The Horn Blows at Midnight (Warner Bros.) (1945)

Use these items all together as a 2-column feature, or individually as fillers. To produce an ethereal “heaven-like’’ atmosphere for the celestial sequences in Warners’ “The Horn Blows At Midnight,” currently at the Strand, a half-million cubic feet of specially treated vapor was shot in and about the huge sets. It was during one day’s filming with the vapor that lovely Alexis Smith was temporarily overcome, requiring attention from the first-aid man on the set. Alexis is co-starred in the rousing comedy with funny-man Jack Benny. Jack Benny, currently co-starred with Alexis Smith in Warners’ “The Horn Blows At Midnight” at the Strand, proved to be one of the best liked free-lance stars ever to visit the Burbank studio. Grips, gaffers, prop men and makeup people — that discerning army of “behind the camera” folk — were Jack’s special buddies during the production and for a good reason. Jack reported for work daily with a batch of new stories, left-over radio material and clever gags — always darn funny. Dolores Moran, featured in Warners’ “The Horn Blows At Midnight” which arrives this Friday at the Strand, models a dozen lovely gowns in the film, none of which weigh more than four ounces. Miss Moran, you see, is the type of girl who can wear such scanty apparel with breath-taking results. Wags claimed her makeup weighed more than her costumes. The film stars Jack Benny and Alexis Smith. Warners’ “‘The Horn Blows At Midnight,”’ currently at the Strand, is Jack Benny’s first starring picture since returning from his trip to North Africa and Sicily to entertain our fighting forces. Also starred in the hilarious farce comedy is lovable Alexis Smith. Warners’ comedy farce, “The Horn Blows At Midnight,” which stars Jack Benny and Alexis Smith, is notable for a number of reasons. Taken from an original idea by Aubrey Wisberg, the film had Mark Hellinger as producer and Raoul Walsh as director. It was adapted for the screen by Sam Hellman and James V. Kern. The comedy marked Jimmy Kern’s last writing effort for Warner Bros. before embarking on a directorial career of his own. Ten thousand yards of cheesecloth, hung from high towers and spread in billowing oceans of foreground, helped produce a heavenly effect for Warners’ comedy farce, ‘‘The Horn Blows At Midnight’’ at the Strand. Not one yard of new material was used, all of it being salvaged from a far-sighted and providential wardrobe department. Starred in the film are Jack Benny and Alexis Smith. When it became time to outfit Alexis Smith, Jack Benny’s lovely co-star in “The Horn Blows At Midnight” at the Strand, Warners’ wardrobe department hit a snag. At this point Alexis herself came to the rescue by loaning the studio some material with which she had intended to make curtains for her new house. Happiest people connected with the production of “The Horn Blows At Midnight,’’ Warners’ comedy farce now playing at the Strand, were those in the Technical Department. They knew that no ‘“crank’’ could view the antics of the film’s stars, Jack Benny and Alexis Smith, and complain that their heavenly actions were not correct. And if they got such a letter. «+. WELL! Warner Bros. craftsmen were up to the task of creating the majesty of a movie Heaven for “The Horn Blows At Midnight,” currently at the Strand. The film’s set was_transformed into a veritable sea of colonnades, billowing backdrops and other ethereal props which made it believeable as a first class Upper Region. The film stars Jack Benny and Alexis Smith as — you guessed it — angels! Lovely Alexis Smith Heaven Comes To Film Set Of The Horn Blows At Midnight’ Wins Movie Stardom With Ordinary Name Alexis Smith, who married Craig Stevens recently, is known by another name now but it is still SMITH on the marquee of the Strand Theatre where her latest picture, “The Horn Blows at Midnight,” in which she is co-starred with Jack Benny, is playing. This makes Alexis the Hollywood star with the most common maiden nanie in the whole English speaking world. For when it comes to the most commonly used surnames, ' the “Smiths” have it all over the “Jones,” the “Johnsons,” the “Browns,” ‘“Davises,” “Millers” or “Williams.” Answering a reader’s query in the American Magazine recently, Elsdon C. Smith, a name expert, estimates that there are, in the United States, 1,258,010 people named Smith, 938,880 named Johnson, 701,940 named Brown, 663,850 named Miller and 663,420 named Jones. All of these names, as well as other common cognomens, have been used by motion picture players. But it remained for Alexis to have a “Miss Smith” placard nailed on a star’s dressing room door. According to this same authority, Bette Davis, one of the brightest feminine stars in the Hollywood heavens, has the seventh most common name in America. Obviously it has been no handicap to her any more than Alexis’ name of Smith has hindered her career in pictures. The name Jones, which stands fifth in the list of the most used American names, has _ nearly Still 615-36 Mat 107—15c ALEXIS SMITH, exquisite Warner actress, plays heavenly Elizabeth, Jack Benny’s heart throb, in Warners’ “The Horn Blows at Midnight” at the Strand. always been represented in motion pictures by Buck Jones, Jennifer Jones, Allan Jones and Dickie Jones. Anderson, Taylor and Moore, the eighth, tenth and twelfth most common names respectively, have been represented on the screen by Bronco Billy Anderson, Robert Taylor and Victor Moore. Other much used surnames listed include: Wilson, Thomas, Martin, White, Thompson, Jackson, Harris, Lewis, Allen, Nelson, Walker, Hall, Robinson, Green and Adams. Each has or had a prominent representative in Hollywood. But none of them has ever had the temerity shown by Alexis who placed her promising career as a Warner Bros. star under the almost meaningless handle. of: “Miss Smith.” There was a little bit of heaven in Hollywood not so very long ago. We don’t mean the usual but lovely Hollywood glamour girl. We mean the real thing, or as real as Hollywood goes in for things. Heaven was a huge stage at Warner Bros., full of angels and heavenly bodies. The movie folk were making “The Horn Blows at Midnight,” the new Jack Benny-Alexis Smith comedy at the Strand. It’s pretty daffy stuff they do in the film. Jack is an angel sent down to earth to destroy it by the simple act of blowing his trumpet at midnight. (Don’t worry, Jack hasn’t given up playing his fiddle. He just put it aside for the picture.) Guy Kibbee, as a heavenly chief “in charge of Small Planet Manage ment,” is the man who sends Benny down to earth. In one scene Jack is ushered into Kibbee’s palatial office by Alexis Smith, Kibbee’s “heavenly” private secretary who has a crush on Benny. Kibbee sits at an enormous desk, dressed in his heavenly robes. Jack is very impressed with his surroundings and proud of the fact that he has _ been chosen, among all the hundreds of angels in heaven, to destroy the earth. He is deflated, however, when Kibbee says, “Our regular demolition crew is out on a bigger job. I’m sending you down as ‘the angel least likely to be missed.’ ” But Jack wins Alexis Smith and Alexis is some ‘Miss.’ Still Service Now Available Stills available on most of the scene cuts on the publicity pages in this campaign plan. Price: !0c each. Order by still number indicated under each cut, from Campaign Plan Editor, 321 West 44 Street, New York 18, N. Y. If still number is not given, photo is not available because the cut was made from a special retouch or a composite. (*Asterisk denotes still is available at local Warner Exchanges.) Dolores Moran Finds Motion Picture Work Tough and Tiring Dolores Moran is a beautiful girl who thought acting in motion pictures “would be fun.” Don’t remind Dolores of that today. Her first acting stint in “Old Acquaintance” was mild enough but her role in Warners’ “The Horn Blows at Midnight,” the Jack Benny-Alexis Smith comedy now at the Strand, all but killed her. For weeks after the completion of thie 1 lam, Dolores was a mass of bruises, welts and lacerations. They were the real kind, too, not Mat 109—15c the product Dolores Moran of the makeup jar. In “The Horn Blows at Midnight,” Dolores plays a sad little cigarette girl who attempts suicide by hurling herself from a tall building. Jack Benny, always the one to save something, finally saves her by literally hoisting her back up to security. There are directors in Hollywood who might try to “fake” such a scene. But such is not Raoul Walsh, who handled the megaphone on “The Horn Blows at Midnight.” Walsh demanded that Dolores start scrambling down off the roof, lose her balance, fall a few feet, then attempt to resist Benny as he tries to save her. < Dhe scene required two full days of shooting. Mat 101—15c Reginald Gardiner Hep-Cats Get Hep, Spread Some Joy In ‘The Horn Blows’ Two hundred and fifty of Hollywood’s most free-wheeling jitterbugs get a chance to really “cut loose” in “The Horn Blows at Midnight,” the Jack BennyAlexis Smith starrer, currently at the Strand. The kids, recruited from high schools in the Burbank hinterland, danced with an abandon and speed that literally rocked huge Stage Three, where the film was shot. In front of the band stands Jack Benny, trying to play a trumpet with a hot dance combination. Still 615-561 JACK BENNY, radio and screen Mat 105—l5c favorite, plays mild-mannered, trumpetplaying Athanael, in Warner Bros.’ “The Horn Blows at Midnight,” currently at the Strand. Jack, according to the script, is an angel who has lost his way on earth and is trying to make a few bucks by playing for the jitterbugs. But Jack’s trumpet playing is strictly icky, long-haired and no good for this world. The kids start rioting after one of his corny solos. “Get that guy out,” they scream. A half-dozen of the musicians pick Jack up bodily and heave him onto the dance floor. After the scene was filmed and just to show the kids that he can play an instrument, Jack borrowed a fiddle from the orchestra and knocked off a bar or two: -7of “Love: <in == Bloom.” Brother, it killed the kids,