to pick up for his role were real Western riding, rolling cigarettes from the “makings,” and riding a steer. “You might say, it broadens one’s life. If I had been on the stage all the time, I might never have learned what it was to take’ a real punch on the jaw or to throw one. I suppose that sooner or later, I’d have shot a blank off, though!” _ In “Bad Men of Missouri,’ Kennedy is starred with’ Dennis Morgan, Wayne Morris and Jane Wyman.