Slim (Warner Bros.) (1937)

LEAD-OFF, REVIEW, OPENING DAY STORY (Lead-off Story) “SLIM” COMES NEXT WEEK TO RUBY THEATRE A class of American workers whose trade has never before been touched by the movies—those adventurous and hardy lads who string electrical power wires across the remote waste places—are depicted for your entertainment in the Warner Bros. melodrama, ‘“<Slim,’’ which is scheduled to (0) of 51 leer 2) raed 2 (: ee Rene Re ee Theatre (a3 ow obs See pe ere The popular Henry Fonda, borrowed from another studio for this one picture, carries the title role of ‘‘Slim,’’ a young farm lad who, fascinated by the work of a wiregang crossing his father’s land, becomes one of them, with the aid of ‘‘Red,’’ a jovial and gallant wire-stringer who is portrayed by that perpetual favorite, Pat O’Brien. They are both in love—after a while — with ‘‘Cally,’’ a hospital nurse, who is none other than the lovely Margaret Lindsay. But there’s no enmity between them; they’re great pals and comrades, each willing to offer his life to save the other’s—and that’s what it comes to in the end. ‘<Slim’? was made from a, bestselling novel by William Wister Haines. It has what are described as breath-taking scenes, with the high-tension gang building towers 100 feet high, scrambling up and ‘down them, and stringing wires across them, sometimes in the face of blizzards and dust-storms. It’s no easy life, apparently, that these linesmen lead. They’re always on the move—town to town, state to state. One of the pals of the two boys is Stuart Erwin, who never fails to win laughs. The boss of all the gang is J. Farrell MacDonald, who in this picture turned in his onethousandth performance before the cameras. The cast includes such excellent supporting players as Joe Sawyer, Jane Wyman, John Litel and Craig Reynolds. The authenticity of the picture as a story of linesmen’s activities is vouched for by the producers, who used in it several crews of real experts in that line who were loaned by the contractors that were building the transmission wires connecting the famed Boulder Dam and the city of Los Angeles. .‘*Slim’’ had excellent notices after its early previews. It was directed by Ray Enright. Pat O’Brien At his he-man best as a devil-maycare linesman loving for the moment, living in the shadows of 20,000 volts of sudden death, Pat O’Brien comes to the PAMCRLTOS= ONE eee » im the Warner Bros. melodrama ‘‘ Slim.’’ Mat No. 107—10e Death Shadowed Their Love Henry Fonda is one of those daredevil linesmen who live high but not long, and Margaret Lindsay is the one girl he loves and doesn’t leave, in ‘*Slim,’’ Warner Bros.’ electrifying melodrama which comes to the rakes Geen ENCGUE; ON 2 cccs5ies stactin ce Mat No. 203—20e (Review) O’Brien And Fonda Star In **Slim,’’ New Thriller Margaret Lindsay Also In Colorful Story Dealing With High-Tension Linesmen It’s quite an accomplishment these days—after the movies have seemingly invaded all the trades and professions to find interesting characters to weave stories around —for a film producer to discover one occupation which hitherto hadn’t been picturized. And that’s just what Warner Bros. have done in the ease of ‘‘Slim,’’ the interesting and exciting melodrama which had _ its first local showing yesterday at Che Masini Theatre. ‘“Slim’’ is a story of the colorful, perilous, touch-and-go lives of hi h-tension linesmen, those sturdy lads who put up steel towers across the land and string the wires that carry electrical power over the mountains and deserts. With Pat O’Brien, Henry Fonda, Margaret Lindsay and Stuart Erwin in the leading roles, and such excellent supporting players as J. Farrell MacDonald, John Litel, Jane Wyman and Dick Pureell, ‘*Slim’’ proves to be a. first-class movie, with an entirely new background. The very capable Fonda carries the title role. He’s a farm lad who becomes fascinated by the work of a linemen-gang crossing his acres. Through the aid of ““Red,’’ played by the always appealing O’Brien, he gets a job and the two become pals. Pat introduces him to his girlfriend, Cally, a nurse, played by Miss Lindsay. Pat loves her, but doesn’t ask her to marry him because he can never settle down on a linesman’s job; he must keep moving all the time. Cally likes the quiet-spoken Slim. The gang moves on. Word comes to Cally that Slim has been. badly hurt. She leaves her Chicago hospital and goes to the small town where he lies, to nurse him. She learns to love him, having given up hope of Red. The linesmen work across the land, through heat and cold and storms. There are some amazing scenes of their tasks and how they accomplish them. Slim and Red remain friends. Finally there is an accident, in which both are involved. Fach tries to save the other, as they hang high above the ground. It is Red who finally has to let go and HUGE SETS FOR ‘SLIM’ A sub-station of the Chicago Bureau of Power and Light was reproduced by the Warner Bros. studios for scenes in ‘‘Slim,’’ the William Wister Haines picture dealing with the courageous work of high-tension wire workers. Huge steel towers rose from the stage floor, which was a maze of transformers, condensers, breakers and other apparatus used in trans mitting high voltage electrical en ergy over great distances. The towers ascended to the rafters of the stage. The intricate and unusual setting was used for a scene showing Pat O’Brien, Henry Fonda, Stuart Erwin, J. Farrell MacDonald and other actors portraying linesmen, repairing a broken cable directly over a circuit carrying 132,000 volts of electricity. Since the action occurs during a blinding snow storm, the studio used two tons of artificial snow purchased for the occasion. This was swirled about by wind machines. Ray Enright directed ‘‘Slim,’’ which looms as one of the new year’s most important pictures. It he goes down to his death, while Slim is saved for the arms of Cally. ‘‘Slim’’? was adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by William Wister Haines. It was directed by Ray Enright.” It is romantic, adventurous, at times highly humorous, full of thrills, and in general a picture that every one will enjoy séeing. PUBLIC ¥ a ae (Opening Day Story) “SLIM” WITH PAT O'BRIEN NOW AT ALCO ‘*Slim,’’? a Warner Bros. melodrama dealing with a class of young men whom the movies have overlooked up to now —the lads who string high-tension power lines across the country—will open as the feature attraction at the SS ai eee Theatre today. Co-stars in the picture, and pals in the story, are Pat O’Brien and Henry Fonda, the latter carrying the title role and the former acting the part of ‘‘Red,’*? who teaches ‘‘Slim’’ the business. The girl whom they both love is the attractive and capable Margaret Lindsay, who plays a hospital nurse, as she did in the recent ‘‘Green Light’’ and in many another picture. Nine-tenths of the action of ‘‘Slim’’ is outdoors, and there are said to be many amazing scenes depicting the perils and thrills of the wire-stringers, who erect 100foot towers, clamber up and down them, and put into position the strands that carry energy, sometimes braving blizzards to do so. J. Farrell MacDonald is the boss of the crew to which O’Brien and Fonda are attached. One of the pals of the boys is Stuart Erwin. Other players in the noteworthy cast include Joseph Sawyer, John Litel, Craig Reynolds, Dick Purcell and Jane Wyman. ‘*Slim’* was made from the best-selling novel of that name by William Wister Haines. It was directed by Ray Enright. DANGEROUS STUNTS OUT FOR O'BRIEN IN COMING FILMS Never again, Warner Bros. studio executives have promised, will Pat O’Brien be called upon to play as dangerous a role as the one he did for their picture about high-tension linemen, ‘‘Slim,’’ which will open at the «0.0.0.0... PheatTesON tec sS5 eee The promise was given not only to the fast-talking Irish star, but to a large insurance company as well. As a consequence, O’Brien will be able to purchase a $75,000 ordinary life insurance policy for which he applied shortly before ‘*Slim’’ went into production. The role of Red Blayd, linesman extraordinary, required O’Brien to do considerable climbing on 100foot steel towers and 85-foot wooden posts. For doing this hazardous work, the studio took out $500,000 insurance policies on both O’Brien’s and Henry Fonda’s lives. The insurance company to which O’Brien had applied for a _personal policy heard of this and informed the actor that his application had been rejected as a consequence. When O’Brien learned of this unexpected turn of events he immediately sought and obtained a written promise from his studio that his role in ‘‘Slim’’ would be the last involving any danger. His application for insurance then was reconsidered and approved. ‘*Slim,’’ which co-stars Henry Fonda and Margaret Lindsay, was directed by Ray Enright from a novel and screen play by William Wister Haines. MIDWESTERN ACTORS STAR IN NEW FILM Looking back over her fouryear career in Hollywood, Margaret Lindsay, now leading woman in ‘‘Slim,’? which comes to the eer ee Theagtre: On. <50.50 28.5. eee ; finds that her native Iowa has influenced her more than the English stage, which she adapted for a brief time as a roundabout way into the movies. When Miss Linsday won her role in ‘‘Cavaleade’’ she had the film capital completely fooled. She was, she gave the producers to understand, an English actress. By the time the truth was known, she had won herself a place in Hollywood by her excellent screen work. She dropped the clipped English accent then and no longer tried to fool either directors or the public. The English subterfuge got her into pictures, she agrees now, but her good, old-fashioned Iowa sense has, she thinks, kept her there. “‘T’ve all but forgotten the English experience,’’? she says. ‘*When I have a new role to play, I find myself thinking of someone I knew in Iowa, rather than England, as the type of character I am to portray.’’ Miss Lindsay is playing now opposite Pat O’Brien and Henry Fouda in ‘‘Slim,’’ a typically /merican story involving only American jeople and places. Her months in England are of little use to her in such a role. The picture has. a threesome of mid-western stars. O’Brien calls Milwaukee home, because he was born there and went to college there. Fonda was born in Nebraska and went to the University of Minnesota. Miss Lindsay was born and grew up in Dubuque, Iowa. Obviously an English point of view would be out of place in such company. Miss Lindsay has discarded it entirely. ““Shim’’ is a picturesque outdoor drama dealing with those colorful young men who seem to have been neglected heretofore by novelists and scenarists—the linemen who string high-tension wires across the land. Ray Enright directed the picture from a screen play by William Wister Haines. Henry Fonda In ‘‘Slim,’’ the high-tension drama of men who handle 80,000 volts of sizzling trouble 200 feet in the air to bring light into darkness, Henry Fonda, co-starred with Pat O’Brien, comes to tne ooeccccccccccccseeee There. "0a. Mat No. 101—10c Page Nine