Screenland (Nov 1944-Oct 1945)

to YOUTH By Mervyn LeRoy latest LeRoy epic, "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, "stars Van Johnson and introduces ne^jrcomer Tim Murdock, far right. Noted for / his many talent discoveries, ' L^Roy is youngest of / screenland's top directors. ' / Famous director makes strong plea to Hollywood to give young blood a break 52 IrFE of the film industry is J the young blood that flows into it each year. And the myopia gripping most of us older heads in respect to adolescents trying to crash the charmed circle is something worthy of analysis. We remember our own early struggles. We vividly recall that every rung of the ladder seemed to be greased, and whenever we grabbed hold we had to squeeze for dear life lest we tumble to the bottom again. So what? \\T)en, after years of fighting we finally get up on the platform and take a deeji breath, we are inclined to gaze down at the youngsters starting to climb and with all the altruism of a Spartan stepmother coyly remark, "Let 'em get up the best way they can! / did." We sometimes forget that we all received many a helping hand, many a boost from some kindly and considerate old-timer when we were trying to get going in the new and confusing game of motion pictures. Without the encouragement and aid of those veterans we could never have made it. In my case it was that grand old man of the stage and screen, Theodore Roberts, who opened the door for me. It was the .stage door to the Alcazar Theater in San Franci.sco. There was a kid part available in "Barbara Frietchie." I was .selling newspapers at the time, and the kindly Mr. Roberts got me the job because he believed any kid who hustled sheets after school deserved a lift. I received $3 weekly for climbing a property tree at each performance and yelling "The Yanks are coming." But this article isn't intended (the paper shortage being what it is) as a biography in which Old Man LeRoy sits Jack Warner, vice-president in charge of production, welcomes Mervyn LeRoy back to the Warner Bros. Studio, with Oscar Levant, center, adding his congratulations. back and chronicles his early thrills and disappointments. I'll save that for a few decades hence when the grandchildren condescendingly submit to being thoroughly bored by some gargantuan tales. However, remembering my early efforts to learn the game, I have always advocated as a constructive measure the establishment by the industry itself of an academy to train boys and girls in various arts and sciences of the screen. It is true that at the present time therr are a number of good, legitimate schools scattered around the country where some of these crafts are taught. But the uninitiated nowadays must always be skeptical lest he be taken in by one of the outfits with instructors who never saw a film studio. Many of these schools have only one objective, and that is to separate the student from hi§ money. How much better it would be if, under one roof and on one campus, a talented boy or girl could pass quahfying examinations and enroll for training as either an actor, cameraman, film laboratory worker, costume designer, publicity director, scenario writer, film editor, electrician, property man, director or some other studio craftsman. To insure a high I.Q. among students, the academy could make its entrance examinations difficult. The number of {Please turn to page (i.))