Goodbye Again (Warner Bros.) (1933)

CURRENT PUBLICITY (Continued) 5th day of run Wallace Ford Plays Very Important Role in ‘‘Goodbye Again’ Any male actor who wants to make himself noticed in a picture with Joan Blondell has some tall work ahead of him. But when that picture also contains Warren William, the job is still tougher. That was the problem that confronted the First National executives when they were casting important roles in the current Blondell— William comedy “Goodbye Again,” TOW ate CNG wreete ares saa Theatre. There was a character of a young lawyer which had to stand out prominently and provide stiff acting competition for the star team. It seemed the most natural thing in the world, then, to assign the part to Wallace Ford. First of all, he had played opposite Joan Blondell in “Central Park” and came through with a performance which the blonde actress’ personality could not obliterate. Again, he had played with Warren William in “Employees’ Entrance” and held his own despite the vigor of the star. Putting him in a picture containing both Joan Blondell and Warren William gave him a still stiffer assignment, but they knew he could do it. “Goodbye Again” is an hilarious comedy drama based on the current Broadway stage success. Others in the splendid cast include Genevieve Tobin, Ruth Donnelly, and Hugh Herbert. Warren William Enjoys Chance at Comedy Role Warren William, after a series of dramatic roles, now comes to the screen in First National’s hilariously funny comedy drama, ‘‘Goodbye Again,’’ which opens at the ............ ore EGU OO Dieansrivieniunsvacsceemaiaiexe Joan Blondell, Genevieve Tobin, Wally Ford, Ruth Donnelly and Helen Chandler are in the cast directed by Michael Curtiz. The play is an outstanding hit on the Broadway stage. “Miriam” Is Just Too Much for “Snowflake” Snowflake, colored singer and actor, well known in Hollywood, who plays the Pullman Porter in the First National comedy-drama ‘‘Goodbye Again. 2” =-now<abw-the h.srme cheers Theatre, with Joan Blondell and Warren William gave Director Michael Curtiz a bad half-hour during the production when the name ‘‘ Miriam’’ oceurred in the dialogue for one of his scenes. The best Snowflake could do with it was an unintelligible sound that only faintly resembled the word. After considerable tutoring in the art of enunciation, interspersed with no less than eight ‘‘takes’’ of the scene Snowflake finally managed to twist his lips around the word sufficiently to make himself understood. Star’s Own Pajamas Not Fancy Enough for Comedy Warren William, whose latest First National comedy drama “Goodbye Again,” opened ...........00......008 at GHGs. atts ote theatre, has almost always worn his own wardrobe in his pictures. In this picture, however, he had to appeal to the studio wardrobe for help. Much of the story is told with Mr. Willaim wearing pajamas and lounging robes and his own supply was not fancy enough to answer the demands of the script. JOAN’S NAUTICAL BUT NICE IN ‘GOODBYE AGAIN’ Joan Blondell vivacious star of the comedy hit “Goodbye Again” is an ardent boating enthusiast. She is shown here in typical sea regalia on her sailing sloop to which she hied herself after completing work on her latest picture. “Goodbye Again” brings us Joan Blondell in her Also in the cast of this smart comedy are Warren William, Genevieve Tobin, Wallace Ford and Helen Chandler. most enjoyable role to date. Out No.17 Out 45e Mat 1ie Authors of ‘Goodbye Again’ Tell How They Wrote It EING respectively a lecturer for the Theatre Guild and a publicity manager, Allan Scott and George Haight, authors of ‘‘Goodbye Again,’’ a First National picture of New York’s greatest comedy stage hit now playing at the .........00.0.0...., Theatre with Joan Blondell and Warren William, got together one rainy afternoon in a Chicago hotel room. ‘‘How do you write a play?’’ Scott asked Haight or maybe it was Haight that asked Scott. ‘‘The first thing we have to do is get a quotation and build from that,’’? said one or the other to the other one. So they looked for quotations. They didn’t know that they were on the right track—they didn’t know they were even going to write a play. Several quotations were unearthed but none of these sufficed. Just then a peculiarly obnoxious person entered the room and shouted “Hello Again” to which salutation both men replied “Goodbye Again.” Thus the play was born. Having secured a title the next step was to get a plot. But before they could get into it, the authors were separated by business engagements one going East and the other West. Finally last May they managed to get together again. Oh for a Plot! | Because of financial need, the necessity for “Goodbye Again” became more and more pressing. For hours, plot after plot was discussed and discarded. The ideas were wrong for the title. Either they had to change the title or get a plot to fit it. Having learned that suc cess is accomplished only by going forward, they agreed that it would be foolish to start all over again looking for a new title, because that would mean six months or more of delay. They decided to go forward and celebrated it by having a drink and then another and then another. Finally Scott stopped talking about the play and started to tell about what had happened to him one time in Cleveland but didn’t finish because Haight wouldn’t listen. <A week later with both authors racking their brains the plot was still as nebulous as ever. In desperation Haight asked Scott what happened to him in Cleveland. “T forgot” moaned Scott. “Think back! Start with what happened when you tumbled out of your lower berth in Union Station and work from there,’ pleaded Haight. “You arrived in Cleveland. What did you do. Where did you go?” “I don’t remember,” cried Scott. He really cried. Here was a plot, maybe, and there it wasn’t! “Start further back!” shouted Haight. “Where were you before Cleveland?” “Cincinnati, I think.” “All right, now try to recall what happened on the train.” “I can’t”! said Scott, stubbornly, this time. “You've gotta”! cried Haight. “T ain’t gotta”! shouted Scott. For five days neither spoke to the other. Haight called up the United States Title Company and tried to sell them “Goodbye Again,” dead cheap. They laughed at him. wel the laugh’s the other way now! On the fifth day Scott appeared. “T remember what happened to me in Cleveland—but it’s not very important.” “We'll make it important.” “Well, when I was in Detroit— it wasn’t Cleveland after all—I had just finished one of my brilliant lectures before one of Michigan’s most distinguished gatherings. When suddenly I heard some one whisper, ‘Hello Laury’! Now you know how I have tried to live down that hyaury. “So what’? asked Haight. | The Plot Came | “Well, it was a girl I knew years ago, I hardly remembered her. She was so glad to see me and she invited me to her house to dinner where I met her husband.” “YVeeees’! gasped the other, sensing something. “What happened?” “Nothing—I left for Cleveland the next day. I didn’t go to Cincinnati at all.” “Not much there in the way of plot.” “But it did happen to me.” “And it’s all we’ve got in the way of a plot.” “Maybe we could fix it up,’ we thought. For a whole month we worked incessantly. We took the script to Middlebury, Conn., and we brought it back. We took it to Southampton and tried it out. Then we took it to a lot of producers. Then we took it to Osgood Perkins and Perkins took to it like a duck takes to (we searched for another word but couldn’t find it)—water. Then everybody in New York took it. Then Warner Bros.-First National for a picture and we’ve been taking it easy ever since. Page Five