Showmen's Trade Review (Jul-Sep 1944)

August 26. 1944 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 37 IN HOLLYWOOD IT'S NEWS... London fog scenes for Columbia's "Tonight and j Every Night" had special scents ; for Rita Hayworth's scenes they poured her favorite perfume into the fog generators; for the Janet Blair scenes they used Janet's favorite perfume. What if some jokester poured the essence of ham into the machine some day? . . . Belita, Monogram's skating and dancing star, is starting on a ten-week personal appearance tour of Eastern cities . . . Maurice M. Cohen, president and general director of the Palladium in Hollywood is making plans to extend his Palladium to Honolulu and Sydney ... Mrs. Hal Roach has been asked to sponsor the new cruiser U.S.S. Los Angeles at the Philadelphia Navy Yard . . . Bill Goodwin has bought Lou Costello's hog ranch near Dos Palos, Calif, (probably as an excuse to use more Swan soap) . . . W. R. Frank needs a dog catcher these days when he is interviewing the cast for "A Boy, a Girl and a Dog," his next picture . . . Continuing the repute of the Dr. Gillespie series for introducing new stardom prospects. Tommye Adams, Peggy Maley and Joan Lawrence have been given roles in "Dr. Red Adams," with the hope they'll do as well as Laraine Day, Donna Reed, Susan Peters and Ava Gardner, who also started that way . . . Sam Katzman and Jack Dietz have bought an original story, j "Gang War," which hints at the story material of the future . . . Dorothy Lamour and Betty Hutton will appear in "Duffy's Tavern" in films, if not over the air . . . Fox's "Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe" will have a doorman who is half-philosopher and half cynic (no stage story would be complete without one) . . . George Waggner will be at the helm of Susanna Foster's next opus, "You're Wonderful," and to fit the title, George will produce and direct . . . Walter Bren\ nan will portray John Garfield's father in "Nobody Lives Forever" at Warners . . . Northern Music ' Company will supply all the songs for Columbia's ' "Sing Me a Song of Texas" . . . Tommy Neff cuts \ PRC's "The Town Went Wild" with the editor's shears . . . Republic has shut tight as a clam and no news has come out of the valley studio for about two J weeks . . . Joseph Ruttenberg, only two-time Academy \ Award winner in the field of cinematography, will photograph "Valley of Decision" . . . "They Shall Have Faith" goes into its fourth week at Monogram with scenes on the largest set this studio ever erected . . . Paramount has changed its newest Musical Parade from ' "South of Paradise" to "Isle of Tabu" . . . "None So Blind" has been bought for RKO production with I Val Lewton as associate producer and Jack Gross as an executive producer . . . John Lucas, former writer, j is at 20th Century-Fox as assistant to Director Lloyd Bacon on "Sunday Dinner for a Soldier." ] Barbara Brown, Colleen Townsend Join 'Pillar to Post' Cast Barbara Brown, last seen in "Janie," has had her Warner Bros, contract renewed by Jack L. Warner, executive producer, and has been I assigned to portray Sydney Greenstreet's wife in "Pillar to Post," the Ida Lupino starrer. Colleen Townsend, who made her screen debut in "Janie," also has been assigned to a role I in "Pillar to Post." Truex in 'Pan-Americana' Ernest Truex has been signed for an impor1, tant role in RKO Radio's "Pan-Americana." )|] Featured in "Pan-Americana" which John H. Auer is producing and directing, are Phillip Terry, Audrey Long, Robert Benchley, Eve Arden and Marc Cramer. Maurice Rocco for Tavern' Maurice Rocco, Negro pianist, has been signed by Paramount for a specialty spot in "Duffy's Tavern," following a preview of "Incendiary Blonde," in which he made his first film appearance. LaPlanche Option Exercised Ro semary LaPlanche, soon to be seen in "Having W'onderful Crime," screen version |j: of the Craig Rice mystery novel, has had the I' option on her contract exercised by RKO Radio. Hugh Harman Productions Plan 'Evangeline' as Technicolor Picture Longfellow's immortal poem, "Evangeline," is to be brought to the screen by Hugh Harman Productions as a pretentious Technicolor spectacle. Budgeted at a cost of approximately $1,000,000, Hugh Harman has announced the subject as one of the leading efforts on the company's post-war program. For the past month Richard C. Kahn, Robert .Allen, James Fabian, George Gordon and other Harman executives have been doing research work on the forthcoming ambitious production, and entire studio staff will collaborate on the story treatment. Harman's patented "animaction" process will be used in the filming, with the title role to be portrayed by a "name" star, to be announced upon acceptance of script. 'Charlie Chan' Script Completed George Callahan has turned in completed original screenplay on "Mystery Mansion," next in Monogram's Charlie Chan series starring Sidney Toler. Phil Rosen will direct for producer James S. Burkett. Green to Direct 'Eadie' Alfred E. Green, one of Columbia's top directors, has been assigned to direct the big-budget musical, "Eadie Was a Lady," with Ann Miller, Joe Besser and Hal Mclntyre and his Orchestra. Keays to Direct Next Starrett Vernon Keays has been signed by Columbia to direct the next Charles Starrett starrer, "Raiders of Quanto Basin." PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE STUDIOS {Continued from Page 36) Star." The Warner version of the Ruth O'Malley original, purchased in galley form from Cosmopolitan magazine, will be produced by Henry Blanke. ►Three top featured roles in "Tonight We Dance," Columbia dramatic feature, will be played by William Wright, Ann Savage and Howard Freeman of the studio list. Jeff Donnell plays the feminine lead opposite a male lead not yet filled. Henry Levin is the director. ►Marjorie Clemens and Rebel Randall have been given the feminine leads in PRC's "Song of the Six Guns" Tex Ritter-Dave O'Brien western which started with Elmer Clifton directing. Alexander-Stern Productions, Inc., are making the film, which also features Guy Wilkerson. Lukas, Slezak Signed Paul Lukas, now before the RKO Radio cameras opposite Hedy Lamarr and George Brent in "Experiment Perilous," has been signed to a three-year, non-exclusive contract by the studio calling for one picture annually. Walter Slezak has been signed to a similar pact. Freeman in Ingenue Lead Mona Freeman has been borrowed by Columbia from Paramount to play the ingenue lead in the Irene Dunne-Charles Boyer-Charles Ccyburn starrer, "A Woman's Privilege," which Charles Vidor is directing. It