Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1945)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

June 30, 1945 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 31 Mid.. SUaiuman Qaed, Dear Mr. Exhibitor's Wife: We're going to see Gale Storm again. I've arranged for us to go down to Monogram where she's working and visit with her on the set of "The Gay Nineties," the picture in which Phil Regan (the singing cop) plays the romantic lead opposite her. I chose today because, not only vnll we get to see Gale, but they're shooting a ballroom scene with lots of extras: a very colorful sequence, for it takes place at the turn of the century, when women wore voluminous dresses and men wore funny-looking formal attire. Set is a replica of the lush ballrooms of those days. In fact, it looks just like some of the old paintings we see around, for Scott Dunlap, the producer, has made sure that it is the authentic copy. It has elaborate furniture; the rich red velvet hangings and the generally lavish surroundings of that era. Even the table with the huge punch bowl is there. This is the dance Gale's aunt is giving to introduce her to society. Story is about the struggle between the section of Gale's family who live on the Bowery and the section that graduated to the Murray Hill swank 400 district. Gale, a singer in her father's Bowery Beer Hall and romantically interested in Regan, who is running for Alderman on the Bowery, has been spruced up to be presented to the eligible gentlemen of the upper crust. She looks adorable in a coral-colored satin very much off-the-shoulder dress which was the height of evening fashion in the Gay Nineties, with a bustle in the back and a draped pannier front, and the entire bottom of the skirt edged with a pleated ruffle. Outfit has a modem note, though: the upswept hair and the pink ostrich plume, plus the long white kid gloves, are just like the things we use today for our dress-up occasions. We sit down to watch the dancing, and incidentally, the shooting, right next to Regan, who isn't in this particular scene. His anecdotes about how he got into "show business" and the different people he's met, keep us amused while the setting-up is going on. Then, when Director Ralph Murphy has everything lined up, he gives the order for "rehearsal." With that, the playback starts and the couples commence dancing. The dancing is repeated several times before the okay is given for the "take" and Gale can come over to visit. Children, houses and everyday problems are the topic of our conversation, for we start by asking her about the new house and the baby. A very enjoyable visit is broken up when the call comes through for "Gale Storm on set." When she says good-bye, we leave. Until next week. Ann Lewis To Play Dick Tracy, Jr. Mickej' Kuhn, 11-year-old lad who played Clark Gable's son in "Gone With the Wind," has been signed to play Dick Tracy, Jr. in RKO Radio's "Dick Tracy," first in a series of films based on the popular Chester Gould comic strip. Other additions to the cast include Jason Robards, Edmund Glover, Emory Parnell and Milton Parsons. Kennedy Back in Hollywood Edgar Kennedy, comedian star of RKO Radio shorts, is back in Hollywood after a tour of 24 Army and Navy hospitals in Florida, Mississippi, Georgia and Louisiana. He was accompanied by his wife and his 18-year-old daughter, Colleen, both of whom appeared with him in his act. ADV. Can't Get It? Joe Hornstein Has It Levey in N. Y. for Conferences Jules Levey, independent producer releasing through United Artists, was expected to arrive in New York this week for conferences with home office executives. Upon his return to Hollywood he will immediately place in production his second release for UA, "Trail Town," a screen adaptation of the Ernest Haycox novel. Randolph Scott portrays the starring role under the direction of Edwin L. Marin. Lubifsch Gets 'Cluny Brown' Ernst Lubitsch has been named to produce and direct the film version of the best-selling novel, "Cluny Brown," for 20th Century-Fox. Charles Boyer and Jennifer Jones have been named for the starring roles. The production goes before the cameras July 2. Signed for Top Featured Roles Barbara Jo Allen ("Vera Vague"), Robert Benchley and Janis Wilson have been signed for top featured roles in Columbia's "Snafu," screen adaptation of the George Abbott stage comedy. Jack Moss is producing and directing. Juvenile leads will be played by Nanette Parks, Jimmy Lloyd and Conrad Janis. MGM's 'Yearling' to Be Finished This Summer, Says Brown Started four years ago but defeated by Mother Nature, MGM's "The Yearling" will definitely be finished this summer. Director Clarence Brown has released tliis statement from Ocala, Florida, where he is shooting a film version of the famous Pulitzer Prize novel. Exactly four summers ago, a location crew guided by Director Victor Fleming undertook the production and, after an estimated expenditure of half a million dollars, abandoned it. Murphy in Maisie Film George Murphy has been assigned by MGM to costar opposite Ann Sothern in a new Maisie picture, "Up Goes Maisie," scheduled to start production soon. George Haight will produce and Harry Beaumont will direct. Brissac, Richards Signed Virginia Brissac and Addison Richards have been set for featured roles in Columbia's "The Kansan" (tentative title), a Technicolor western drama in which Evelyn Keyes, Willard Parker and Larry Parks have top roles. Technical Adviser on Women Dr. Benjamin Sacks has been engaged by Paramount as technical adviser for "The Trouble With Women" in which Ray MilJand plays a professor of psychology. Co-starring with Milland are Teresa Wright and Brian Donlevy under direction of Sidney Lanfield. Cast Opposite Dick Powell Micheline Cheirel, prominent on the French stage and in French films before the war, will play one of the two feminine roles opposite Dick Powell in RKO Radio's "Cornered." Siegel Takes Over 'Skies' Sol C. Siegel has taken over the production reins of Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies," which co-stars Bing Crosby, Paul Draper and Joan Caulfield under direction of Stuart Heisler. Cast in Zane Grey Picture Tanis Chandler, French-born model and actress, will play an important role in RKO Radio's "Wanderer of the Wasteland," Zane Grey story with James Warren, Audrey Long and Richard Martin. Signed for Western Lead Jennifer Holt has been signed for the leading feminine role in "The Lost Trail," Monogram western comedy-drama starring Johnny Mack Brown with Raymond Hatton. A REAL MONEY SHOW Ask Any Exhibitor That Has Played It man _ A Streamlined Feature (40 MINUTES) The BIRTH of A STAR " DIRECTED BY BUD POLLARD 'B<^ it NOW! TODAY AT THESE EXCHANGES Atlanta — Astor Boston — Embassy Buffalo — Pam-O Chicago — Capitol Charlotte — Astor Cincinnati — Popular Cleveland — Imperial Dallas — Astor Denver — Commercial Des Moines — Film Classics Detroit — Allied Indianapolis — P.R.C. Los Angeles — Astor Minneapolis — Film Classics Milwaukee — Astor New Haven — Embassy — Boston New Orleans — Astor New York — Astor Philadelphia — Capitol Pittsburgh — Crown Portland — Star San Francisco — Astor St. Louis — Dietz Washington — Astor