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

March’s Mark Twain Role Presented Many Problems Fredric March seated himself on one of the hottest spots in Hollywood, by taking over the role of Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) in the Warner Bros. picture “The Adventures of Mark Twain.” And it can be taken from March, himself, that the part was just about the most difficult he was ever handed. That, it might be added, includes the extremely difficult title role of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” with which March won an Academy Award. As March explains, the assignment to bring to the screen such a generally revered personage as Mark Twain is one filled with perils and pitfalls. Millions have admired, even worshipped the great humorist. Every facet of his personality, every detail of his career, has been the subject of exhaustive study, and any unwitting deviation from a faithful characterization would inevitably set up the actor as a target for thea wrath of the multitude. This was soon demonstrated already to March. He never realized, he says, just how many fanatical Mark Twain disciples there were until it was announced that he would play the title role in the picture. Deluge of Letters But the published announcement started a deluge of letters. They started pouring in. They came to the Warner studio by tne hundreds. All types of comment were included. A great many were convinced in advance that justice would not be done to their literary hero. Just about the time the deluge of mail started to come in, March began studying Twain’s life. When he had read a half dozen of the more authoritative books on the author, he really began to appreciate the magnitude of the job. By the time he had read twice that many, he had begun to believe there were several Mark Twains. “The biographers and literary historians can’t agree,” March says, “on the Mark Twain character and the factors that moulded his genius. On the physical facts of his career and that he was the greatest writer America has ever’ produced, they’re pretty much in harmony. Beyond that they all have their individual theories.” At any rate, March did the best he could by way of preparing for the important role. As he says, “I spent a year reading up on the role. I talked with scores of individuals who knew him well. I copied his mannerisms, and Pere Westmore, the makeup wizard, has given me his physical likeness. “T hope my characterization will please the majority of Twain enthusiasts. I know it won’t please everybody. Mark Twain himself couldn’t do that.” One big help for March and for producer Jesse L. Lasky and director Irving Rapper was a film of the author taken a few years before his death. It enabled them to study Twain’s mannerisms, helped them _ to perfect the characterization. March’s 48th Picture The Twain picture is March’s 48th. During the 14 years that he has been busy making those 48 films, March has portrayed soldier, detective, actor, statesman, poet, pirate, scientist, minister, murderer, gentleman and knave—and now, that famed man of letters whose writings today are still accepted throughout the world as the very essence of youth. The actor since boyhood has been among the legion of Mark Twain admirers and he found the job of re-enacting the writer’s life the highlight of a career that has been anything but dull. “Jekyll and Hyde” posed the difficult problems of a dual personality and the weird makeup of Mr. Hyde. March’s “One Foot in Heaven,” in which he took the role of William Spence, the Methodist minister, gave him the greatest spiritual uplift that he ever experienced. But the prospect of trying to present Mark Twain as_ the writer’s readers expect to find him was almost “frightening,” March says. During twelve weeks of shooting the picture, March did not have a day off. The film is almost a one-man story, with March appearing in 419 of its scenes, from boyhood when he played “pirates” on the Mississippi to adulthood when he was world-recognized as a great humorist. Twain Biography Born As Premium Researchers at work preparing Warner Bros.’ “"The Adventures of Mark Twain,” starring Fredric March and Alexis Smith, now at the Strand, discovered that a biography of the humorist was issued in the late Eighties by a tobacco company, a copy going with each package. The pamphlet measured only one and a half by two and a half inches, contained sixteen pages with a colored lithograph of Twain for the cover. It was believed to be the first biography of the writer. Sull MT 83; Mat 202—30c Five of America’s literary greats—Harry Hilliard as John G. Whittier, Davison Clark as Henry W. Longfellow, Burr'Carruth as Oliver Wendel Holmes, Brandon Hurst as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Fredric March as Mark Twain—appear in this scene from Warner Bros.’ “The Adventures of Mark Twain,” now playing at the Saab gine ae aa Theatre. ‘Mark Twain’ At Strand Is Warm, Human Life Story (Prepared Review) Warner Bros. adds another title to its long list of screen successes with the company’s current production of “The Adventures of Mark Twain,” which opened yesterday at the Strand. It took those imaginative brothers, whose understanding of the public taste is nothing short of phenomenal, to bring the vigorous, down to earth personality of the American humorist, who captured the hearts of millions, to the screen with all its natural verve and flavor. The Jesse L. Lasky production is fabulously lavish with a cast of one hundred and_ nineteen, starring Fredric March and _ Alexis Smith. Donald Crisp and Alan Hale head an impressive list of featured players. “The Adventures of Mark Twain,” which runs approximately two hours, is pictur esque and of particular interest to lovers of Americana. Every phase of Twain’s colorful career is entertainingly depicted, in this not-to-be-missed photoplay. Mr. March is superb in the title role. Twain becomes a very warm, vital and human personality as portrayed by the actor. As the saga is unraveled and the many fascinating tangents of his varied career are shown, adventure-loving folk will enjoy every minute of it. The film shows Twain as a rafting Mississippi River explorer, roving reporter, mining prospector and _ frontiersman avid for change, virile and witty—and also as the loving and tender wooer of Olivia Langdon, who becomes his wife. Twain’s misadventures in the field of investments, the lecture tour which made possible liquidation of his debts and the fame which he won for his literary genius—go to make up one of the most human and diversified pictures that has come to the screen in many a day. The frog jumping contest sequence which Twain made famous and which inadvertently started him on the road to literary acclaim is particularly noteworthy, with the amphibious actors providing an important part of the film. Lovely Alexis Smith brings a sympathetic understanding to the role of “Livvy,’” his wife, who gently prods Twain to undertake his writing career in earnest. Featured in the supporting cast are Donald Crisp, as Major J. B. Pond, literary agent, who first recognized Twain’s genius and burly Alan Hale as Steve Gillis, Twain’s mining partner. Both are convincing in their roles. Other featured players in the excellent array of talent Warner Bros. assembled to round out the picture of Twain’s life all turn in fine performances. They are: C. Aubrey Smith, cast as the Oxford Chancellor who presents the University’s honorary degree to the humorist in recognition of his literary genius; John Carradine as Bret Harte, William Henry, who appears as Charles Langdon, Livvy’s brother; Robert Barrat as Horace E. Bixby, under whose tutelage Twain learns to navigate and Joyce Reynolds, who plays Clara, the author’s daughter. Irving Rapper did an outstanding job of direction with “The Adventures of Mark Twain.” Alan LeMay, Harold M. Sherman and_ Harry Chandlee adapted the _ story from the screen play by Mr. LeMay and Max Steiner composed the original music. Robust Western Story In ‘Twain’ Film At Strand Still MT 42; Mat 206—30c Alan Hale and Fredric March, the latter cast in the title role in “The Adventures of Mark Twain,” re-enact the jumping frog contest the author made famous in his story, “The Jumping Frog of Calaveras,” in this scene from the Warner Bros. picture coming (Advance Theatre Story) The gun-filled, fun-filled story of one American who was always ready to shoot the works comes to the Strand tomorrow. It’s Warner Bros.’ “The Adven tures of Mark Twain,” starring Fredric March and_ Alexis Smith. The film depicts the life of this country’s most beloved humorist—a vigorous, robust personality who became America’s foremost literary figure. Covering a span-of years involving seventy-five wardrobe changes, believed to be an all time high, for his title characterization because of the colorful and varied nature of Twain’s career, March portrays the famed humorist as Mississippi River pilot, western miner, frontier newspaper reporter, author, lecturer and world traveler. Not as numerous as the wardrobe shifts, but keeping pace with the passing years are March’s' makeup changes done convincingly by makeup wizard Perce Westmore. During the shooting of the scenes, the actor expressed the hope that he would not have to have a change of mustache for every new costume. The picture, produced by Jesse L. Lasky, is distinctive for the record research job it entailed. Some seventeen hundred and fifty books and periodicals, the assemblage of twenty-three hundred and forty-five photographs and the interviewing either in person or through letters of four hundred and fortyeight individuals were required to assure authenticity. The photographs collected included originals or copies of every available portrait of Mark Twain along with hundreds of pictures and articles ranging to the O60 able eee e AP OER en ene 6) hes eels all the way from Mississippi River steamboats to jumping frogs. Like the jumping frog of Calaveras, subject of his first nationally read story, Mark Twain covered a lot of territory. Even his five and a half years in the west where, as a reporter, his budding genius developed —and where ability to handle a gun was often the difference between life and death—are recorded. The birth pangs of Twain’s best known books, the author’s passion for investing in ‘“‘newfangled” inventions which contributed materially to his ultimate bankruptcy, and the round the world lecture tour by which he paid back his creditors one hundred cents on the dollar, are an integral part of the picture’s drama. The colorful background of his barefoot rafting days on the Mississippi are impressive. Above all, the love story of Mark Twain and Olivia Langdon (his wife), played by lovely Alexis Smith, are highlighted. It is perhaps of more than passing interest to members of the newspaper fraternity to learn that one of the inventions which contributed to Twain’s financial downfall was a typesetting machine, which never worked. It was the granddaddy of the linotype machine of today. Featured among the impressive list of supporting players are Donald Crisp, most recently seen in “The Uninvited,” and Alan Hale, who appears in the current Warner comedy “Make Your Own Bed.” Irving Rapper is the director. The film was adapted by Alan LeMay, Harold M. Sherman and Harry Chandlee from the screen play by Mr. LeMay. The original music was composed by Max Steiner. Donald Crisp Chalks Up Ten Million For Uncle Sam When the war has ended, the film colony may feel justly proud of the part her members have played in furthering the Allied cause. Typical trooper is Donald Crisp, who is featured as Twain’s literary agent in Warner Bros.’ “The Adventures of Mark Twain,” starring Fredric March and Alexis Smith, now showing at the Strand. Mr. Crisp recently completed a bond selling tour of nine and a half weeks, blanketed eastern and midwestern cities and is credited with having sold more than $10,000,000 worth of bonds. In recognition of this selfless service to his country, he holds a parchment citation bearing the signature of the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., and the great seal of the United States.