Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

28 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, October 15, 1949 Hollywood Newsreel West Coast Offices — 6777 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 28, Ccdii — Ann Lewis, Manager PRODUCTION PARADE By Rnn Lewis HUfflUlilimilHilillllililllilllilllllllllllllllllllillllUIIIIIIIIIIIHll^ Direction assignments were handed out to four directors at Republic. Two were westerns. Fred Brannon got the next Allan "Rocky" Lane "Gunmen of Abilene" and Phil Ford the second Rex Allen outdoor opus "Redwood Forest Trail." The other two were "Unmasked," a newspaper story which George Blair will handle, and "Tarnished," a melodrama, Harry Keller's next for the studio. Sam Jaffe, the distinguished Broadway stage and screen star and Sterling Hayden, were signed for top roles in MiGM's "Asphalt Jungle" which John Huston will direct. To be produced by Arthur Hornblow, the picture rolls at the end of this month with Jean Hagen and James Whitmore in leading roles. Producer Carl K. Hittleman has signed Vincent Price for the starring role in Lippert Productions' "Baron of Arizona." Direction will be by Samuel Fuller from his own screenplay. Cameras are scheduled to roll Nov. 1. Scott Brady an Mona Freeman (on loanout from Paramount) were set to co-star in Universal's "Shoplifter." Leonard Goldstein will produce and Charles Lamont direct, with the picture due to start before the end of the month. MacDonald Carey and his wife are on vacation at Sun Valley prior to his return for the leading role in "Outrage," the Pine-Thomas picture for Paramount release. * * "Two Flags," an original story by William R. Lipman, was purchased by R. W. Alcorn as his next production and has a tentative starting date of January. It will be in Technicolor, and the producer plans an all star cast. This will be Alcorn's second independent production ; the first was the recently completed "Johnny Holiday." Bette Davis has been signed by Producers Jack H. Skirball and Bruce Manning to star in "This Day Is Ours," scheduled to start November 15th for distribution by RKO. With Curtis Bernhardt slated to direct, picture will be }\Iiss Davis' first since ending her long-term contract with Warner Bros. Direction of the Columbia picture "Fortunes of Captain Blood," which Harry Joe Brown will produce, has been turned over to H. Bruce "Lucky" Humberstone. Louis Hayward plays the title role in this picturization of the famous Sabatini novel. Cameras start rolling Oct. 24. "The Bowery Boys in London" has been announced as Producer Jan Grippo's first in his A'lonogram series to go before the cameras in 1-950. Before that, the producer will make "The Bowery Boys on a Double Date," due to roll next month. Marshall Thompson, signed to a term contract at MGM, gets one of the leading dramatic roles in "Mystery Street;" which stars Ricardo Montalban. The film goes into work at Cambridge, Mass. Script was approved by the Department of Legal Medicine of the Harvard Medical School, the actual locale of the story. * 'K •t Peggy Lee, popular songstress, joins Bing Crosby in Paramount's "Mr.. Music." 3 Top-Budget Films Rolling at HKO-Radio With the start of the Jack H. Skirball-Bruce Manning production, "Blind Spot," on Oct. 17, three top-budget productions will be rolling this month at RKO Radio, the largest number of big-name features shooting at the same time since Howard Hughes took over as managing director of production. Executive Producer Sid Rogell has had the Ansco 'Color special, "The White Tower," starring Glenn Ford and Valli, in production for several weeks, while Executive Producer Robert Sparks sent "Carriage Entrance," with Robert Mitchum, Ava Gardner and Melvyn Douglas in stellar roles, before the cameras a few days ago. 4 Warner Production Units To Go on Location Nov. Four Warner Bros, units will be shooting simultaneously on location come November. "The Victim" company will go to Palm Springs for a week of desert resort filming, while Milton Sperling (United States Pictures) will send his "Rock Bottom" cast and crew to Mount Waterman and Mount Whitney for lodge and mountain rescue scenes. "Storm Center" is slated for an extended November location trip to Corona, Calif., and "The Hawk and the Arrow" (Harold Hecht-Norma Production) will be at Bronson f"anyon. Sidney Sets Record as 1949' s Busiest Director George Sidney, who took over the directorial duties this week for MGlM's "Annie Get Your Gun," establishes some sort of a record as 1949's busiest director. The Technicolor musical marks his third major production in eight months. His first was "The Red Danube," followed by "Key to the City." The year 1950 promises to be equally busy for Sidney, who has already been assigned to "Showboat," scheduled to go before the cameras in early spring. 8 Allied Artists Films Set for '49-50 Production With the purchase of "My Wife Is Mine," a starring vehicle for Florence Marly, which Jeffrey Bernard will produce, eight Allied Artists films will go before the cameras during the 1949-50 season. They include "The Giant Killer," "Heaven Is Where You Find It," "The Police Story," "Land of the Sky Blue Water," "The Longhorn," and to be made in England, "The Highwayman" and "The Bishop's Mantle." Story Bought for Serial "The Phantom Ruler," an original screenplay by Ronald Davidson, has been purchased by Republic and assigned to Associate Producer Franklin Adreon for production as one of the studio's four serials for the 1949-50 program. It will go before the cameras upon the completion of the currently shooting serial, "Radar Patrol vs. Spy King." Should Combine Significance, Entertainment "Motion pictures should combine significance and entertainment," declares Aaron Rosenberg, Universal-International producer. "Neither significant subject matter nor entertainment alone is sufficient in a picture. You can have the most important subject in the world, but if it is not presented in an entertaining manner the picture will fail. Once word of the picture gets around, people won't even go to see it. They don't want their screen fare to be dull, no matter how important the subject matter may be. "On the other hand, you can cram a picture with so-called entertainment, but unless the story has some meaning to it you will not get an enthusiastic audience response. People may enjoy the film while they are seeing it, but 10 minutes after they have left the theatre they will have forgotten it completely. "Every picture should send people out of the theatre with something to make them remember it. An example of what I mean may be found in 'The Story of Molly X,' a film we recently finished at U-I. The significance of that picture lies in the great work that is being done in the women in the California State Women's Prison. The story also is entertaining because of the excitement that has been injected into its telling." Rosenberg is one producer who has come up the hard way. After graduating from the University of Southern California, where he was an AU-American football star, he became an assistant director. Then he advanced to associate producer and early this year was promoted to a producer's berth at U-I. To date he has completed three pictures — 'Johnny Stool Pigeon," "The Story of Molly X" and "Outside the Wall." All of these films dealt with crime in one form or another and every one is jam-packed with action and suspense. Rosenberg now is preparing three other productions for early shooting: "Winchester 73," "Pauline Cushman" and "Flame Blue Glove." Aaron Rosenberg rehabilitation of