Variety (Sep 1942)

24 ADVERTISEMENT Wednesday, September 30, 1942 IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER WHEN OOOD SHOWMEN AND OOOD SHOWS OET TOOETHERI THE EXTRA PLAYING TIME IS THI ORPER OF THE PAY WITH PARAMOUNT PROPUCTI Vol. I News and Gossip About the Produttlon and Distribution of tho Best Shows in Town! No. 30 Happiest Houris in Bob's Life Don't let that bored phizz fool you—Bob Hope's having a lovely time accepting the ministrations of these five harem houris. It's one of endless, harum-scarum scenes in 'Road to Morocco'—Par's Thanksgiving gift to exhibs. Par s lidice' Victory Siiort to Be Released for Lidice Memorial Day 'S A GINGER SNAP Ginger Rogers-Ray Milland Starrer a Lead-Pipe Cinch for Top Grosses—^Ties 'Holiday Inn' A11-Time Record for Five N. Y. Par Days—Newark, Paterson Openings Solid A GOLD-MINOR +1- Neil Asnew, Par v.p. in charge of distribution, announced week that 'We Rcfu.'se to Die,' the company's Victory Short dramatiz- ing the Nazi, mas.sacre at Lidice, Czechoslovakia, will be released nrtionally on October 25, which has been designated Lidice Memo- rial Day throughout the United Str.tes and in a number of the other United Nations. According to the Lidice Lives Committee of the Writers' War Board, towns in England, the Soviet Union, China, Canada and Brazil will be re- named Lidice on that day. 'We Refuse to Die' has been hailed by Clifton Fadiman for the Lidice Lives Commitlee^s a fllin that 'should do^'much >jjo make Americans realize that the dCitruc- tion of Lidice is a symbol of the destruction the Axis wishes to wreak upon America. It should serve also to steel our resolve that i' shall not happen here.' Joseph E Davies, former Ambassador t > the U.S.S.R., is chairman of the committee The film features Barry Sullivan and Ellen Drew. Like Par's three other skedded ■Victory shorts, this one is a prod- uct of the dicky Pine-Thomas pro- duction combo. Bill Thomas pro- duced, Bill Pine directed. Maxwell Shane wrote the screenplay. 'RHnHM' WINDING UP; 'TRUE TO LIFE' ROUS With hardly a musical bridge to mark the transition. Paramount Studios this week were rolling the final footage on the company's super - musical, 'Star Spangled Rhythm,' and swinging into pro- duction on 'True to Life.' song- .studded comedy of behind-the- niike radio foibles. 'True to Life' stars Fraiichot Tone. Mary Martin, Dick Powell and Victor .Moore, with George Marshall directing snd Paul Jones producing. Pic is Tone's fir.'^t under a r,cw contract with Para- mount. The deal was inked after Tone played a role la."; who didn't?) in 'Star Spangled Rhythm.' Cast of this latter includes more than 76 top name players. GET IN THE SCRAP! That's your October assign- ment from Uncle Sam! Help bury the Axis under an avalanche of scrap metal— plan NOW for a weekly or bi-weekly 'SCRAP MATINEE.' Team Ladd, Betty Hutton Alan Ladd and Betty Hutton will be co-starred in a forthcoming musical built around the career of Texas ('Hello, Sucker') Guinan, according to an announcement made this week by B. G. DeSylva. Screenplay is by Claude Binyon, who's now in the Army. Film's title will be The Smoothest Gal in Town.' Teaming of Hutton and Ladd marks 'arrival' for a pair of play- ers who were unknowns a year ago. Both skyrocketed into public notice; Betty via 'Fleet's In' and Ladd via 'This Gun for Hire.' Studio is so sure of their future and their hold on filmgoers it will let them carry the top bracket of the big-budget musical. Paramount's 'The Major and the Minor,' after two weeks in which it gave a hot chase to the seventeen- year New 'York Paramount record established by 'Holiday Inn," started a third socko stanza today with grosses still in the sub-stratosphere. 'Major' tied 'Inn's' sensational record fo; five successive days, after an opener grossing five fat figures. Second two openings of the Billy Wilder hit came last weekend at the Paramount, Newark, and the U. S. Theatre, Paterson—and both spots tell the same story. Three-day tross in Paterson showed 'Major' outgross- in^i 'The Fleet's In' by a solid 25 per cent, and 'My Favorite Blonde' by 20 pet cent. In Newark, 'Major' had a 25 per cent edge -on both 'Fleet' and 'Blonde.' First three openings seem to bear out in a big way all the nice things the critical fraternity of the trade prpers predicted for 'Major.' Things such as "Will be a boxoffice winner!' (Film Bulletin) 'Headed for the higher grosses!' (Exhibitor) 'A major booking for any situation, even the minors!" (The Independent) 'Plenty of what it takes!' (Film Daily) 'Funfest for exhibitors and John Q. Public!' (Boxoffice) •Certain to ring the bell!' (Show- men's) 'Should delight audiences of this or any season!' (M. P. Herald) 'Guaranteed to make the cash rcgi.ster ring loud and long!' (M. P. D;:ily) 'One of the season's surest bets for hit grosses!' (Hollywood Re- porter) 'Sparkling and efTerves- ccnt....wide audience appeal!' (Va- riety). New York newspaper reviewers showed a similar tendency to sing in close harmony in their reviews. Al. were raves. We won't wear you down with quotes here; every review was eminently quotable from end to end. It's of interest to note, though, that one newspaper reviewer, in addition to critical raves, saw fit to poach on the domain of the trade press, and talk about 'The Major's' boxoffice potentialities. 'The Paramount theatre rang (ha bell with 'Holiday Inn' and bids fair to do the same with its current bid for lucre,' said the New York Post, after mentionin; that the 'trouble with this picture is that loo many people In the audience laugh too much and too loud; you miss lines that ought not be missed!' All reviewers gave special mention to Billy Wilder, praising both his direction and his share of the screen- play honors. 'Major and Minor' is Wilder's first directorial assignment for Paramount, and he shares writ- ing credit with Charles Brackett. The film took highest praise from Liberty Magazine, Time, Redbook (Pic of Month) and other national slick-paper pubs. 1llf ake Island' Topping 'HoGday Inn', 'Caught in Draft', la. Purchase' In 18 Cities; House Records Falling Par's 'Gift o' Gaiety' Paramount and the industry have known about it for some time—but it took the premiere showing of 'The Major and the Minor' at the New 'York Para- mount to bring public recogni- tion—via a review—to the Paramount Company's 1,000- battiiig average for delivery of click comedies and musicals. Recognition came in Alton Cook's World-Tele review, and we couldn't have written better ourselves. Cook wrote 'Now that Holiday Inn" has'ende'd its long stay at the Paramount, in comes "The Major and the Minor.' cut from the same mirthful, alluring pattern. Those people at the Paramount Studios this season certainly have the gift of gaiety! Though not a musical, this picture is full of Paramount's special spirt that has made some of its recent musicals such happy events!' Check. Biggest Sked In Par History For Next Eight Weeks Paramount—with a big backlog of top-budget pictures on hand— will roll on the largest schedule of major productions in the studio's history during the next eight weeks, according to studio advices. Nine pictures—all of them Im- portant properties, will go before the cameras. The nine are in ad- dition fo 'For Whom the Bell Tolls,' now in work, and 'True to Life,' starting this week. 'The Miracle of Morgan's Creek-,' Preelon SturgSi comedy-drama' starring Betty Hutton, Eddie Bracken. Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff, will probably go first. Next comes 'Dixie,' Technicolor musical spectacle starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. 'China,' a spectacle drama of Far East war, filmed on the scale of 'Bell,' probably comes next. Alan Ladd. Loretta 'Voung and William Bendix t0ke top billing. In suc- cession thereafter will come 'Salute for Three,' story of America at war: 'Frenchman's Creek,' from Dr " DuMaurier's best-seller; 'So 1 loudly We Hail," story of Bataan nurses, starring Claudette Colbert and produced and directed by Mark Sandrich; 'Five Graves to Cairo," an original by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, with Wilder directing and Franchot Tone starred; 'The Story of Dr. Wassell," Cecil B. DeMille Techni- color saga; 'L^y in the Dark,' Technicolor super-staging of the Broadway hit musical, starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland and directed by Mitchell Leisen, and 'Cyclone,' Pine-Thomas pro- duction, from the John Guedel novel. 'Louisiana Purchase' and 'Caught in the Draft' established attend- ance records in plenty of cities. Then 'Holiday Inn' came along and knocked 'em over. Right from the big New York Paramount on out, 'Inn' shattered 'all time high' marks everywhere. Now—Paramount's 'Wake Island' Is topping ALL THREE pictures in oity after city. Eighteen cities by actual count, so far—and plenty more to be heard from. Naturally a good fistful of these represent new house records; at the present writing we don't know how many. 'Wake' has topped 'Inn,' 'Draft' and 'Purchase' in Salt Lake City (first week); Houston (wk.); Rich- mond, Va.. (wk.); Dallas (wk.)| Norfolk (wk.); Springfield, Mass. (5 days); Los Angeles (4 days); Atlanta (wk.); Omaha (4 days); Jacksonville (wk.); Newburgh, Mass. (3 days); Poughkeepsie i.i days); Toledo (3 days); San Fran- cisco (opener); St. Paul (3 d^ys)) Hartford (opener); Little Rock (wk,), and Memphis (wk.). In addition, 'Wake' is topping 'Purchase' in Stamford, New Haven, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Holly* wood, Chattanooga and Kansas City, and topping "Inn" in Daven- port, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. Peak groSses are being run up in plenty of other locations, where figures can't be compared witii these three pictures. For exarnple, 'Wake" is beating 'Reap the Wil<i Wind," champion ticket-.<;eller of them all, in TuLsa, Asheville, and in the Hollywood Paramount. The record of 'Wake' as a box- office picture, though. Is no more Impressive than the record of 'Wake' as a war worker. City after city has introduced the film with a War Bond premiere, a Red Cross premiere, or a Navy or Marine Re< lief premiere. Each one of thesq has moved new and much-needed funds Into one war chest or an- other. Add to^lhis ca.sh-on-the-line aici the unmeasured power 'Wake' Jiafl h&s -I)^^rOTsmT'?~rrf(3raI6■,•~<rr.^r^rr^•' fllm emerges as an all-round win- ner. There's another service it's doing, too—it's proving to the industry that film-goers not only can tak^ it—they're demanding it. By 'it,' we mean straightforward, factual treatment of war topics—without hoke and without trimmings. 'This proof is important—it will bring about other pictures with the same unvarnished and inspiring realism. Paramount has believed f<f some time (hat war-time film re- quirements Include both escapism —and realism. Thai's why Para- mount has put into work not only a bumper crop of musicals, com- edies and sheer entertainment films —but also such pix as 'The Story of Dr. Wassell," 'China,' 'So Proudly We Hail,' and quite a few more. OHULEB-QUILLER Dodie Smith, English playwright who penned 'Call It a Day' and Dear Octopus,' has been signed to write screen treatment for 'The Uninvited,' Dorothy Macardle ghost-story best-seller just bought by Par for early production.