Four's A Crowd (Warner Bros.) (1938)

Advance Feature An Actor By Trade, Flynn Is Adventurer By Choice Errol Flynn’s life divides into several major activities. Most of his time of course, goes to motion pictures, for he is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. But Errol has other absorptions. One of these is his investments. Partly in California real estate, partly in stocks and bonds, partly in endowment insurance, and partly in yachts, the young actor has had creditable success with his efforts to make two dollars sprout where he planted only one. Another pet activity is Flynn’s writing. He is quite professional about it; already has one remunerative adventure volume (“Beam Ends’’) and several magazine articles to his credit; and applies himself intermittently to the completion of another book and additional magazine stories. But none of these things supplies a main motive for Flynn. That arises from his zest for outdoor adventure. Flynn intends eventually to duplicate in real life some of the deeds which the scenarists have given him for his picture stories. Before he launches on his career as gentleman adventurer, however, the young Scotch-Irishman wants to have the savings from a number of years of film stardom with which to finance his expeditions and to cushion any future bad luck. That is where the tieup between Flynn’s career, which mildly amuses him, and his future career, which engrosses his ambitions exceedingly, comes in. It has made Flynn very clearheaded about budgeting his energies, planning his future, and handling his finances. When Errol is assigned to a new picture, he always tries to get a second film scheduled upon the heels of the first one, so that he will be able to add the two vacation periods together, and take the double time off at the end of the second film instead of two brief rest periods between assignments. His longer vacations he devotes to deep sea cruises. That is what he did in the case of “Four’s A Crowd,” his City Room The McCoy In New Comedy Newspapers and newspapermen look like newspapers and newspapermen in ‘‘ Four’s A Crowd,’’ the Warner Bros. comedy with Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Rosalind Russell and Patrie Knowles which opens Friday at the Strand. Michael Curtiz, devotee of realism and director of ‘‘Four’s A Crowd,’’ saw to that as soon as he made a visit to the Los Angeles newspapers when he got his latest directorial assignment. Curtiz for long had believed that newspapers were run in what is now known as the style of ‘‘ movie journalism.’’ He thought reporters wore gin bottles for boutonnieres, threw everything on the floor, typed with their feet on the desk and comported themselves in the manner to which audiences have long since been accustomed. His visits to the plants and offices of three metropolitan dailies changed Curtiz’s mind and brought one of the secreen’s initial represensations of the press as it is. The newspaper sets in ‘‘Four’s A Crowd,’’ in fact, are almost exact reproductions of one of the papers Curtiz visited. Reporters and exeeutives look like reporters and exeeutives. They act the way real newspapermen do. Curtiz’s penchant for realism extends to his technique with laughter as well, that’s why ‘‘Four’s A Crowd’’—although a comedy from fade-in to fade-out, is such satisfying entertainment. latest Warner Bros. picture, which opens Friday at the Strand Theatre. He went into this immediately after finishing his many weeks of work on “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” but as soon as “Four’s A Crowd’ was completed he hastened to Miami, Fla., to meet and board his new 78-foot ketch, “Sirocco.” Flynn also owns a 50-foot yawl, “Cheerio II’; and he drives and prizes a 19-foot speedboat. No other actor in Hollywood can sail, or has sailed, the deep water as Flynn has. He has been both ordinary seaman and navigator on small schooners threading the reefs of the East Indies. In short, he has salt in his blood — and salt, like murder—will out! Mat 106—15c Also available in Y col. Mat 105 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND PUBLICITY , Mat 104—15e Also available in % col. Mat 101 ERROL FLYNN -: Mat 103—15c Also available in % col. Mat 102 PATRIC KNOWLES Olivia Finds Socking Man Is A Very Pleasant Thrill By CARLISLE JONES Olivia de Havilland, sometimes called ‘‘ Little Olivia,’’ sat on her feet in the big chair—the one with springs—and grinned impishly. ‘¢Today,’’ she said wickedly, ‘‘I slapped a man. It was wonderful! And such fun. I want to do it often.’’ This reporter, who for the past three years has regarded Olivia as the personification of gentleness, could hardly believe his ears. ‘‘T didn’t intend to hurt him, of course, because I’m not mad at him, really, you know. But the rehearsal slap sounded so nice. Poor Patric.’’ She referred, we knew, to Patrice Knowles, the ‘‘he who gets slapped’’ and whacked and beaten up —15ce Also available in % col. Mat 110 ROSALIND RUSSELL PATRIC KNOWLES, who had to take a sock on the chin from Olivia de Havilland in ‘‘Four’s A Crewd,’’ said that the first two or three times didn’t hurt but on the twentieth take it shook him to the heels. ‘‘ You know,’’ he said, ‘feven the constant dripping of water will wear away a stone.’’ e OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND’S lunch is no dainty little salad. She always orders a heavy order of roast beef, or similar meat dish, with plenty of potatoes and other vegetables, to be topped off with a rich dessert, and never worries about putting on poundage. Olivia’s latest picture is ‘‘Four’s A Crowd,’’ the Warner Bros. comedy. @ ROSALIND RUSSELL’S answer to smart cracks of ‘‘why?’’ when she mentions the title of her novel ‘And So I Came To Hollywood’? is ‘*To get material for a book.’”’ Rosalind was working on the final pages of her manuscript while she was playing in ‘‘Four’s A Crowd,’’ the Warner Bros. comedy. @ When Michael Curtiz wanted to stimulate his cast to better ‘‘takes’’ during the filming of ‘¢Four’s A Crowd,’’ the Warner Bros. comedy coming to the Strand Theatre Friday, he would say, ‘“Rememver today is Wednesday.’’ Wednesday is payday at the Warner studio. When somebody would muff a line, he would say, ‘‘ You’re working like Tuesday.’’ Of Interest To Women Olivia de Havilland, advances the theory that in order to get the best effects from cosmetics, they should be kept at their proper temperatures. For example, lipstick goes on more smoothly when it has been warmed slightly. Creams and astringents are much more effective and refreshing if kept in a cool place. Just try it and find out for yourself. Interesting Spot Items MICHAEL CURTIZ committed another assault on the English language one day on the set of ‘*Four’s A Crowd,’’ he noticed that a laborer was sitting on a much-needed reflector. ‘‘Blankblank,’’ shouted Mike, ‘‘get yourself off that sunshine.’’ The highest compliment Michael Curtiz can think to pay an actor is to say, ‘‘He’s a nice bum.?’? Theo cdirector*)ofa)S°Rour’s “A Crowd,’’ divides actors into two classes — nice bums and lousy bums according to ability. @ ei STORY SYNOPSIS: (not for publication) Errol Flynn loves Olivia de Havilland, who loves Patric Knowles who loves Rosalind Russell—who isn't telling! Added complications: Errol works for Patric, and is boosting the circulation of his newspaper by writing lampoons on Walter Connolly, piratical old millionaire and Olivia's grandfather, then plays both ends against the middle by getting himself hired as Connolly's press agent. From there on, the story wends its hilarious way to a double wedding, in which the frolicking foursome is finally divided up in two twos — for life! Mat 204—30c TWO IS COMPANY — especially when one of them is the be-dimpled Olivia de Havilland and the other is the handsome and roguish Errol Flynn, but they find out that "Four's A Crowd''— the merriest film comedy of the year. generally by the ladies in ‘‘ Four’s a Crowd,’’ the Warner Bros. comedy scheduled to open Friday at the Strand Theatre, with Errol Flynn and Rosalind Russell com ‘pleting the quadrangle. ‘¢This morning I slapped him,’’ continued Olivia. ‘fOr rather I hit him with my fist as Director Curtiz told me to. It hurt, I know, because he said it did, but he took it standing up, as we fighters say. ‘‘Then at noon today, Jimmy Cagney visited the set. When he heard about our ‘fight’ he asked me how I was hitting Pat. I doubled up my fist again and started to show him. But Jimmy stopped me. ‘¢ “Never hit anyone with your knuckles,’ he said, ‘unless you really want to hurt them. When you strike, turn your wrist just before you land the blow. Turn it so that the impact is on the side of your thumb and index finger. Then you won’t hurt him so much.’ ‘Well, this afternoon I did it that way. Mr. Curtiz was making us do the scene all over again for the fourth or fifth time. Poor Pat wasn’t very happy about it. I explained that I would hit him the way Jimmy told me to hit and that it was practically guaranteed not to hurt. ‘“Pat’s a lot taller than I am, you know, so I had to swing way up high to catch him on the cheek. But when I turned my fist, just as Jimmy Cagney had told me to do, I missed Pat’s cheek and hit him on the neck. It knocked him over. And brought tears to his eyes, too. ‘When I realized I had knocked a man down and had really hurt him, I was sorry, but he recovered and forgave me and I’m still glowing inside with the knowledge that I CAN knock a man down. I want to try it again sometime. (Women’s Page) 1939 Fashions Previewed In New Comedy For “Four’s A Crowd,” the Warner Bros. comedy e¢ostarring Olivia de Havilland and Rosalind Russell with Errol Flynn, which opens Friday at the Strand Theatre, Orry-Kelly, the noted Warner Bros. designer turned out ensembles that have a crisp air of 1939 to them. In a street costume for Olivia, Orry-Kelly revives the tremendous vogue for mess jackets he started when he made one for Ginger Rogers to wear in “FortySecond Street.” The new short version of the jacket is in navy wool with lapels piped in olive green wool. The sleeveless dress is made of the green material while all accessories, including a saucer-brimmed straw hat, are navy. Olivia’s dinner dress with short sleeves has a square-shouldered bodice of wool challis which shows tiny red and white figures, picked up with sequins against a black background. For clever contrast in materials the floorlength voluminous skirt and wide crushed girdle are black taffeta. Orry-Kelly favors costume jewelry with street clothes and has designed a gold necklace in which chains form a lacy pattern for Rosalind Russell to wear with a green and rust striped rodier wool suit. This suit is made with a brief bolero which has very full sleeves gathered at the wrist and a blouse of rust crepe. Another soul-satisfying street costume in Rosalind’s_ screen fashions is based on a tubularskirted soft wool dress, the skirt of which is green and the shirtmaker top of which is_ beige. Over this goes a sleeveless sweater hand-knitted from a yarn as hard as twine and in the same natural shade. The topping swing jacket is green and black tweed in a herringbone weave.