We Are Not Alone (Warner Bros.) (1939)

@ Opening Day Story @ Prepared Review PAUL MUNI IN “WE ARE NOT ALONE” Muni Brings Hilton’s ‘We Are Not Alone’ OPENING AT STRAND THEATRE TODAY The new Paul Muni starring picture “We Are Not Alone,” adapted from the best-selling novel by James Hilton, author of “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” will have its local premiere today at the Strand Theatre. Produced by Warner Bros., and directed by Edmund Goulding, whose most recent work was “The Old Maid” earlier in the season, ‘““We Are Not Alone” has received unanimous acclaim from all the critics who previewed it in Hollywood. Muni’s role is a complete departure from the historical biographies he has done in the past several years. In “We Are Not Alone” he plays a modern, fictional character, a small town English doctor, who serves his patients with compassion and skill but is completely unable to remedy the pain in his own life. The film tells the story of his neither happy nor melancholy life in a little cathedral town, and of how the pat tern of that life was shattered by his summons to attend a little Austrian dancer in a down-at-the-heel stock company. The story of the linked fates of these two is one of love, jealousy, passion and enduring faith. Appearing with him in the role of the dancer is Jane Bryan, brilliant young dramatic actress whose performance in “The Old Maid” won her the role opposite Muni. Flora Robson, noted British screen star, is cast as his cold and unsympathetic wife, and young Raymond Severn plays their little son. Others in the notable supporting cast include Una O’Connor, Henry Daniell, Montagu Love, James Stephenson, Ely Malyon and a score of others. Hilton and Milton Krims wrote the screen play based on Hilton’s novel, and Max Steiner wrote the sympathetic musical score which accompanies the film. ® Current Reader MUNI'S SCREEN SON PLEASED WITH ‘DAD’ To most of Hollywood, Paul Muni may be the great actor who is staid, serious and completely submerged in his work. To seven-yearold Raymond Severn he’s a “swell fellow” who knows ponies, bicycles and knife-throwing. Raymond is Muni’s screen son in the Warner Bros. movie, “We Are Not Alone,” now showing at the Strand. Until a few days ago they had never met. Now the two of them are fast friends. Muni, who ordinarily stays in character straight through a picture, seems to enjoy having young Raymond interrupt his reveries and ask him questions. After they finished their first scene, Raymond started off the set alone, Muni caught up with him and the two went off together. When they came back, Raymond said they’d been looking at the ponies that were going to be used in a later street scene. One of Raymond’s later scenes required him to throw a knife with a fair degree of accuracy. Muni made a contest of it by erecting a paper target in one corner of the stage and competing with the lad to see who could score the most bull’s eyes. “Everybody tells me Mr. Muni is very serious,” says Raymond, “but he seems like a regular guy to me.” ® Current Shorts New Film's Score Superb One of the most beautiful musical scores ever to be written for a motion picture is heard in “We Are Not Alone” in which Paul Muni is starred. Written by Max Steiner, Warner Bros.’ music director, it uses as themes music from Joseph Hayden’s “Surprise” symphony, and an old German folk song whose English translation is “A Bird Came Flying.” Keyed in a minor mood to blend with the tragic theme of the story, it intensifies the dramatic values of the action and dialogue. The themes are incorporated in Steiner’s original music, the whole score being a completely rounded camposition, symphonically orchestrated. Mrs. Muni Won't 'Kibitz' When Paul Muni played his tender -love scenes with Jane Bryan for “We Are Not Alone,” his wife wasn’t on the set. Mrs. Muni is usually a regular visitor to the sets where her husband is working. She watches him do all of his dramatic scenes and her presence is an inspiration. By mutual consent, however, she stayed away while the “We Are Not Alone” love scenes were being filmed. It wasn’t that she minded watching him make screen love to another woman, she explained. It was just that she was afraid her presence might distract him during such scenes, or make him nervous. Still WA pub. A61; Mat 201—30c ON THE CAROUSEL—Paul Muni and Raymond Severn, who plays his son in "We Are Not Alone," enjoy a merry-go-round in a scene from Warner Bros.’ new dramatic film which is currently showing at the Strand Theatre. To Glowing Life on Screen at Strand Paul Muni has established his genius beyond any question of doubt with such films as “The Story of Louis Pasteur,” “The Life of Emile Zola” and “Juarez.” If he were never to make another picture, he would still stand as the greatest dramatic actor of them all. But he has made another picture. ““We Are Not Alone” shows a new Muni, a Muni who tops all of his great historical characterizations with the portrayal of a small town English doctor, not a great man, not a hero, but simply a gentle, kindly soul whom _ circumstances make the victim of a cruel injustice. Written by the world-renowned author of “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” James Hilton, and directed by Edmund Goulding, whose most recent films were “Dark Victory” and “The Old Maid,” “We Are Not Alone’”’ is a triumphant blending of writing, acting and directorial genius into the perfect motion picture, full of drama, warmth and life. We have seen Muni project himself so thoroughly into characters like Zola and Pasteur’ that we felt we were actually seeing these great men of the past living again before our eyes. He assumed their mannerisms, their facial characteristics, their nationalities. As Dr. Newcome, however, he is working with a modern fictional character, without the aid of make-up, or volumes of biographical data. That he makes it a thoroughly illuminated and beautiful performance, pulsating with life, seems even greater proof of his genius than any of his former roles. Muni Cast as Doctor A kindly, gentle soul, Dr. Newcome goes about his work of healing the sick in the sleepy littie town of Calderbury, riding his bicycle over the cobblestone streets on his errands of mercy, completely unconcerned with the petty town politics in which his wife, stupid and conventional, and her brother the Archdeacon are so immersed. His simple pleasures are his pipe, his violin and the occasional hour he has free to spend with his small son. Then into the even tenor of his days comes Leni, the little Austrian dancer, whom he snatches back from the death she has sought to inflict upon herself because she is friendless and *Still WA 140; Mat 202—30c PAUL MUNI and JANE BRYAN in the tenderest screen romance of many years, "We Are Not Alone," which opened yesterday at the Strand Theatre. alone. The two are drawn together by a strange fascination, a mutual need for understanding. With his wife’s consent, he hires her as governess for the little boy. For a while there is happiness and accord in the doctor’s household, but tragedy follows close upon its heel, tragedy that arises directly from the juxtaposition of the characters, their gentle unworldliness that is completely at odds with the narrow-minded, ultra conventional world in which they live. It is injustice of the cruelest kind which writes finis to the lives of the “little doctor” and Leni. Brilliant Cast In support of Muni there is a large and excellently-chosen cast, headed by Jane Bryan, as Leni, and Flora Robson, as the doctor’s wife. To those who saw Miss Bryan’s fine work as Bette Davis’ daughter in “The Old Maid,” it will come as no surprise that she turns in a finely chiselled, beautifully sustained performance which stamps her as one of the screen’s finest young dramatic actresses destined for true greatness. Miss Robson, who was seen most recently here as the housekeeper in “Wuthering Heights,” and whose distinguished dramatic talents have made her one of the top British stars, illuminates the unsympathetic role of the wife with brilliant understanding. In the character of the son, little Raymond Severn does a remarkable job of portraying a sensitive, imaginative child, without any of the objectionable mannerisms of the moppet. Una O’Connor contributes a well-done and venomous role as the family servant, and Henry Daniell, Montagu Love, James Stephenson, Alan Napier, Ely Malyon and a score of other players round out the perfectly chosen cast. Nowhere is there a false note in character or direction. The mood of the story is perfectly sustained from beginning to end without a single meaningless scene or a solitary extraneous line of dialogue. Fine Musical Score The musical score by Max Steiner which accompanies the film is keyed in a minor mood to blend with the tragic theme of the story, and succeeds brilliantly in intensifying the dramatic values of the action and dialogue. “We Are Not Alone” is truly that rare thing—the perfect film. Short Items on Cast and Production Paul Muni plainly enjoying a reunion with an old friend he had neglected of late as he and Flora Robson, the English character star, were rehearsing for a scene of “We Are Not Alone,” which is currently showing at the Strand. That friend is Muni’s violin. He studied the violin for years during his boyhood, but practically gave up _ playing when he became an actor. Now, as the music loving doctor of “We Are Not Alone,” he’s making use of his almost forgotten talent. * * * Paul Muni’s newest starring film, “We Are Not Alone,” adapted from the novel by the author of “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” will have its first showing today at the Strand Theatre, Edmund Goulding, whose most recent work was, “The Old Maid,” directed the Warner Bros. production, and Jane Bryan, young dramatic actress who attracted so much attention in “The Old Maid,” has the romantic lead opposite Muni. * * * Flora Robson, noted English screen star, brushed aside other offers on both sides of the Atlantic and rushed to Hollywood to accept a role in “We Are Not Alone,” simply because it was opposite Paul Muni. She has always considered him one of the world’s greatest actors and she was quite willing to accept the role sight unseen in order to have the opportunity of working with him. C7] (Current Shorts and Program Fillers ) For the first time, James Hilton had a direct hand in bringing one of his novels to the screen. Hilton wrote “Lost Horizon” and “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” both of which were made into hit pictures, but he didn’t see them filmed. The English novelits has written the screen play adaptation of his latest best seller, ‘““We Are Not Alone,” however, and was a daily visitor on the sets where Warner Bros. studio was filming the story with Paul Muni in the starring role. The picture opens at the Strand Theatre today. * * * Paul Muni listened in amazement as Edmund Goulding, who is directing him in “We Are Not Alone,” played eight of his musical compositions on the piano — several unpublished and untitled. Then Goulding sang a bit of opera — well. “Is there nothing the man can’t do?” Muni demanded. “Yes,” said Goulding with some asperity, “I can’t cook.” * * * Paul Muni kept telling a prop man to give him a good dousing with water for rain scenes of “We Are Not Alone,” but evidently the man didn’t think Warner Bros. most dignified star should be really sopping for a scene. At least, he didn’t like to responsible. Muni settled that. He caught up a whole bucket of water and upended it over his own head! For 45 seconds of dancing, Jane Bryan had as volunteer instructor the highest paid and most famous maestro of the ballet, George Balanchine. Miss Bryan did the brief bit of dancing—a whirl and a few steps for a scene of “We Are Not Alone,” the Warner Bros. drama in which she’s appearing opposite Paul Muni. At the request of Direc tor Edmund Goulding, Balanchine, who had just finished directing his illustrious pupil and wife, Zorina, in the dance sequences of “On Your Toes,’ came to the set to coach her. * * * You don’t often hear about serious Paul Muni being ribbed on the set but it happened when the star of “We Are Not Alone” was rehearsing a violin selection for the picture. Mrs. Muni borrowed Edmund Goulding’s hat and passed it around for pennies. Muni came through in grand style with an exaggerated bow and an encore selection. * * * Stanley Logan, dialogue director on many Warner Bros. pictures including “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex,” makes his debut as an actor in “We Are Not Alone,” the Paul Muni starring film which is based on the novel by James Hilton, author of “Good-bye, Mr. Chips.” “We Are Not Alone” is showing at the Strand.