My Wild Irish Rose(Warner Bros.) (1947)

14 Extra Good Production and Personality Material! Stage 2 At Warner bros. Used For Varied Scenes ROBERT E. LEE’ RACES AGAIN IN FILM AT STRAND In the minstrel sequence of Warner Bros.’ brilliant musical, “My Wild Irish Rose” with color by Technicolor, starring Dennis Morgan, which opens Friday at the Strand Theatre, the celebrated steamboat race between the Natchez and the Robert E. Lee is depicted on the Mississippi. For special effects a scrim curtain 42 feet long and 28 feet high was designed, which was so sheer that with one kind of lighting the audience could see steamboats racing across it and with another they could see the stokers in the boiler rooms and the captains on the deck. Such production problems as the manipulation of four 350pound umbrellas in the “Evening Star” number and the reproduction of a Puck Fair in the County Kerry in which a billy goat was crowned Ireland’s only king were combination products of the studio’s imagination and a few magazine articles from the research department. DENNIS MORGAN LOST IN CROWD In the “Polly Wolly Doodle” number for the minstrel show in Warner Bros.’ “My Wild Irish Rose,” the musical, with color by Technicolor, opening at the Strand Theatre on Friday, a group of the boys in black massed around a bass drum waiting for Dennis Morgan to~-burst into song. was ready and Director David Butler sent his assistant to call Morgan. The assistant came back to report that Morgan was not in his dressing room, couldn’t be found. Butler said he knew Morgan was around somewhere, and shouted, ‘Dennis! Hey, Dennis! Anyone know where Morgan is?” “Right in front of you, Dave,” said a grinning blackface. “All right, let’s get this scene rolling,’ said Butler slightly chagrined. “Forty minstrels and I can’t tell one from the other.” Dennis Morgan Mat 1A Acquires Dialects Right Here in U.S. Film fans who have heard George Tobias use no less than ten different dialects in movies in which he has appeared, may not believe that the character actor, who will be seen at the Strand Theatre starting Friday with Dennis Morgan in Warner Bros.’ Technicolor musical, “My Wild Irish Rose,” speaks no foreign languages at all. The master of foreign accents picked up his various dialects by careful observation of foreigners in his travels through the United States. Born and raised in New York; he is one of the most enthusiastic farmers and ranchers in Hollywood. He reports that his horses repeat only commands in pure English grammar. During filming of “My Wild Irish Rose,’ Tobias fell and suffered a fractured rib, which required him to wear a brace throughout the production. face were | The setup HOUR GLASS ANDREA KING portrays Lillian Russell, the fabulous beauty with the hour-glass figure, in Warner Bros.’ tuneful Technicolor saga, “My Wild Irish Rose,” due Friday at the Strand. Still 674-596 Mat 1E It’s A Great Day For The ITrish—! The _ nation’s Hibernians will get a thrill from Warner Bros.’ “My Wild Irish Rose” which opens on Friday at the Strand Theatre. Dennis Morgan, as the famed Irish tenor, Chauncey Oleott, gets his first big break on St. Patrick’s night in a Boston theatre when a group of Hibernians march into the theatre. They all have green bands across their chest printed in large gold letters with “Erin Go Bragh,” which, to the uninitiated, means “Ireland Forever.”’ Andrea King Plays Celebrated Beauty Andrea King, Dennis Morgan’s co-star in “My Wild Irish Rose,” now playing at the Strand Theatre, has come a long way in a short time. Just a few brief . years ago she was appearing on the stage in the Chicago company of “Life with Father’’ as Mary Skinner, the wide-eyed, teen-aged __ingenue. In “My Wild Irish Rose,’ which has color by Technicolor, Miss King plays just about as grown-up and sophisticated a lady as the American theatre has known, beauteous Lillian Russell of immortal fame. Andrea King Mat 1B ll the world’s a stage,” and several of the world’s best known stages were rolled into one set on Stage 2 at Warner Bros. studio. Strand Theatre patrons will see this set on Friday masquerading as the famed Fourteenth Street Theater of New York of a generation ago, home of Chauncey Olcott, Lilian Russell, Weber and Fields and the other entertainment immortals who are portrayed in the new Technicolor musical “My Wild Irish Rose,” with Dennis Morgan singing as Olcott and Andrea King playing Lillian Russell. But not very long ago, this same stage 2 at the Warner studio with its face washed, the proscenium altered and the setting greatly simplified, was Carnegie Hall. Paul Henreid played the cello while Bette Davis watched eagerly from the last row of the orchestra seats in “Deception.” With little or no change from its “Deception” makeup, the stage also served as Carnegie Hall for John Garfield in ‘“Humoresque,” and in that picture it was Joan Crawford who watched her protege perform. For a few weeks, during the filming of Errol Flynn’s “Escape Me Never,” the same stage set, much changed in decor, was used effectively as the Royal Theatre of London. The Warner stage was built originally for use with the Cole Porter music and shows in “Night and Day.” It was a somewhat ornate stage then. It is even more ornate as the Fourteenth Street Theatre of the turn of the century, with a proscenium arch that ends on each side in carvel bulbous ladies playing Atlas and holding up a world of fantastic plaster. (George O’Brien Story) George OBrien Returns George O’Brien considers his role in Warner Bros.’ Technicolor musical, ‘““My Wild Irish Rose” opening Friday at the Strand Theatre, the best break he could have had after several years away from the Hollywood cameras, during which time he was in the U. S. Navy. Now six feet tall, weighing 200 pounds and just as rugged as he ever was during his period in westerns, the native San Franciscan feels he is on the best chapter of his film career. Incidentally his career in pictures is interesting. Through Tom Mix he got a job at the old Fox studios at $15 per week doing small cameras chores. After some time he got an offer to make a western film below the border, but this was never completed, so he shipped to sea in a freighter. Months later he returned to San Pedro and got his first part in a Hobart Bosworth film then in the process of shooting. Next he became a stunt man at $75 a day. However his career really started when he was called upon to enact a death scene on a sinking ship. Then the O’Brien career zoomed. He made “The Iron Horse,”’ his first epic, and “The Lone Star Ranger,” one of the top westerns made in 1931. He became known as the star equally at home on a horse or in a drawing room. He then formed his own company with Sol Lesser, specializing in western dramas. (Arlene Dahl Story) Arlene Dahl Takes Bow Arlene Dahl, who has a principal role with Dennis Morgan in Warner Bros. “My Wild Irish Rose,” the musical with color by Technicolor, opening at the Strand Theatre on Friday, has been making the most of her beauty and talent since junior high school days. Born in Minneapolis, Minn., on August 11, 1925, she appeared with local dramatic stock companies while a _ student at the Ramsay Junior High school and appeared in radio productions at the same time. Arlene continued her dramatic activity while attending the Washburn High School and the University of Minnesota where she studied drama and appeared in stage productions. In 1944 Arlene migrated to Chicago and began a series of appearances in dramatic serials via station WBBM in that city. She began doubling as a fashion model in that year and in 1945 came to New York where she became a photographer’s model. Arlene made her stage debut with a principal part in the Broadway musical, “Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston.” Her ability to dance, sing and read lines in that show led to another stage role—in “Questionable Ladies,” a show which closed in Newark before reaching New York. While appearing in the latter show, however, Miss Dahl was discovered by a Warner Bros. scout in February, 1946, and signed for a screen test. Authentic Irish Brogue There’s nothing phony about the brogue that emerges from the lips of Sara Allgood, who plays Dennis Morgan’s mother in “My Wild Irish Rose,” Warner Bros. Technicolor musical story of Chauncey Olcott opening at the Strand Theatre. Miss Allgood made her debut on the stage in Dublin with the Irish National Theatre Society in 1904 and for many years was a mainstay of the world-famous Abbey Theatre. As a matter of fact, she was a well-known actress while Chauncey — Olcott himself was still making stage appearances. Miss Allgood has been in movies for the past ten years mostly all in Hollywood. < Some Editors Like Studio Stories <