Escape in the Desert (Warner Bros.) (1945)

Secret Invention Of Alan Hale’s Exposed At Last At intervals that are regular and perhaps too frequent, there are announcements—very much like the perennial groundhog story of spring — about Alan Hale’s inventions. It seems one of those periods is at hand. Though Hale is becoming almost as well known for his inventions as for his quarter century as a featured player on the screen, the fact is that he is not an inventor. He is the backer of several devices, including a theatre seat and a fire extinguisher, which are now marketed nationally. All that Alan Hale has actually originated are the stories he tells to people who seem to insist upon thinking he is an inventor. For these special people, he always has “inventions.” One of his standbys, of course, is his solution for the rubber and gasoline shortage. The actor, currently featured in Warner Bros.’ “Escape In The Desert,” currently at the Strand, says: “My representatives are in Washington working on my invention of the cement tire. My idea is so simple it should sell like hot-cakes. The plan is to have a cement tire to run on rubber streets. In that way, you don’t require rubber for tires. Then to save the gas situation, I’ll have all the streets running downhill.” Alan Hale’s newest application for a patent, he says with a smile, is for an entirely new sort of lawn grass. It doesn’t require water, doesn’t permit weeds and best of all, it only grows to an exact height of two inches. Still AH108 Mat 111—l15c ALAN HALE, veteran of twenty-five years in the motion picture industry, plays pompous Dr. Orville Tedder in Warners’ "Escape In The Desert" at the Strand. Also featured in the film are Philip Dorn, Helmut Dantine, Jean Sullivan, Irene Manning and Samuel S. Hinds. Still another of Hale’s tricky devices is an electric eye and button device for the radio. If you are listening to a quartet. and you do not happen to care particularly for the tenor, you simply push the button and, presto, you get a new tenor. That’s all, brother. Also featured in “Escape In The Desert” with Alan Hale, are Philip Dorn, Jean Sullivan, Helmut Dantine, Irene Manning and Samuel S. Hinds. Not One Extra Player In ‘Escape In The Desert’ Using a complete cast of only twenty-one players, and not a single extra, “Escape In The Desert,” Warners’ action-packed thriller arrives Friday at the Strand. Philip Dorn, Helmut Dantine, Alan Hale, Jean Sullivan, Irene Manning and Samuel _ 5S. Hinds are featured in the film. 4 They Did Not Escape! Still 627-30 Mat 202—30c JEAN SULLIVAN and Philip Dorn find each other's love amidst the fury of a man-hunt for escaped German prisoners of war, in the above scene from Warners’ "Escape In The Desert," currently at the Strand. Also featured in the film are Helmut Dantine, Alan Hale, Irene Manning and Samuel S. Hinds. ‘Adjustable Stand-Ins’ Used In Strand Film “Adjustable stand-ins” are doing their share to relieve the man-power shortage in Hollywood. Until recently, a motion picture stand-in usually worked with only one star and only when that player worked. Now, by becoming “adjustable,” the same stand-in can serve for a number of players, thereby releasing a number of other people for work in essential industries. Harold J. Varney, a well liked and hard-working stand-in, recently became ‘“adiustable,” although he only stands five feet eight inches in his ordinary shoes. According to Phil Friedman, Warner Bros. casting director, height is probably the most important single similarity a stand-in is required to have. He, literally, “stands in” on the set where the actor himself will be when the cameras are turning. The lights and shadows are centered upon the stand-in while the real player rests on the sidelines. For many reasons, the height of the stand-in must be almost exactly the same as the height of the player he represents, because a change in that height, once everything has been set, might make a considerable difference with the camera angle Philip Dorn’s Home Used By Gestapo As Headquarters Although the twelve room house owned by Philip Dorn in Rotterdam was considerably damaged during the Nazi invasion, the actor may find the house in good condition when the Allies re-take Holland. Through Erik Johnson, Swedish correspondent who recently returned to Stockholm from Holland, Dorn, currently to be seen in Warner Bros.’ “Escape In The Desert” at the Strand, has learned that his property has been converted into the official residence for the local Gestapo chieftain. The actor’s house has been completely renovated and refurnished with a number of invaluable art pieces confiscated by the Nazis. In his latest film, one that carries a strong antiNazi message, Dorn is featured along with Helmut Dantine, Jean Sullivan, Alan Hale, Irene Manning and Samuel S. Hinds. of the shot. If the stand-in for a love scene was tall and the actor was shorter, the actor’s profile might be lost behind the leading lady’s head in the recorded clinch. Varney gave this matter of height a little thought and in record time he had the problem solved. Harold had several pairs of shoes built to provide a certain amount of height for himself. In some exceptional instances, these shoes took on the appearance of short stilts, raising Varney as much as seven inches above his true height. Stand-»n Verney quickly made capital out of the discovery that by becoming “adjustable” he could get many more jobs. Consequently, he stood-in for Philip Dorn, lean six-footer currently to be seen in Warners’ actionpacked drama, “Escape In The Desert” at the Strand. The film also features Helmut Dantine, Jean Sullivan, Alan Hale, Irene Manning and Samuel S. Hinds. Verney had his choice of standing-in for any of the men in the cast but he selected Philip Dorn as the object of his “lift-shoe test.” His range of availability increased rapidly and now it includes almost every actor on the Warner Bros. roster. Still 627-45 PHILIP DORN, popular leading man, plays a hard-bitten, ex-Dutch flyer in Warners’ "Escape In The Desert," currently at the Strand. Helmut Dantine, Jean Sullivan, Alan Hale, Irene Manning and Samuel S. Hinds are also featured in the film. Mat 102—15c Big Bill Kennedy Reads His Lines While Acting The following is an excerpt from the shooting script of Warners’ “Escape In The Desert,” currently at the Strand. Principal players: Philip Dorn, Helmut Dantine, Jean Sullivan, Alan Hale, Irene Manning and Samuel _ S. Hinds. Scene: Death Valley in the year 1945, Plot: Philip Dorn is a Hollander who has seen his wife killed and his country ravaged by the Nazis. Defeated in mind and body, he finds himself at a forsaken, lonely outpost in the desert. Here he falls in love with Jean Sullivan, a lovely girl, untouched by the hand of war. Dorn realizes that he must go on fighting while he is still able and he terminates their love affair. The girl begs him to take her with him. Vainly, he tries to convince her that for him, life is done. Just the sort of scene actors love. “Do you like it?” Eddie Blatt, the director, asked. “Wonderful,” they agreed. Then Blatt turned to Bill Kennedy, who also has a role in the film. Bill is a college athlete who feels that the Hollander is stealing his girl. “Now about you, Bill?” said Blatt. “Yeah, how about me,” Kennedy said r wef. lay: “they get all the beautiful lines, and I sit around with my bare face hanging out!” 8 msm a 0 tas answered Director Eddie Blatt... “As Jean Sullivan they start to talk, you will be in the background. Then come sauntering down the hill. Walk to the barn and slam the door. Come into the service station and load the car with gas and pump up the tires. Then you walk around to the front door, enter just as they finish speaking. You look at them for a moment, and then, unaware of the fact that they have just made love, you say this line: “What’re we having for supper?” “Now, Bill,’ continued the director, “this is not going to be easy. You’ve got twelve different movement cues to remember, and you will have to time them exactly to the point when Philip and Jean end their conversation. Do you think you’ll get them?” “Sure,” answered Kennedy, “T can get the movement cues. But you’d better put that dialogue on a blackboard for me.” And while Irene Manning, Alan Hale, Helmut Dantine and Samuel S. Hinds, all featured in the film, looked on, Bill’s lines were put on the blackboard—school-room fashion. Mat 105—15c Former Movie Lover Returns To Screen Celebrating his twenty. fifth anniversary in the film industry, Bobby Agnew, of Warners’ special effects department, will play a oneline “bit” with Philip Dorn, Helmut Dantine and Jean Sullivan in ‘Warners’ “Es cape In The Desert,” currently at the Strand. Agnew, who started his career as one of the movies’ first child stars, later became one of the top leading men of Hollywood’s early days. He appeared opposite such glamor queens as Norma Talmadge, Norma Shearer and Gloria Swanson. Also featured in “Escape In The Desert”? are Alan Hale, Irene Manning and Samuel _ 5S. Hinds. irene Manning Barely Avoids Hospital Date A fraction of an inch and a very ungentlemanly shove by Helmut Dantine kept Irene Manning from a date in a hospital bed. Just three hours before Irene was to meet a friend in downtown Los Angeles, the blonde actress was working in Warners’ “Escape In The Desert,” currently at the Strand. The film company was shooting in an old mine, constructed in a trifle too realistic a fashion. In the middle of the take, it started to sag and sway. Helmut Dantine gave a sudden yell and shoved Miss Manning unceremoniously off to the side. Plaster and beams rained down all about them. Still 627-51 Mat 104—15c HELPLESS to resist, Jean Sullivan submits to Helmut Dantine's embrace, in the above scene from Warners’ "'Escape In The Desert" at the Strand. Also featured in the film are Philip Dorn, Alan Hale, Irene Manning and Samuel S. Hinds. A falling two-by-four ripped Irene’s dress and gave her a couple of scratches, but aside from a bad scare she was able to keep her date downtown. Take a bow, Mr. Dantine. Also featured in “Escape In The Desert” are Philip Dorn, Jean Sullivan, Alan Hale and Samuel S. Hinds. Philip Dorn Takes To Painting Houses, House-painting Doesn't Take To Him Philip Dorn had his arm in a sling, his leg was bruised and he ached all over, but he was a wiser man. As the actor went back to work at Warner Bros. and as his latest film, ‘‘Escape In The Desert,”’ currently at the Strand, went into production, another man was painting his house. Like any other present-day householder, Dorn received several bids on giving his Brentwood home a painting. The prices were so high, and the delays were so long, he decided to do the job himself. Dorn spoiled five gallons of paint by mixing it wrong. The actor got the electric spray gun out of whack and it took fully an hour to fix it. He fell off the ladder and gave his arm a severe wrenching and nearly cracked his skull! Philip Dorn isn’t painting any more. Also featured in the film are Jean Sullivan, Helmut Dantine, Irene Manning, Alan Hale and Samuel S. Hinds.