Cherokee Strip (Warner Bros.) (1937)

“CHEROKEE STRIP" PUBLICITY Movie Miracle Workers Build ‘Cherokee Strip’ Show Prairie Town In Three Different Stages Of Its Rapid Growth In Foran Film They made three trees grow where one had grown before but movie technical experts are used to doing such things. A eity in three phases of growth was needed for the First National land-rush epic, opens at the First, a straggling tent city. Second, a lusty town of board shacks. Third, a thriving prairie eity, not much bigger in area but more permanent and pretentious. “We'll need the three towns built at one time so we can go from set to set, making the most efficient use of our actors,’ said Unit Manager Lee Hagunin. “But they’re all one town, and must be built on the same site,” objected Director Noel Smith. “That’s all right,” photographer Lu O’Connell declared. “Our photographs of the original Oklahoma land rush towns show prairie backgrounds so undistinetive you’d never be able to tell one from the other in our shots.” But Director Smith insisted. “We must have some definite landmark to establish instantly that the town in each stage of growth is the same town,” he maintained. HORSE EATS CHOCOLATE Smoky, Dick Foran’s_ strawberry roan charger in First National’s Western, has gone on a sugar strike. He has sworn off lumps of sugar. Now it takes a bar of chocolate candy to make him do the equine histrionics he performs in films such as the eurrent outdoor opus, “The Cherokee Strip,” which is now showing at the theatre. JANE GAINS ODD TITLE Jane Bryan has no Indian blood in her veins, but playing opposite Dick Foran in First National’s “The Cherokee Strip” made her a blood-princess of the Osages, just the same. The honorary title was conferred on her by Indian chieftains working in the spectacular land-rush film. “The Cherokee Strip” is now showing at the Theatre. ‘The Cherokee Strip,’’ which Theatre on “It’s easy,’ said Art Director Ted Smith, who commands technieal magicians. “There’s a very distinetive big gnarled old tree in the middle of the spot we picked for the loeation. We'll have a watering trough and town pump under that tree. In each of the other sets representing the town at a later stage of growth, we'll have an exact reproduction of that tree, town pump and watering trough.” “The Cherokee Strip” is a thrilling outdoor adventure-romance of those pioneer days of 1889 when Indian Territory— now Oklahoma—was thrown open to white settlers, with free lands to white settlers. The picture stars Dick Foran; Singing Cowboy, and features Jane Bryan. Jane Bryan This charming newcomer to the screen gets her big chance opposite Dick Foran in “Cherokee Strip,” the First National Western melodrama of the bad lands where death lurks on_ every trigger—and a man’s as good as his aim. It comes to _ the Theatre, on Mat No. 101—10c End of Crime’s Trail Ed Cobb, (left) Helen Valkis, and Dick Foran, the singing cowboy, in a tense scene from the First National picture “Cherokee Strip,” a red-blooded tale of pioneer days in the land where a man’s honor’s as good as his aim. It’s now on the screen at the .0....cc.ccccsscccssssssssssesessnsessseseons Theatre. Mat No. 201—20c ‘My Little Buckaroo’ Is Newest Film Song Hit Lullaby Sung By Dick Foran In “Cherokee Strip”’ Hits New High In Popularity “Write a song for Dick Foran to sing to a little boy as he goes to sleep out on the prairie,” was the order received by M. K. Jerome and Jack Scholl, song writers at the First National studios. The order was for the thrilling Western melodrama “Cherokee Strip” which comes to Gh@se ns ween Theatre, on It happened that some nineteen years ago, during the war, M. K. Jerome had written “Just a Baby’s Prayer At Twilight”—a lullaby which became _ tremendously popular and sold over three million copies. In “My Little Buckaroo,” the song which he wrote to order, he captured some of the same spirit that endeared the “Baby’s Prayer” to so many listeners. Jack Scholl wrote the lyrics and a hit was born. The first time it was played over the air, Bing Crosby heard it, immediately contacted the publishers and asked permission to make a recording of it. That record is topping the best-seller lists at present. . more the Orchestras all over the country took “My Little Buckaroo” to their hearts, and singers, professional and amateur, male and fe male, made haste to add it to their repertoires. Thousands of mothers bought copies of the song and are singing their children to sleep with it. Constantly heard over the air waves, it is hitting a new high in popularity. Moreover, “My Little Buckaroo” is the kind of song that will be sung long after the majority of the current hits are forgotten. It has that rare quality —whieh we’ll eall appeal—that lifts it above the usual run of songs. Moreover, it’s unique among Western ballads as the only one of them which is suitable for feminine voices. And being a lullaby makes it all the kind of song that woman singers find ideal. In the picture, the goldenvoiced singing cowboy, Dick Foran, adapts “My Little Buckaroo” as his theme song, after he introduces it in an early scene. GHEROKEE STRIP SHOWS RUSH FOR 1809 HOMESTEADS Onee again, in motion picture history, the land rush into Oklahoma territory has been filmed on a grand seale. It was first done several years ago for the picture “Cimarron,” one of the most successful ever made. Now First National has staged an elaborate reproduction of the event for “The Cherokee Strip,” a new picture starring Dick Foran, singing cowboy. The photoplay is now running at the Re Se st nian Theatre. The scenes, in which hundreds of extras, horsemen, wagons, buggies, and even ox teams took part, were staged on the great plateau known as Lasky Mesa, where spectacular scenes of “Charge of the Light Brigade” were filmed. Covering several miles of rolling prairie ground were the tents pitched at the Oklahoma ‘Territory line the night before the rush, the horse corrals and other appurtenances of the land-rush spectacle. Jane Bryan plays opposite Foran in “The Cherokee Strip.” Among the supporting players are 9-year-old Tommy Bupp, David Carlyle, and Helen Valkis. Noel Smith directed. Unlike “Cimarron,” which dealt with the history of a family that participated in the land rush over a period of years, the First National production concentrates on the immediate period of the land rush and settlement, with one particularly lawless town for locale and a dramatization of “ yeal historical events for its prin cipal plot theme. The screen play was written by Joseph K. Watson and Luei Ward, from a story by Ed Earl Repp. HELEN VALKIS TRICKS LENS Helen Valkis, First National featured actress who with Jane Bryan is one of the feminine leads opposite Dick Foran in “The Cherokee Strip,” at the Theatre, has photographically remarkable coloring. In ordinary movie photography her eyes and hair appear dark, her skin very fair. In reality her eyes are hazel and her skin slightly tanned. Color photography reveals her eyes as a startling blue-violet and her skin a golden tan. THE STORY Awaiting U. S. Army officers’ signals to start the famous land rush for choice homesteads in the Oklahoma Territory, April 22, 1889, was a vast horde, afoot, on horseback, in buggies and wagons. Among them was Dick Hudson (Dick Foran), a two-gun-packing pioneer lawyer and Link Carter (Ed Cobb) with several henchmen, one of whom has a daughter, Janie Walton (Jane Bryan) and a nine-year-old boy Barty (Tommy Bupp). The latter meets Dick and becomes his hero-worshipping satellite, while Janie falls for Dick but instantly quarrels with him. Then Dick has a run-in with Carter, an old enemy of his. Carter plots to get Dick enroute to Big Rock, where he will head to stake a claim and hang up his lawyer’s shingle. By laming his horse Jane saves Dick’s life, but he believes she merely meant to delay him. So he is left behind in the historic land rush which follows. All the land is taken when he arrives. Carter is boss of the tent city, Big Rock. Dick, however, throws in with an old pal of his, Tom Valley’ (David Carlyle) who with his wife Molly (Helen Valkis) and a partner have staked good claims in town and on the range. Carter becomes Sheriff of the town and with his gang runs things, but Dick hangs up his law shingle and for a time loses case after case. Then Carter gets too bold; tries to rustle cattle from Valley. Thanks to little Page Two PHE CASE DiCk SLudSOn a Dick Foran Janie Walton: = Jane Bryan ROA VVC David Carlyle NOUN Oueyer oe Helen Valkis AMR SOOHCY a Ed Cobb Army Officer = Joseph Crehan Judge Ben Parkinson __..-.--. Gordon Hart JOC BHIGS a ae ee Frank Faylen Blade Simpson _.......---.---.----Milton Kibbee Bil: Tideveli > Jack Mower George: Walton. 2 Tom Brower Mink Abbott -—:....... Walter Sonderling Barty Walton: Tommy Bupp Bart he gets caught at it, but wriggles out with the assistance of his henchmen. When Valley goes to Carter’s office to accuse him, however, the Sheriff shoots him in cold blood. By this time the townspeople are aroused, however. Big Rock has grown from tents to frame shacks to good permanent structures and its spirit has grown too. Led by Dick, with Jane pulling with him, in full understanding now, — force the holding of Carter for murer. Carter and his henchmen -make one last attempt, framing Dick on a charge of murder. The scheme fails, and in court next day, in which sentenced Big Rock. pistols speak, Link Carter is to hang. Justice has come to in a wildly memorable session . PRODUCTION STAFF DRC ig oe ee ee eee SLOLY =0N = Screen Play by Wimaeeeeey ty. POS PATOL ON oo nS aes epee ETE OP IROCLON ees et ae he tes a ne Dialogue Director Music and Lyrics by z Noel Smith See Ae Ses ae _Ed Earl Repp Joseph 1 K. Watson and Luci Ward Lu O’Connell, A.S.C. eee ere Thomas Pratt =P ret: Ted Smith Harry Seymour M. K. Jerome and Jack Scholl OFFICIAL BILLING Warner Bros. present “THE CHEROKEE STRIP” with DICK FORAN (The Singing Cowboy) an Jane Bryan—David Carlyle—Helen Valkis—Joseph Crehan Music and Lyrics by M. K. Jerome and deck Scholl Directed by Noel Smith A First National Picture Running Time ..... BIOGRAPHIES Diek Foran This 6-foot-2, redheaded Flemington, New Jersey boy was born 26 years ago. At Princeton University he was an outstanding figure in football, baseball, hockey and_ lacrosse. His father being a railroad man, Dick followed in his footsteps and got a job on the Pennsylvania. Sent to California on business, he got into movies unexpectedly through a screen test for “Stand Up and Cheer.’’ He was later signed by Warner Bros. as the ‘Singing Cowboy,” and made a Western star immediately. He has made half a dozen pictures of this type but at the same time does straight dramatic parts in other produc tions. Present picture, ‘‘The Cherokee Strip,’ the First National picture which CORICSS CO mete So ae eer Theatre Gl.» 8 =o eae as Jane Bryan Born Patricia O’Brien, in Hollywood, that name was too much like Pat O’Brien’s, so this brown-haired, gray-eyed 18-yearold was given her present name when she was engaged by Warner Bros. about a year ago. She had been studying dramatic art in Jean Muir’s experimental theatre. Her first picture was ‘The Captain’s Kid,” with May Robson, Guy Kibbee and little Sybil Jason. Her current picture is “The Cherokee pup. * the First National picture now at the... a------------Lheatre.