The Very Thought of You (Warner Bros.) (1944)

‘Very Thought Of You’ FELINE STORK Now At Strand Theatre DELAYS NEW Mat 204—Still VT 317-30c Dennis Morgan apparently believes in the old tradition of carrying the bride over the threshold in the above scene from Warner Bros.’ new romantic comedy, "The Very Thought Of You," opening tonight at the Strand. Eleanor Parker is the lovely bride. Newcomer Dane Clark is co-starred. (Current Theatre Story) “The very thought of you, This longing here for you, Yow'll never know how slow the moments go ’till ’'m near to you—” Carefully, the young soldier plays with those words; he mouths them again and again, then, picks up his stub of a pencil, looks for a stump or a rock for a desk, and, patiently brushing away the myriad of flies with a gesture no longer one of annoyance, but of indifference, he begins to talk his heart out to a girl who is thousands of miles away. And somewhere in the United States—in Vermont, maybe — where the ground is hard with the first snow, or Wisconsin, where the syrup trees are being bled, or in California, where the same sea he hates is churning white against the coast, a girl is answering him. And so out there where only the winds can see it, those letters change hands. He is with her, she walks beside him, hand in hand, as they did before. Maybe, before long, he will come back to her. Then the jungle lice will fade into the past, and he will take up his life with her again, as he left it, many dreams ago. To that belief—that man is only as strong as the woman he leaves behind — Warner Bros. have dedicated their latest film romance, “The Very Thought of Mat 104—Still VT 71-15c Eleanor Parker and Dennis Morgan 6 You” currently playing at the Strand Theatre, with a cast that stars Dennis Morgan, Eleanor Parker and Dane Clark. Here is the brave, tender romance of our soldiers and their girls, whom they have made their wives amidst the emotional earthquake that is war. Specifically, it is the story of Dave (Dennis Morgan) and his buddy, “Fixit”? (Dane Clark) and two girls, Janet (Eleanor Parker) and Cora (Faye Emerson). But mostly it is the story of a love that lingers in mid-air, is snatched up by hands strong enough to take all the world can give, and still come back for more. It moves through the hearts of a war-twisted family, not really living—merely existing in the shadows. It tells the tale of Pop, (Henry Travers) a right guy but a pushover for his family; of sister Molly (Andrea King) a good time girl set on forgetting her husband overseas; Mom (Beulah Bondi) fearful of what the neighbors will see or hear, or think; of Cal, (John Alvin) sore at the world for not thinking him man enough to fight; “Fixit,” the jive crazy, laugh crazy, life crazy kid, and his playmate, the lovable Cora (Faye Emerson). It is host to a hundred little laughs and tears, it is more than a movie— it is our Youth at war, working, swearing, crying, loving winning! The plot is a simple one— and familiar. A boy and a girl meet, fall in love, and marry on furlough time—against family opposition. A baby son is born while his father fights overseas. Strangely enough the tiny boy unites his mother’s family, long separated in spirit by petty jealousy and pride. And his father, wounded in battle, returns to a happiness insured by the love of his wife, and to a marriage that he was told would “never last.” In addition to the players abovementioned, a capable supporting cast also includes William Prince, Marianne O’Brien, Georgia Lee Settle and Dick Erdman. The production was directed by Delmer Daves from a screenplay prepared by Mr. Daves and Alvah Bessie, for Producer Jerry Wald. Miss Parker’s and Miss Emerson’s wardrobes were designed by Milo Anderson, while Perc Westmore acted as makeup expert. WARNER FILM Many pictures have been held up, postponed or shelved for the duration because of visits from the stork, but that is as nothing to the chagrin endured by Warner Bros. recently—the delayed blessed event of a cat who had things in complete confusion during the filming of “They Very Thought of You,’ currently playing at the Strand. After several scenes were shot at the beginning of the picture, “Annie,” borrowed from Ann Sheridan, ‘was discovered to be “anticipating.” Director Delmer Daves called in a veterinarian to determine when the happy event would take place, and was assured it would be within three weeks. Dialogue was written into the seript to explain things, and the night watchmen were admonished to keep careful watch over Annie, since cats are noted for seeking complete privacy when their delicate condition becomes pronounced. Despite everything the cat disappeared, and the lot was scoured. Daves meanwhile shot “around” Annie, but “The Very Thought of You” had only a few more days on schedule. Fortunately, the feline lady finally had her big event and came out of hiding for her last scene just in time. FAYE EMERSON PERFECT TYPE FOR NO ‘TYPING’ If there is anything actors love it’s tearing their hair over being typed. Not so Faye Emerson, who wasn’t, isn’t, and probably never will be typed. Mainly because that’s what she’d like most. The views of the young Warner Bros.’ actress, currently to be seen in “The Very Thought of You,” now playing at the Strand Theatre, are these: “Kverything that is highly successful is highly typed. Look at Superman and Dick Tracy, for example. They’re typed, but they do all right, don’t they? “Lana Turner in a sweater, Dorothy Lamour in a sarong and Veronica Lake with a bang —that’s type casting, but is that bad? Do you hear the boys in the service complaining? “Look what they’re doing to me. In ‘The Hard Way’ I played a senseless little man-crazy song-and-dance kid. In ‘The Desert Song’ I was a sweet, innocent native girl with great big round wondering eyes. Now in ‘The Very Thought of You’ I am just a clever kid who knows all the answers before anybody asks the questions, but with a heart of pure, unalloyed gold. “IT was a psychopathic murderess in one picture, and I played a nun in a church play. In ‘Air Force’ I was the bloodand-guts Red Cross nurse at Hickam Field in Honolulu, but directors love to cast me, too, “as a cabaret kid with a long cig arette-holder, a dry martini, and Noel Coward repartee. “IT want to be typed. I will play heroine or heel. I will wear bathing suits or hoop skirts. “T wish they’d make up their minds about me. “Tf they don’t, I suppose any day they’ll cast me in a long white beard and have.me doing Peter the Hermit. That’s about the only part I haven’t done so far.” Dennis Morgan, Eleanor Parker and Dane Clark are starred in the Strand film, heading a cast which also includes Henry Travers and Beulah Bondi. Hollywood Gets Ready kor Returning Vets Filmland already is facing the fact that, when Europe folds, one of the most pressing problems of the home front will be the readjustment of the boys who come back from the Big Fight. There are now almost a score of scripts in writing, in work, or ready for release with themes to shape and forge a give-andtake basis of bringing civilian and soldier together as partners in the postwar. The first of these to reach the screen is “The Very Thought of You,” a Warner Bros. feature with a hard-hitting challenge to the American woman’s obligation of love and faith to her man at the front. It opens Friday at the Strand with Eleanor Parker, Dennis Morgan and Dane Clark in the top roles. Dennis Morgan is cast as an Army sergeant just returned from eighteen months’ duty in the thick of things in the Aleutians. Another at the Burbank factory is the filmization of the W. R. Burnett novel, “Nobody Lives Forever.” Under the direction of Jean Negulesco, this is the drama of a big-time gangster, John Garfield, who is regenerated as a good citizen by his experiences in the fox-holes of Africa and Salerno. However, when he comes back to find that he has been bilked of his bankroll by Faye Emerson, the girl he left behind, he reverts to type, and there’s a lot more regeneration to be accomplished by Geraldine Fitzgerald. Along Independent Row, PRC studios are credited with a bigtime click in “When the Lights Go On Again,” which stars James Lydon, Regis Toomey and newcomer Barbara Beldon. This is the simple, moving drama of the typical small-town G.I., a dogface sent back to Middleton with “battle fatigue” to face the girl, the family and the friends he left behind. Just finished filming at Paramount is “I Love a Soldier,” with Sonny Tufts in the characterization of a cynical leatherneck who brings his dead buddy’s effects home to Paulette Goddard, the latter’s personal pin-up girl. Also, already released from the same company is “Hail, the Conquering Hero,” in which Eddie Bracken and Ella Raines delineate the lighter phase of the returning regiments. Bracken signs up with the marines after a rousing sendoff in his home town, but after a month is discharged as an incurable asthmatic. Ashamed to go back, he falls in with a company of Guadalcanal vets who learn his plight and force the role of hero upon him. “The Thrill of a Romance,” featuring Van Johnson and Esther Williams, provides MetroGoldwyn-Mayer with the absorbing background of the Army’s ambitious recuperation centres. Johnson, seen as flying ace of the Pacific with shattered nerves, is sent back home to recuperate at Arrowhead Lake. There the medics show their modern-age miracles—and Esther Williams helps out a little, too. Also designed laughs is ‘Anchors strictly for Aweigh” with Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly as a couple of gobs back from battle and seeing the sights in Hollywood. And a third at M-G-M is “Music for Millions,” with June Allison, Jose Iturbi and Jimmy Mat 103—Still DC 37-15c Dane Clark Durante reenacting some of the vicissitudes of carrying on under rationing, war-time taxes, and particularly the homefront man-shortage. One of the most vividly dramatic productions in the present series of here-they-comehome-again pictures is that of the Republic studios, “My Buddy,” now ready for release with the endorsement of the American Legion. The film traces back to World War I and stars Don Barry. Once again Hollywood is proving itself hep. It went all out at the start to help shape and solidify the American will to win. It sent its pictures and its people to the front to maintain the morale of the fighting man. And it’s going to do its part in getting him his break when he gets back. Mat 206—Still VT 79-30c Sister is pitted against sister in this dramatic scene from Warner Bros.’ thrilling romance, “The Very Thought Of You," now at the Strand. Eleanor Parker, shown above with Andrea King, is co-starred with Dennis Morgan and Dane Clark.