Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

November 4, 1944 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 75 IN HOLLYWOOD IT'S NEWS... Keith Winter has turned in the "Uncle Harry script to Universal Producer Joan Harrison . . Kobert Buckner, Warner producer, has completed the screenplay on "The Devil, George and Rosie . . Renewal of Columbia's popular "Blondie" series will find all the important members of the original cast back m their famiUar roles . . . Marjory Clements is the femme in PRC's "Marked For Murder" . . . Wanda Tuchock s script of "Sunday Dinner For a Soldier" has been selected as an outstanding example of screen writing by NYU's Professor Frederic M. Thrasher . . . Paul Andor, W. R. Frank's Goebbels in "Enemy of Women, is recording a series of propaganda broadcasts for the OWI . David Reed and Minna Gombell hit the pubUcity blurbs this week with announcements that each is trying to sell an original comedy . . . Warners have bought rights to "The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill, famous for his books on social questions . . Hunt Stromberg has signed Betty Caldwell to do a chore in "Dishonored Lady" . . . After two years in the Marine Corps, Captain Louis Hayward comes back to pictures in Samuel Bronston s Ten LitUe Indians" . . . "The Wings of the Dove, the first novel by Henry James bought for the screen, has been acquired by D. O. Selznick . . . Having finished "Civilian Clothes" for Sol Lesser, Jay Dratler was permitted to go into "Canteen in Pans" . . . MGM has taken options on five expectant cows, with the privilege of buying the calf born nearest to the starting date of a certain scene in "Our Vines Have Tender Grapes" . . . Universal has picked up options on Director Arthur Lubin and Dialogue Director Stacy Keach . . . Jeffrey Bernerd has set Conrad Nagel for one more picture following "They Shall Have Faith" . . . Faye Emerson gets a top spot in Warners' "Hotel Berlin"; probably a penthouse ... To the reader who asked: "The Lost Weekend" has Ray Milland and Jane Wyman, while Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner and Phyllis Thaxter are in "Weekend at the Waldorf ; It is not true that RKO has cast a certain young male star as "The Body Snatcher" . . . "None So Blind" and "Father Malachy's Miracle" will be Producer Val Lewton's first two productions under the new setup recently announced by RKO. Film Finances Ministry Study Charles Beaumont, young actor using his salary as a film actor to finance his study for the ministry, and Oy Chan, Chinese actress, have been added to the cast of "Blood on the Sun," which William Cagney is producing for United Artists release with James Cagney and Sylvia Sidney in the starring roles. New 'Cisco Kid' Players Second in a new Monogram series, "The Cisco Kid Comes Through," starring Duncan Renaldo with Martin Garralaga, has had several new players added to its cast. They include Pedro de Cordoba, Jan Wiley, Emmett Lynn and Cy Kendall. 'Sleepy Hollow' to Be Musical "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" will be produced by RKO Radio as a musical. Waldo Salt is writing the story. Richard Berger will handle production under supervision of Executive Producer Jack Gross. Bob Haymes Back at Studio Bob Haymes, singing actor under contract to Columbia when inducted into the Army, has received a medical discharge and will resume his picture career with the studio. Karlstein to Direct 'Kelly' "Make Way for Kelly," Monogram comedy, will be produced by Lindsley Parsons. Phil Karlstein will direct. Warner Writing Staff Now Working on 23 New Scripts Warner Bros, writing staff is now working on 23 scripts which Jack L. Warner, executive producer, has placed on the production schedule for the coming months. Novels to be made into pictures are "Hotel Berlin," by Vicki Baum; "Dangerous Marriage," by James M. Cain, and "Land I Have Chosen," by Ellin Mackay Berlin. Plays nearing production are "Dark Eyes," by Elena Miramova and Eugenie Leontovich, and "Wallflower," by Mary Orr and Louise Randall Pierson. Seventeen original stories being prepared are: "One Man's Secret," by Rita Weiman and W. R. Burnett ; an untitled original by A. L Bezzerides ; "Don't Ever Leave Me," by Norma and Ben Barzman; "Don Juan," by Herbert Dalmas; "This Love of Ours," story of Marine Sergeant Al Schmid; "The Frontiersman," by Thomas Williamson; "Mr. Broadway," story of Sime Silverman, founder of Variety; "Night and Day," story of Cole Porter and his music; "Janie Gets Married," by Gertrude Keck and Josephine Bentham ; "When Old New York was Young," by Peter Milne and Leonard Lee; "Calamity Jane," by scripter Alan LeMay; "Manhattan Fury," with Stephen Longstreet assigned ; an untitled original by Philip MacDonald ; "Will Rogers," by Betty Blake Rogers ; "Stolen Life," on which Catherine Turney is assigned ; "Cheyenne," an original by Paul Wellman, and an untitled picture by Lionel Wiggam. Columbia Signs New Juvenile Jerome Courtland, 17-year-old juvenile, who will make his screen debut in "Together Again," starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer, has been signed to a long-term contract by Columbia. Four on Wald Schedule Jerry Wald, Warner Bros, producer who recently finished "The Very Thought of You" and "Objective Burma," is readying four new stories assigned to him by Jack L. Warner, executive producer. They include "This Love of Ours" and "Mildred Pierce," scheduled to start shooting the middle of November, and "Silver Lining" and "Don Juan." De Mos Heads Monogram Stills Nick De Mos, for seven years with the still laboratory of Warner Bros, and just given an honorable discharge by the navy after two and a half years as an aviator, has been appointed head of the still department of Monogram. China Sky' Cast Set Complete cast for "China Sky," from the novel by Pearl S. Buck, has been announced by RKO Radio. Stars are Randolph Scott, Ruth Warrick and Ellen Drew. Supporting are Anthony Quinn, Carol Thurston, Richard Loo, "Ducky" Louis, Philip Ahn, Benson Fong, H. T. Tsiang and Chin Kuang Chow. Shooting Philadelphia Scenes Delmer Daves, Warner Bros, director, was scheduled to leave Hollywood November 4 for Philadelphia to shoot background material for "This Love of Ours," story of Marine Sergeant Al Schmid, in which John Garfield will star. ADV. Can't Get It? Joe Hornstein Has It IHE BRASS RING OF AU REISSUES A GRIPPING ACTION DRAMA IflAI WILL NEVER GROW 0L0< FOSTER HOMARD PHILLIPS n>t£MADK0N^{»V(S10lli NOW! Atlanta — Astor Boston — Astor Buffalo — Pam-0 Chicago — Elman Charlotte — Astor Cincinnati — Popular Cleveland — Dallas — Astor Denver — Commercial Detroit — Allied ndianapolis — P.R.C. Los Angeles — Majestic Minneapolis — P.R.C. Milwaukee — Astor Washington — Astor New Orleans — Astor New York — Astor Philadelphia — Capitol Pittsburgh — Crown Portland — Star San Francisco — Astor St. Louis — Astor