Mountain Justice(Warner Bros.) (1937)

Publicity (Current Feature) Bizarre Conduct No Good To Modern Movie Actress Days Of Sensational Stunts Are All Over Says Josephin Hutchinson There was a time when an actress could gain international fame by leading a leopard down Hollywood Boulevard. Theda Bara attracted attention by surrounding herself with Egyptian relics. Alligators on leashes, milk baths, stolen jewels and myriad other stunts were contrived to give the screen player ‘‘personality,’? to make her known to the public. But Josephine Hutchinson, now co-starring with George Brent in ‘‘Mountain Justice’’ the First National production at the pay any more. Miss Hutchinson is grateful. While a wild stunt attracted the populace to the movie houses not so many years ago, today’s audience is there because it likes the work of the players. The dissemination of Hollywood news has made the general public aware of story values, directorial abilities and production values. Film fare is chosen with care in these more knowing days. And the public is chary of the things it used to enjoy in players. The “Mountain Justice” leading lady would have been considered eccentric herself in the “good old days,” simply because she, along with the majority of Hollywood’s new order of people, lives a quiet, unobtrusive life. She doesn’t wear flamboyant clothes and live in a marble palace. She doesn’t collect the wings of lunar moths. She owns not a single trained mouse who walks on its hind legs and waves a flag. She simply likes to read, cook, sew, go to the theatre, dance and otherwise occupy her time in the manner of Mrs. John (Average) Public. “Acting ability has supplanted champagne baths as the means of gaining public approval. And I, -for one, am glad of it,” says Miss Hutchinson. “The passing of sensationalism means that the Hollywood folk can lead normal quiet lives. And it also means that we're building our careers on a much firmer basis.” Miss Hutchinson’s role in “Mountain Justice” gives her dramatic ability full play. She plays a young girl—a native of a mountain country who struggles to bring enlightenment to her people. George Brent is co-starred as a young attorney who aids her. George Brent Men called the woman he loves a murderess, but George Brent calls her courageous in his brilliant defense of her life. Josephine Hutchinson is_ co-starred with him in the First National melodrama “Mountain Justice” which comes to the ...... TheA) OR MONS SE PRTE Mat No. 106—10c Page Six Theatre, says The taste of the film fans has changed and oe eccentricity ’’ doesn’t Ends Century of Silence Miss Jones Is Vet Actress At Twelve MARCIA MAE JONES, brilliant young emotional ac tress appearing in “Mountain Justice,” now at the Theatre, was being congratu lated on an exceptional crying scene she had completed for the picture. “Splendid, dear,” said Director Michael Curtiz. “By the way, Marcia, how old are you?” “Twelve,” said Marcia, “and I’ve been in the movies ever since I was a child.” “Mountain Justice” which costars Josephine Hutchinson and George Brent, is a gripping melodrama that tells a story of life in the mountains. Michael Curtiz directed. (Advance Feature) Villain Is Killed Only After Five Days’ Battle Robert Barrat, Playing Cruel Father, Drops Under Jo Hutchinson’s Blows BY CARLISLE JONES It took Josephine Hutchinson—and a cast and crew of forty people—five days to kill Robert Barrat. She succeeded finally, thanks to the effectiveness of a heavy whip handle and the complete nervous and physical exhaustion of Movie Director Michael Curtiz. This correspondent watched through the long hours of furious if unequal struggle between Miss Hutchinson and The tragedy of America’s forgotten women is graphically portrayed by Marcia Mae Jones (left), Josephine Hutchinson, George Brent and Edward Pawley, in “Mountain Justice,” the First Na tional melodrama which comes to the Theatre, on Mat No. 208—20c eeccvcce LBIUOWUIOC, Ul eae sece (Current Feature) Tobaceo Chawin’ Is Lost Art With Picture Actors Players In “Mountain Justice” Have To Use Licorice Instead Of Weed Hollywood he-men, it turns out, may be muscular, all right; but they’re no good when it comes to biting off a chaw of plug cut tobacco and chawin’ it. The blow to Hollywood manhood was delivered by Mrs. Elizabeth Hearst, famous school-teacher of the Blue Ridge and Cumberland mountain country and technical adviser on ‘‘Mountain Justice’’ the First National melodrama coming to the Theatre on “There’s not a good, two-fisted tobacco chawer in the bunch,’’ she said when she surveyed a large group of bit players paraded before her in her quest for mountain types. “These men,” she continued, “are husky enough and some of A property man ran out to a The tobacco-chewers were needed for a courtroom scene in “Mountain Justice.” They were supposed to chew and use the “juice-boxes” provided for jury and audience alike while Josephine Hutchinson, George Brent and Robert Barrat acted out the dramatic sequence. “Tt won’t be real,” Mrs. Hearst eallated, “unless you have fellows who ean do a good job of chawin’.” Hurried search revealed that Hollywood’s actors, even the most he-mannish of them, do not chew tobacco. Mrs. Hearst was becoming worried and _ telling Director Michael Curtiz she didn’t know what they were going to do. “Pll tell you,” he said. “We'll have them chew licorice.” ’em are lanky enough, but not a eandy store across the street, one of ’em has that back-mounbought up a supply of old-fashtain tobacco-chawin’ technique.” ioned licorice sticks, returned and passed them out to the gaunt and gawky “mountaineers.” The men chewed a while, got in the swing rhythm so popular today and pretty soon they were chawin’ away like veterans, well enough at least to satisfy the camera eye and the technical adviser. “Mountain Justice” is a gripping melodrama based upon a young girl’s ambition to bring the benefits of civilization to the benighted people of her remote village in the hills. Thwarted by nearly all of them—especially by her own father—she amost sacrifices her life for her ideals of betterment. Josephine Hutchinson is starred as the young girl; George Brent is co-starred as a young attorney who believes in her and aids her. Mr. Barrat, leading up to the highly satisfactory elimination of Barrat from the scene. There were times when he was seriously tempted to take a hand in the fight and dispatch the bearded, tobaceo-chewing trouble maker himself. Moments in which he almost forgot that Mr. Barrat is, in fact, a pleasant jovial gentleman who would rather sing “Youre My Honey” than whip frail young women with an eightfoot bull whip. The picture of these goings-on was, by the way, “Mountain Justice,” the First National picture which comes to the Theatre on Chronology of Death Barrat finally “got his’n,”’ as they say in the country in which “Mountain Justice’ supposedly takes place, at exactly six o’clock, Pacific time. He died, officially, four hours later on a Thursday night, after the lethal blow had been photographed from a number of angles and to everyone’s satisfaction. He died on a full stomach, having consumed a hasty but substantial meal between “shots” on the set. The battle between the poorly matched contestants started early one Monday morning. Preceding it, there had been several days of verbal quarreling between them, but on this Monday the fight started in earnest. Barrat was armed with two whips. One was a heavy, muleskinning black snake with a long and wicked lash. This was real. The other was identical in looks and size but manufactured of such light materials that it was practically harmless to man, woman or beast. “Tt’ll take me a year to live this scene down,” confided Barrat. “There are a few people who will never speak to me again. Remember Simon Legree?” Lessons In Whipping He curled the heavy end of the whip menacingly. Miss Hutchinson was cowered back against a small book ease. She looked frightened and your correspondent could understand her emotion. Barrat was to strike with the whip—the real one—hbecause only that was heavy enough to break the plate on the plate rail above her head. We waited—and eventually our patience was rewarded with a definite indication of action. “This time,” explained Director Ourtiz, “you erack the whip so,” —taking the instrument of torture out of Barrat’s hands, “and you swing it so, toward the lady.” He demonstrated but Miss Hutchinson declined to be the victim of his experimentation. She retreated a little way to the right until the whip. was back in Barrat’s hands. “Action,” called Curtiz when Miss Hutchinson had moved back into place. The camera whirred softly. Barrat gathered a snarl onto his usually pleasant face and taking very deliberate aim, drew the heavy whip back behind his right arm. Suddenly the braided leather hurled through the air. Miss Hutchinson sereamed, as who wouldn’t. The long lash wrapped about her face. \ “Cut,” yelled Curtiz excitedly as he ran toward Miss Hutchinson. “Are you hurt?” Barrat was there ahead of him, however, ask ing the same question. Miss Hutchinson, it developed, was not hurt. Thrashing a Habit When next he visited the set, he found Miss Hutchinson prone on the floor of the little living room. Barrat towered over her, whip in hand again. In falling she had dragged a chair down with her so that it partially covered her face. Barrat, apparently mad with fury, was beating her regularly, but this time with the ‘light weight whip. Otherwise he might have killed her. ' Every time your’ observer visited the set for the next three days, Barrat was whipping Miss Hutchinson or struggling with her to regain the whip after she managed to grab it away from him, They struggled into and out of every corner of the living room and finally she escaped, just as: Curtiz insisted she must, into the kitchen. There she fell exhausted, into the kitchen range, banging her pretty head against the oven door. It looked and sounded so real to Curtiz that he left it in the scene and she had to fall— and bump the oven—time after time until he was satisfied. At the end of four days of this, Curtiz was satisfied that any audience would forgive her if she killed her father. Miss Hutchinson, black and blue, dirty and exhausted, seemed to think so too. Song the Finale Barrat got up at the end of the scene and hunted up two. of his cronies on the set. One was the makeup man who had been supplying sears to Miss Hutchinson on places where she didn’t have them naturally by this time. The other was the young man who was acting as script clerk. They gathered in a corner and sang “Down by the Old Mill Stream” and “Mammy’s Little Coal Black Rose.” The killing scene runs a minute and a half in the finished picture! “Mountain Justice” is a gripping melodrama based upon a young girl’s ambition to bring the benefits of civilization to the benighted people of her remote village in the hills. Thwarted by nearly all of them—especially by her own father—she amost sacrificees her life for her ideals of betterment. Miss Hutchinson is starred as the young girl; George Brent is co-starred as a young attorney who believes in her and aids her. Among the other notables in the east are Guy Kibbee, Marcia Mae Jones, Mona Barrie, Elizabeth Risdon and Fuzzy’ Knight. Michael Curtiz directed the picture from an original screen play by Norman Reilly Raine and Luci Ward.