Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, December 31, 1949 29 Hollywood Newsreel West Coast Offices — 6777 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 28. Colii— Ann Lewis. Manager PRODUCTION PARADE By Ann Lewis ■MiiiimiiunuBiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin^^ Robert AJitchum and Faith Domergue will be the new romantic team when RKO puts "A White Rose for Julie" before the cameras. With John Farrow borrowed from Paramount to direct and Irving Cummings, Jr., and Irwin Allen producing, the film is scheduled to start the first week in January. * * * Stephen McNally gets one of the starring roles in Universal-International's "Winchester 73," a story dealing with the influence of the first repeating rifle. James Stewart and Shelley Winters have already been assigned for the top roles. Filming starts in January with Anthony Mann directing. * * * Script of Lippert Productions' "Operation Haylift," story of the .\ir Force's effort to feed blizzard-bound cattle during last winter's storms, was approved by the Armed Forces motion picture liaison department and goes before the cameras next month on location in Nevada. No cast has been announced. * * * Barry Fitzgerald as a police inspector and Rudy Mate to direct, are the latest assignments for Paramount's "Union Station," which is due to get the "go" signal within the next few weeks. Others cast for principal roles are William Holden, Wanda Hendrix and Nancy Olson, with Jules Schermer producing. * * * Academy Award Winner Emil Newman was signed as musical director for the Anson Bond-Emerald Production "Vicious Years," which Film Classics will release. :^ :^ Charles McGraw, who did such an outstanding job as the killer in RKO's "The Threat," was signed by the studio for a starring role in "Code 3." Production is being handled by Herman Schlom and Richard Fleischer will direct. Shooting is scheduled for the early part of January. Frank l^'aylen was assigned by Columbia to replace John Ireland in one of the top featured roles in "One Way Out," which will co-star Glenn Ford and Broderick Crawford. Henry Levin is directing and Jerry Bresler producing. ^; * Claudette Colbert will direct as well as act, in the future, for she has signed a director's contract with Producers Jack H. Skirball and Bruce Manning. Pact calls for her to handle three films, the first to be "All Women are Human," an original romantic comedy by Manning, scheduled for production in the Spring of 1950. * * * Sam Baiter, news commentator, has been signed by Producer James S. Burkett to do the narration on "Young Daniel Boone," Monogram Cinecolor special co-starring David Bruce and Kristine Miller. Reginald LeBorg directed. Jack Cummings, MGM producer of "The Stratton Story," is preparing "The Tender Hours," comedy starring Jane Powell and Ricardo Montalban, as his first picture for 1950. John Barrymore, Jr., and Chill Wills are due to start in the second LeMay-Templeton Production for Eagle-Lion release, "Deadfall." To be photographed in Technicolor, the entire film will be made on location in Marfa, Texas, with cameras set to go right after the first of the year. Basil Ruysdael and John Archer are also in the cast. * * * First picture for Cary Grant under a contract to make a series of films over a period of years for RKO, will be the screen version of the stage success, "O Mistress Mine," which starred Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Film will get under way early in 1950. Paramount to Statt 4 Pictures in January Filming will start on four pictures at the Paramount studios in January, Henry Ginsberg, vice-president and studio head, announced late last week. The four are : "Union Station," based on a Saturday Evening Post suspense serial, which goes before the cameras on Jan. 16. "My Friend Irma Goes West," a sequel to "My Friend Irma," based on the CBS radio series, starts the same day. "Montana Rides," a Technicolor western, starts later in January, as will also "No Escape." Jane Wyman Named 'Ethan Frame' Star Originally on the studio's schedule for Bette Davis, who has since severed her connections, "Ethan Frome" has been announced by Warner Bros, as Jane Wyman's next film. Although Helen Deutsch has written the most recent screenplay for the film, which is based on Edith Wharton's 1911 novel, additional work will be done on it when Miss Wyman takes a vacation after completing "The Glass Menagerie." Nassour to Try Out Scripts on Stage A new means of pre-testing screen fare is being set up by Edward Nassour, head of Nassour Studios, who is having a 300-seat theatre built on the lot to try out projected screenplays before an audience. The scripts will be adapted for the stage before their performance in Nassour's pre-production theatre. Yordan to Script Another for Goldwyn Philip Yordan, who wrote the screenplay of "Edge of Doom," has been engaged by Producer Samuel Goldwyn to write another script for him as a prospective vehicle for Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward and Farley Granger. The untitled story, as suggested by Goldwyn, mirrors the emotional conflict between a son and what his father stands for. It is described as a modern tragedy with classical form. Levinson Plans Feature Cartoon About Detective A full-length color cartoon, "Mann Hunter, World's Greatest Detective," is planned by Leonard Levinson, producer of Impossible Pictures' color cartoon shorts. Levinson believes that the cartoon detective, who has been featured in newspapers and in comic books, has never had a chance on the screen. Hence his plans to give the sleuth a break. Guy Endore Writing 'Nightmare' Screenplay Guy Endore is writing the screenplay of "Nightmare" from an original story by Ben and Norma Barzman. The picture will be produced for Paramount by Irving Asher. Seton I. Miller Advocates Honesty in Pictures Seton I. Miller is a young man with a long and impressive record as an honest workman and an inspired writer and producer of motion pictures. Miller wrote "Scarface," the classic of gangster films, and "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," for which he received an Academy award. These are only two of his many credits, and Miller now brings this distinguished background to an association with independent producer Robert Stillman who was associate producer with Stanley Kramer on "Champion" and "Home of the Brave." "Honesty in pictures can make the theatre a vital force in our culture," said Miller, in an exclusive interview with STR. "Strong, offbeat stories against a background of today's problems is the special province of the independent producer, and that is the kind of pictures we are going to make. "Our first productions will be 'Queen for a Day,' from the radio show, and 'The Condemned,' from the critically acclaimed novel of the same name. We chose the subject, 'Queen for a Day' because the laughter, tears, and heartbeat of the world are in that radio program. It tells the story of your neighbors and mine and the hopes, fears and loves that make their lives. Exhibitor profits will be assured by an immense pre-selling campaign that will be carried to every city, town, and village in the country by the entire facilities of the Mutual Broadcasting System and their 600-odd stations. "We have five pictures scheduled, and we promise that every Robert Stillman production will carry our own brand of honesty and freshness of ideas." Seton I. Miller