Johnny Belinda (Warner Bros.) (1948)

NEWSPAPER COPY (Advance) ‘JOHNNY BELINDA’ Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres Due In Warner Bros.’ Widely-Heralded Film Drama, ‘Johnny Belinda’ Warner Bros.’ “Johnny Be° linda,” co-starring Jane Wyman and Lew Ayres, one of the most widely-heralded films ever made in Hollywood, is announced as the next attraction at the Strand Theatre starting on Friday. This is adapted from the Elmer Harris stage play of the same name _ which attracted widespread approval on Broadway a few seasons ago. Jean Negulesco directed the Jerry Wald production. Important supporting roles are played by Charles Bickford, Agnes Moorehead and Stephen McNally. Set in the rugged Nova Scotia country, the drama unfolds against a stark panorama of pine and cypress stretched out along the coast-line. Miss Wyman’s role of a poor country lass, hated by her father, and loved by the village doctor, is considered one of the strongest JANE WYMAN achieves a personal triumph in Warner Bros.’ sensational drama, “Johnny Belinda,”’ in which she co-stars with Lew Ayres, opening next Friday at the Strand Theatre. Still JW-1079 Mat 689-2C Roles of Jane Wyman Show ‘Change of Pace’ Sports experts insist that a “change of pace” is the supreme mark of a pitcher and theatrical and film producers are as quick to declare that it’s the player capable of a “change of pace” who is most valuable. “That’s one reason, why Jane Wyman is considered a top property by Warner Bros. The studio knows she can deliver, no matter how divergent the roles. Jane is best known, perhaps, as a pert, cute, wise-cracking girl, the type of babe she played in “The Doughgirls,” ‘Hollywood Canteen,” “Princess O’Rourke” and “The Animal Kingdom.” But she proved to Hollywood that she was equally adept at strong, silent, dramatic roles when, as Ma Baxter in “The Yearling,” she was nominated for an Academy Award. It is in the nature of the latter type that Miss Wyman has been cast in Warners’ “Johnny Belinda,” coming soon to the Strand Theatre, in which she shares starring honors with Lew Ayres. As Belinda McDonald in the picture, Jane plays a poor little unwanted waif who slaves away her days as a woman of all work. Without benefit of makeup or pretty clothes, Miss Wyman is due to carry the brunt of the film with straight, dramatic acting. It’s a part that critics say many Hollywood girls would shy from, but Miss. Wyman claims it represents a challenge she’s eager to accept. “After all, I call myself an actress,” she smiles. “Well then, give me roles that call for real acting. That’s what I want.” dramatic roles which Hollywood has ever allotted a star who is usually associated with glamor. Besides the four principals, the cast is sparked with interesting names, McNally who hails from the Broadway stage, plays the villain in the film. He was last seen in “The Magnificent Doll.” Jan Sterling, newcomer to films has an important part as MecNally’s wife. She was tested for the role while play aaa ing in the Chicago company of “Born Yesterday.” She also appeared opposite Clifton Webb in “Present Laughter.” Dan Seymour, weighty bad man of several Warner films, is another familiar personality in the supporting array. Rosalind Ivan, who scored a smash hit as the slatternly mother in Bette Davis’ drama, “The Corn Is Green,” plays a small-town gossip in “Johnny Belinda.” LEW AYRES co-stars with Jane Wyman in Warner Bros.’ most widely-discussed romantic drama, “Johnny Belinda,” set to premiere next Friday at the Strand Theatre. Still LA-5 Mat 689-2D Lew Ayres Discusses His Career In Films Lew Ayres co-starring with Jane Wyman in “Johnny Belinda,” due soon at the Strand Theatre, got his first chance to act in action pictures just 20 years ago. He says he didn’t think much of them. The money wasn’t right. At the time Lew played banjo in a little band in San Diego, California. A tiny motion picture company came to town to film a comedy. Lew had always wanted to be an actor so he applied and was picked almost at once as the film’s juvenile, which happened to be about the most important role in the picture. Reminiscing on the set of “Johnny Belinda’ at Warner Bros. recently, Lew says, “I worked in every scene, from sunup to sun-down for four days. We finished the thing and I got paid—$4.25 cash total. “T was making $100 a weak playing banjo so I immediately gave up the acting idea and returned to plunking strings. It wasn’t until a year later that I started looking for a job in films in earnest.” What followed is history. Lew was picked from the floor of the Roosevelt Hotel where he was dancing with his girl and offered a contract at MGM. There Greta Garbo chose him for her leading man in “The Kiss,” a role which was followed by another in the Academy Award winning “All Quiet On The Western Front,” and Lew Ayres’ career was launched. He plays a young doctor who befriends Jane Wyman in “Johnny Belinda” due Friday.