The Adventures of Mark Twain (Warner Bros.) (1944)

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‘Adventures of Mark Twain’ Now At Strand Still MT 555; Mat 207—30c Mr. and Mrs. Mark Twain. Fredric March and Alexis Smith are starred in Warner Bros.’ picturization of the life of America’s famous author, “The Adventures of Mark Twain.” The film, produced by Jesse L. Lasky, starts its engagement at the ....... (Current Theatre Story) At the most crucial period in our nation’s history since the Civil War when our servicemen are fighting on foreign soil for the things which mean the perpetuation of the democratic way of life, we warm to the wholesome American spirit of adventure which was in essence the life of that widely beloved humorist, Mark Twain. Warner Brothers, realizing the enormity of the task before them in endeavoring to bring such a revered personality to the screen, have spared no expense in research so that as authentic a biography as possible might be achieved. They have done just that with the film “The Adventures of Mark Twain,” currently playing at the Strand Theatre. The picture captures the whole roaring romance of America, her whispered tenderness and ringing laughter, in this story of the man who taught the world how to chuckle. March Portrays Twain Fredric March, who is cast in the title role, admittedly plays one of the most difficult parts in his varied career. This, despite the fact that he ran the gamut of emotions in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” Aware of the perils of portraying a personality worshipped by millions who have made an exhaustive study of every facet of Twain’s personality and genius, he knew that any departure from a faithful characterization would without question leave him the ready target of their resentment. So, in preparation for his role, Mr. March spent a year reading biographies and talking to a group of persons who knew Twain well. He finally deduced that no one— neither biographers nor literary historians—agreed on exactly what made Twain tick—but of one thing they were convinced —he was the greatest writer this country ever produced. Alexis vs. Mustaches Alexis Smith, who plays the leading feminine role opposite Mr. March, got a taste of what it is like to be wooed and kissed, by a heavily mustached suitor—and, according to those in the know and with due apologies to Fredric—she prefers her beaux clean shaven. Alexis, who has charm as well as beauty of the eye-compelling 24 J2-theatrevon soso eee variety, was last seen in “The Constant Nymph.” The picture covers the seventy-five year span of Mark Twain’s picturesque life—a saga of Americana from barefoot boy rafting the Mississippi, to literary savant receiving Oxford University’s highest degree— with countless western adventures interspersed. Twain’s experiences as a miner, his meeting with Joseph Goodman, editor of the Enterprise, and a somewhat fictionalized but highly amusing account of the inspiration for the jumping frog story are included in detail. His reporting work in Virginia City, where sentences were often punctuated with pistol shots— and pistol shots meant murder —also receives passing attention. Twain’s Words Timely Of timely interest are the words actor March, as Twain, speaks at the close of the author’s first lecture. They are an expression of the social consciousness, and the pride in America, that Mark Twain acquired as a working newspaperman in the west. “T just want to say,” read the lines, “men will always vary in nature, race, creed and desires. There will always be the belligerent and the oppressed. But in our country we can and must hold fast to our ideal of democracy because we have made it a shining reality. Let us cherish our proud traditions of freedom and tolerance. Let us vow that our tolerance will never become indifference and our freedom never become license. Let us respect each other’s rights and defend with the pen if possible, or the sword if need be, our inalienable privilege to be a free people.” Boasting a consistently fine supporting cast in addition to its stars, the film features Donald Crisp, Alan Hale, C. Aubrey Smith, John Carradine, William Henry, Robert Barrat, Walter Hampden and Joyce Reynolds as well as literally dozens of others. Produced by Lasky “The Adventures of Mark Twain” was produced by Jesse L. Lasky and directed by Irving Rapper. Alan LeMay, Harold M. Sherman and Harry Chandlee were responsible for the adaptation from the screen play by Mr. LeMay. Max Steiner composed the original music. Beulah, the Mule, Was Stubborn—But At the Wrong Times Beulah, the mule, was living up to specifications. The movie script called for a _ stubborn mule. While 100 Warner Bros. technicians and two actors waited and watched, Beulah did an Academy Award job of being stubborn. The only difficulty was that she didn’t properly time her performance. She sat wnen she should have stood, was firm as a rock on four strong legs when she was supposed to be squatting on her haunches. As pack animal for the mining expedition of Mark Twain and Steve Gillis, Beulah was playing a very important role in “The Adventures of Mark Twain.” At the moment, she was a more important performer than Fredric March and Alan Hale, the Mark Twain and Steve Gillis. March and Hale could only wait for her to be stubborn at the right time. They waited and the 100 technicians waited with them while Beulah’s trainer patiently led her before the camera for the tenth time to the spot on a rocky trail where she was supposed to start being obstinate. Beulah obligingly took the reclining balky stance. Beulah Acts Natural Director Irving Rapper whispered for action. Hale made a show of heaving at Beulah’s rear and March pretended to tug at her halter. Beulah promptly got up, being stubborn again. Hale said he had an idea. “If we make her think we really want her to get up,” he said, “she’ll probably stay down. I'll actually heave a bit, and Fred, you put some pressure on that halter. Not much, but enough to convince her.” It worked like a charm. While Hale heaved and March tugged, Beulah stayed seated. She seemed as firmly anchored as the rock of Gibraltar. Suddenly, she got up, and the actors sat down—hard. Director Rapper yelled to “print it.’ The falls were a perfect topper for the scene. March got up rubbing his posterior. “Never in my life,” he muttered “did I see such a stubborn mule.” Beulah blinked with what appeared to be a_ self-satisfied wink. Didn’t the script call for a stubborn mule? Fredric March Sings in Film The singing lessons Fredric March has been taking in New York through the past three winters show screen results at last, as the star sings for the first time in a film in a scene from “‘The Adventures of Mark Twain,” in which he is co-starred with Alexis Smith. The film opens Friday at the Strand. March sings the old Negro spiritual, “‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” There is no concert atmosphere about it, as he sings only for Alexis Smith, the Mrs. Mark Twain of the Warner Bros. production. It is sufficient however, to acquaint movie audiences with the quality of his baritone voice. The only professional singing March has done was in the summer of 1922, when he played the lead in the George M. Cohan musical, “Little Jimmy Jones,” in summer stock at Dayton, Ohio. The singing lessons he has been taking in New York have been for personal pleasure and as an aid for voice placement. Jesse Lasky Made His kilm Boner-Proof Fifty million Frenchmen could be wrong, but Jesse L. Lasky, pioneer movie producer, is banking on it that half a dozen technical experts can’t. When Lasky set out to make the life of Mark Twain as a picture for Warner Bros. he laid himself wide open to the flaw pickers. Twain happens to be not only America’s most famous writer, but one of the country’s most beloved personalities. He’s also the prime favorite of the analytical critics who dote on taking great characters apart and explaining what made them great. Fortified with the knowledge that even the analytical experts couldn’t agree on what made Samuel Clemens tick, Lasky went ahead with the script for “The Adventures of Mark Twain” on the basis of the voluminous biographical and autobiographical records he had obtained. He knows there will be brickbats along with the hoped for bouquets about the story and the development of the Twain character. But he did protect himself in the clinches on the technical angles. Great Precautions If the movie boner pickers who delight in finding three buttons on a coat that should have only two or spot anything wrong with the physical details of “The Adventures of Mark Twain,” they’ll do it over the eagle eyes of the most numerous array of technical experts ever assembled for a single picture. Dean of them all, and bearing the most imposing title—that of character designer—is Dwight Franklin, sketch artist extraordinary and student of the past. Along with an outstanding reputation in his specialized field, Franklin possessed the advantage of having known Twain as a _ neighbor. His mother’s home in Hartford adjoined the Twain place, and as a boy, Franklin often saw and talked with the great humorist. Among the properties used in the movie are some of Twain’s actual possessions which had been given to Franklin by the author. Franklin’s task was to work in liaison with the Warner research department. He also sketched the character types to be used in the various sequences and it was up to the studio casting department to meet his specifications. To give expert guidance on the Mississippi river steamboat scenes, Lasky imported Richard Lemen, a cub pilot from East St. Louis, Missouri. Young Lemen—he’s in his early twenties—brought to Hollywood an encyclopedic knowledge of river history and customs and a col lection of several hundred photographs of all the famous river boats since Sam Clemens himself was a cub. Lasky Acts as Expert Producer Lasky is reasonably certain that Fredric March, his Mark Twain, handled himself properly as a river pilot, thanks to young Lemen’s expert instruction. He’s dead certain that March correctly filled the bill as a tenderfoot gold prospector. For Lasky himself was the expert on the gold digging scenes. Back in the days of the Alaska gold rush he joined the stampede, dug for dust in the Nome claims, and wound up _ broke. Lasky had no qualms about his technical instructions, because that’s the way Twain wound up. For the re-enactment of the jumping frog contest Twain made famous in his story, “The Jumping Frog of Calaveras,” Lasky brought Alfred Jermy from Angels Camp, California. Angels Camp, a mining town in the California Sierras, is the site not only of the original jumping frog contest but of its annual revival. As chairman of the Angels Jubilee, Jermy has been putting the frogs through their jumps for several years. When he came to Hollywood to help on the filming of the movie scenes he brought, along with his knowledge, 47 authentic Angels Camp jumping frogs. Latest, and possibly last, of the technical aides is Mrs. Mary Angel, mother of Heather Angel, the actress. Mrs. Angel was engaged to tell what should, and should not, be done when Mark Twain received his Doctor of Literature degree from Oxford University. As the daughter and the wife of Oxford dons, Mrs. Angel witnessed at least a score of those degree-conferring ceremonies. She remembers best of all the one in which the whitemaned and genial Twain received his degree from the hands of Lord Curson, then chancellor of Oxford. Ethics, Not Taste, Vetoes Frog Legs During the filming of Warner Bros.’ “The Adventures of Mark ~~ Twain,” co-starring Fredric March and_ Alexis Smith, now at the Strand, Producer Jesse L. Lasky turned thumbs down on the suggestion to give a frogs-legs dinner for the cast and crew at the completion of the frog jumping sequence in the film. Mr. Lasky said: “I never believed in biting the hand that feeds you, so why eat the frogs legs that jump for you?” Still MT 133; Mat 201—30c It was childhood experiences like this along the banks of the muddy Mississippi that gave rise to such Mark Twain classics as “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn.” Scene from the Warner Bros. film biography of America’s famed author, “The Adventures of Mark Twain” which is now playing at the .......... Theatre.