Penrod and Sam (Warner Bros.) (1937)

“PENROD and SAM” Pw. Bed GE ee These Actors Hired By Pairs— They're Twins Billy And Bobby Mauch, Of ‘Penrod And Sam,’ Always Work Together Hollywood’s only perfect double, alternate and understudy for a star is 12-year-old Bobby Mauch, twin brother of that astonishing Billy Mauch, who did so well as the young ‘‘ Anthony Adverse’’ and again as the drummer boy in ‘‘The White Angel.’’ The Mauch twins look so much alike their mother can not always tell them apart. She distinguishes them by initials “wand “RY” on their rings. Billy and Bobby not long ago arrived from New York, their home town and the scene of stage and radio triumphs, to appear in “Penrod and Sam,” the First Na tional comedy-drama that will open=at° the =n ae Theatre ON ae eRe as Or at least it’s the general impression on the studio lot that Billy played Penrod. Perhaps it was Bobby, or part Bobby, or occasionally Bobby. The _ boys aren’t telling! Billy says Bobby is the better actor of the two. Bobby claims Billy is the better. Their mother claims the lads are equally good actors. Just the same, Billy was cast as “Penrod.” Bobby who acted his stand-in, was ready to step in at any moment if necessary. Both attended school right beside the set, for a special school had to be established for the juveniles in “Penrod and Sam.” School complicated matters. Director William McGann would think he was having Bobby double for Billy while the latter was having a lesson between scenes. The teacher would think she was teaching Bobby. And the two boys, being — after all! — twelve-year-olds, full of life and mischief, sometimes did a little impersonating just for the fun of its “Penrod and Sam” is Booth Tarkington’s long-famous comedydrama of a group of adventurous small-town boys — brought right up to the 1937 minute by having their interests what the boys’ interests of today are. Besides Billy as “Penrod,” the east includes Harry Watson as his pal, Sam. Frank Craven and Spring Byington are Mr. and Mrs. Schofield, Penrod’s parents. They’re Junior G-Men! Tarkington Admirer Directs ‘““Penrod”’ It wasn’t any mere studio routine that caused the direction of ‘‘Penrod and Sam,’’ the Booth Tarkington comedy-drama which comes to the .2..5.:..c608 Theatre OD: rare eee , to be placed by First National in the hands of William McGann. There was a good reason for doing so. McGann is a Tarkington fan. He ‘has first editions of nearly every book the Indiana author ever wrote, and keeps up a casual correspondence with Booth. Billy Mauch (right), Philip Hurlic (center), and Harry Watson, are the Junior G-Men whose exploits made even Washington’s ace sleuths gasp, in ‘‘Penrod and Sam,’’ the First National comedy-drama adapted from Booth Tarkington’s immortal book, now playing at the Theatre. Mat No. 203 — 20¢e Child Actors “Imagine” — Rather Than Act Parts Many Young Players Spoiled By Dramatic Training, Is Belief Of McGann Most suecessful child movie actors aren’t actors at all, Young Movie Stars Study Their Lessons At Studio Lads In “Penrod and Sam” Require Four Teachers Between Their Scenes All the important jobs in Hollywood are not held by the actors and actresses whose names you see in the lights on theatre marquees. Some of the most interesting jobs are those of men and women you have never heard of. For example, that of Lois Horne. Chances are, you have never even read that name before. Miss Horne — small, slender, blondish — is the school-teacher at Warner Bros.’ studios. Sometimes she’s just the teacher; at other times she’s ‘‘superintendent of schools’’ on the lot. It depends upon how many child actors and actresses are working. ‘‘T’m superintendent today,’’ she said recently. ‘‘That’s because we have more than ten youngsters on the lot. There are 37 boys, none above 12 or 13 years old, in ‘Penrod and Sam,’ the pieturization of Booth Tarkington’s famous novel. That means we have three teachers besides myself, because the California State laws say there must be one teacher for every ten children.’’ Miss Horne’s ‘‘problem child’’ at the moment was 12-year-old Billy Mauch, the star of ‘‘ Penrod and Sam,’’ which is now to be seen= atcthe = Aisa Theatre. The problem didn’t concern Billy’s ability or willingness to learn. It was simply that Billy’s twin, Bobby, always accompanied Billy on the set, and it was impossible to know which of the famous twins she was teaching. She has had many a famous pupil — or, rather, many a pupil who has become famous. Patricia Ellis was one of them. Patricia began to go places in movies long before she was 18 — but up until that age she had to go to Lois Horne’s school. The star pupil now is Sybil Jason, the 7-year-old, black-haired, black-eyed little girl from South Africa. Scene Stealing From Children No Snap ‘‘The greatest actors in the world can’t steal a scene from a child star,’’ declares William MeGann, famous director of children — and adults as well — on the screen. But, Spring Byington and Frank Craven, veteran thespians in First National’s ‘‘Penrod and Sam,’’ run 12-year-old ‘‘Penrod’’ Billy Mauch and his gang of boy actors a close race for some of the comedy scenes in this juvenile adventure picture. It’s comdS "10 HG we... e8 Theatre on ‘¢Penrod and Sam,’’ now playAO 40 b NOe ie. 5 re Theatre, is Booth Tarkington’s long-famous comedy-drama of a group of adventurous small-town boys — brought right up to the 1937 minute by having their interests what the boys’ interests of today are. Billy Mauch, famous for his work in ‘‘ Anthony Adverse’’ and ‘<The White Angel,’’ is starred as Penrod; Harry Watson plays his pal, Sam. Frank Craven and Spring Byington are Mr. and Mrs. Schofield, Penrod’s parents. There are any number of capable juvenile actors, although the story has just as much appeal for grownups. William McGann directed the picture, from a screen play adapted from the Tarkington book by Lillie Hayward and Hugh Cummings. Indoor Rain, For Movies Now Falls At Full Speed according to William McGann, the well-known film director. They’re simply ‘‘imaginers,’’ adept at the childish game of confusing reality and fiction. McGann, a veteran in films, recently directed a large number of youngsters in First National’s ‘‘Penrod and Sam,”’’ Weather Experts, For “Penrod And Sam,” Get Meet Penrod Proper Tempo To Their Showers Billy Mauch is ‘‘Penrod,’’ and with his gang of Junior G-Men nabs the bandits who foiled Wash ington’s ace sleuths. Billy will COMC-CO URE xc. «oars Theatre, ONS eee ee in First National’s picturization of Booth Tarkington’s immortal novel, ‘‘ Penrod and Sam.’’ Mat No. 106 — 10c NOW Play Wea tee ces cccteen ce Theatre, starring Billy Mauch. ‘¢Training in the art of acting spoils most children as youthful players,’’ McGann declares. ‘‘It may prepare them for adult acting careers, but it destroys a very precious illusion of reality. It makes acting work, instead of fun.?” ‘“The growth of children who act child parts in comedy series such as ‘Our Gang’ and others, ereates a big turnover of child starring talent in Hollywood. Few who grow out of child roles, however, become successful adult actors. The qualities which make for success in the child actor work against it in the mature actor.’’ ‘Notable exceptions are the real child acting prodigies of stage and screen. Billy Mauch, playing ‘Penrod’ in my picture, for example, and his twin brother, Bobby, both of New York stage fame, are child actors who have the unusual combination of technique, training, real acting abililty with the childish gift for imagining the play to be real.’’ In one scene of ‘‘Penrod and Sam,’’ MeGann made little Billy turn on the tears five times in succession in less than an hour. This is a feat that few if any adult actors could duplicate. without glycerine or menthol to induce the tear flow. Yet it is typical child acting, and during the same scene Bobby Mauch and several other youngsters not in the scene eried too, just because they were watching and went through the same emotional experience in their imaginations! Craig Reynolds, one of the ‘‘ villains’’ of ‘‘Penrod and Sam,’’ as a bank bandit the boys succeed in capturing, was very unpopular with the youthful players away from the cameras as well as_ before them. Again, a confusion of the real and the imaginary! ‘<Penrod and Sam’’ is Booth Tarkington’s long-famous comedydrama of a group of adventurous small-town boys — brought right up to the 1937 minute by having their interests what the boys’ interests of today are. Billy Mauch is starred as Penrod; Harry Watson plays his pal, Sam. Frank Craven and Spring Byington are Mr. and Mr. Schofield, Penrod’s parents. There are any number of capable juvenile actors, although the story has just as much appeal for grownups. From now on artificial rain can fall at full speed in Warner Bros.’ films. That may not seem important to you, but it’s a problem that has been worrying those meticulous movie technical men — the weather makers — for a long time. It seems that artificial rain used on indoor ‘‘exteriors’’ couldn’t fall from a_ sufficient height to let the drops speed up to a realistic m.p.h. rate before falling into camera range. Even on the average huge sound stage there wasn’t overhead room sufficient to obtain this height between ground and waterpipes over the sets. The Warner rainmakers solved the problem by making Stage 7 weather headquarters from now on. The ceiling of this stage was raised some forty feet recently, to provide loft room for an exceedingly tall musical number set. The new success came when they poured rain from an adequate height on a grave yard used in the Billy Mauch starring film, First National’s “Penrod and Sam,” which will be seen at the ESOS en Theatre beginning on ee eee Not only do the raindrops fall from this increased height at a sutiicient speed to suit the technical men’s most finicky notions of realism, but this particular shower was warm ed. The 12-year-old star and other children on the set had lengthy scenes under the downpour, hence the tempered raindrops. “Penrod and Sam” is Booth Tarkington’s long-famous comedydrama of a group of adventurous small-town boys — brought right up to the 1937 minute by having their interests what the boys’ interests of today are. Billy Mauch, famous for his work in “Anthony Adverse” and “The White Angel,” is starred as Penrod; Harry Watson plays his pal, Sam. Frank Craven and Spring Byington are Mr. and Mrs. Schofield, Penrod’s parents. There are any number of capable juvenile actors, although the story has just as much appeal for grownups. William McGann directed the picture, from a screen play adapted from the Tarkington book by Lillie Hayward and Hugh Cummings. Page Nine