Harold Teen (Warner Bros.) (1934)

Sixty High School Pupils Drink 283 Sodas in Film Hollywood Youths Working In “Harold Teen’’ Show Enormous Capacity For Ice Cream OTION picture audiences have long wondered if real food, real drinks, real edibles, were used in the filming of a picture and now about sixty Hollywood girls and boys arise to exclaim most emphatically that such is the case. The mothers of these youngsters, after having administered the various tummy-ache cures, are further willing to attest to the statement. Despite the cravings of youth it is extremely doubtful that any of these sixty girls and boys had an ice-cream soda for weeks after working in the production of “Harold Teen,’ which comes to the 72-3. Theatre on ............ ° As in the famous Carl Ed comie-strip known to millions of newspaper readers, considerable action in the picturization of “Harold Teen” at the Warner Bros. studios, was enacted in the renowned “Sugar Bowl” confectionery presided over by the much abused “Pop.” To furnish authentic atmosphere for these sequences, about thirty young couples were reeruited from the high-schools in and about Hollywood. Wide-eyed with interest at their first peek behind the scenes of a studio, they came on the set. Iee Cream In Realism Director Murray Roth ealled them together for their instructions. They were to be seated, in groups of varying sizes, about the different tables while the main action was to be concerned with Hal LeRoy, Rochelle Huason and Patricia Ellis, the principals. On the tables were an assortment of “prop” sodas in imitation of the real thing. After the scene had been carefully rehearsed, lights were turned on, cameras started and the film begun. In the middle of the scene, however, Director Roth called a halt. It didn’t seem real to him. He protested that the girls and boys didn’t have the necessary conviviality suitable for such an occasion. Once again the scene was tried and once more found wanting. Hal LeRoy whispered in Roth’s ear, “How can you expect those kids to pretend they’re enjoying themselves when they have nothing but those fake sodas? Why don’t you give ’em the real sodas?” That is exactly what happened. Secrets To A Sweetheart Cautioning them against overindulgence, the Director had real sodas furnished to the players and suggested they sip the drinks in the same natural manner they would do were they in their favorite sodashop near their high school. Real Soda Guzzlers The scene was taken, and the atmospheric background looked absolutely real, for it was real. Angle shots, close shots and long shots of the scene, however, had to be taken. That meant that the scene was repeated several times. The soda clerks, working doubly fast to keep the crowd of players supplied, registered a complaint. Director Roth and his assistants endeavored to restrict the quantities on the soda consumption, but those high school girls and boys were drinking with gusto. It became almost a soda-grabbing contest whenever backs were turned. But finally, to the relief of Director Roth, the scene was completed. The soda question had made his day a weary one. That evening, when the sodaclerks were checking on the material used during the day, it was revealed that exactly 283 sodas had been consumed. Divide that 283 by 60, the number of players used in the scene, and perhaps you’ll find the reason why a certain group of Hollywood boys and girls aren’t drinking any sodas these days. “Harold Teen” is a riotous comedy romance which brings to life on the screen the characters of Carl Ed’s comic cartoon. Supporting the three principals in the cast are, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert, Hobart Cavanaugh, Chic Chandler and Eddie Tamblyn. Murray Roth directed the picture from the screen play by Paul Gerard Smith and Al Cohn. Music and lyries are by Irving Kahal and Sammy Fain. “Whose who are you?” asks Hal LeRoy of Rochelle Hudson in this scene from “Harold Teen,” Warner Bros.’ comedy of youth on the loose. The film is now playing at the Strand Theatre. Mat No. 1—20c Drown Your Sorrow In A Malted Drink and forget, boys! This is a scene from Warner’s “Harold Teen,” which was taken from the comic strip by Carl Ed. Eddie Tamblyn plays “Shadow,” Hobart Cavanaugh impersonates “Pop Jenks” and Hal LeRoy is “Harold Teen’ himself. Others in the cast are Rochelle Hudson as “Lillums” and Patricia Ellis as “Mimi.” The film is coming to the Strand soon. Mat No. 11—30c Twenty-year-old Hal LeRoy Had Rapid Rise to Fame Dancer Now Starring In “Harold Teen” Began Practicing Steps As Child AL LeRoy, celebrated dancing star of the stage, who has just made his debut in the title role of the Warner Bros. production, ‘‘Harold Teen,’’ which comes to the .............. Theatre on 0.0.0.0... , is a remarkable young man in several ways. At an age when most boys are just emerging from the portals of their Alma Mater or getting a foothold on the ladder of business success, Hal LeRoy is already at the top of his profession. Just twenty years of age, he has been a headliner in the Ziegfeld Follies—a distinction he achieved in the space of a year —a star in the Broadway musical sensation, “Strike Me Pink,” and is now under contract to Warner Brothers. His motion picture success seems certain to rival his rise to fame on the speaking stage. His performance as the star of “Harold Teen” found such favor in the eyes of the Warner production executives that he was immediately cast for an important featured role in “Wonder Bar,” along with such established stars as Al Jolson, Dolores Del Rio, Kay Francis, Ricardo Cortez and Dick Powell. Record of Success Back of LeRoy’s astonishing record of success on the stage— in one short year he rose from the level of an unknown dancer rushed in at the last moment to replace an actor suddenly taken ill, to be one of Florenz Ziegfeld’s stellar attractions in the Follies—are years of hard work and dogged perseverance. At the age of four, Hal was showing a flair for dancing. His mother was his mentor and his teacher from the first. It was her lifelong ambition to see her son grow up to be a successful star on Broadway. She worked with him, planned for him, thought for him. Hal gives all the credit for his success to her. She died without ever seeing him realize her dream. “Without my mother, I’d never have gotten anywhere,” is Hal’s tribute to her. “She made me practice, coached me, worked out dance routines for me, laid awake nights planning my future. If I’m a success today, I owe everything to her.” Discouragement Discounted Hal inherits his mother’s determination. He doesn’t know the meaning of discouragement. There is a story told along Broadway apropos of that, which is a classic. One day, some time before the breaks began to come his way, Hal succeeded in obtaining a hearing with a prominent theatre executive, after months of fruitless angling for an appointment. It was a great moment for the aspiring dancer and he put everything he had in the way of dance steps into his performance. When it was over, the executive shook his head. “Ym sorry, but you won’t do,” was his verdict. “You'll never get anywhere in the show business, if you don’t mind my speaking frankly.” The sentence might have been a knockout blow to some aspirants to fame, but Hal took it without a flicker of an eyelash. The next morning he rented a small hall for $2 a day. He moved in with a portal’’-vietrola, a bunch of orchestral records, and a full length mirror. Then he settled down to practice. Hard Road te Success “T practiced eight hours a day for weeks,’ Hal went on, the day he told the story on the set of “Harold Teen.” “I’d get to the place at nine o’clock in the morning, lock myself in, keep at it for three hours or so, then go out for a light lunch. In the afternoon Vd come back and work until five-thirty or six. I just had to prove that guy was wrong, or find out what was the matter with me.” Sixteen months later, Hal LeRoy had the satisfaction of seeing the executive who had told him he was a failure, walk down the aisle, the night the Ziegfeld Follies opened, and usher his party into seats the dancer knew had cost his critics fifty dollars. Leading up to the Follies had been an engagement with “The Gang’s All Here,” in which Ruby Keeler, now a Warner star, was a stellar attraction. Young LeRoy proved to be a show-stopper and the Ziegfeld contract followed on the heels of the sensation he had created. Other musical successes added to his youthful laurels, ‘Then Warner Brothers decided that Hal LeRoy was the ideal “Harold Teen” and a new chapter in Hal’s career opened. In spite of the unique eminence he has attained at so early an age, Hal is still just a lively, likable youngster, full of energy, keenly interested in everything, friendly and completely unspoiled. “Harold Teen” is a story by Paul Gerard Smith and Al Cohn, based on the comic strip by Carl Ed. Others in the cast include Rochelle Hudson, Patricia Ellis, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert and Hobart Cavanaugh. Murray Roth directed. Music and lyrics are by Irving Kahal and Sammy Fain, songwriters de-luxe. Page Twenty-nine