Variety (Jan 1949)

14 PICTI7|IES Forty third /^^URIETT Anniverwry WednefldajTf JTatlvary 5, 1949 newcomers, especially those of ex- treme,, dewy- eyed youthful- ness. T h i S: some- what c 0 r n y theme is inter- Producer Minimizes B. 0. Weight Of 'New Faces'; Taltes Years To Train Them and Build Up Values By JERRY WALD Hollywood.: 'I newcomer; r O 1 i V i a deHavilland J poise/ confidence, and emotipna^^ One of Hollywood's most abid-lBette Davji, Ray Milland, Bing depth in their acting. Ins fetishes is the repetitious over-, Crosby. Pdul Lukas, Ingrid Berg- The critics ?nd public alike emnhasis placed on .the cosmic im- man, Greet Garson, Claudette Col- hailed Jane Wyman's superb per- Doiitance of so-called newcomers.'bert, Katharine -Hepburn, Helen formance in "Johnny Belinda." I " Hayes, Loretta Young, Ronald Col- consider that she turned in a su- man, and others who learned their perb acting job in that picture,! art by years of application to it. | which she would have be^ii in- • Mere adolescence will never take capable of doing when she was a the place of the genuine acting newcomer to the scre^sn, tegardleS^^ ability nor will it ever win the tre- of how pretty or charming she was.^^ i mendous followings commanded by Earlier in Ijfer cateer, MisS_: Wy-' Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck, man was . regarded only va. highly laced through- Humphrey Bogart, Rosalind Rus* attractive screen ■glaiftor, girl; It out a thousand seH, Gary Cooper, Ginger- Rogers, took time to acquire'the jic^^^^ statements ahd Edward G. Robinson, Joan Pon^ ish and subtlety Which she brought oratorical pro- taine, Dennis Morgan, Danny Kaye, to her performance in "Johnny n o u n c e - and others who; continue to pull Belinda." During the same-period m e n ts issued them in at the boxoifice season she was building ujp: a pppu^^^^ by leading in- after season. ' i with theatreTgoers that can result dustry figures down through the ;,—-— r;— t-Y-r, —: only from the public's having seen yoars.: Most of it sums up to the ; I Mi scue on tan aiait , | jjgj. (-jj^ screen. myth that a star is washed up as] jj jg probable that one fictor I No amount of flashy quick build Hollywood and the Slicks Glamor Has Lost Its Glamor But Mags Still Strong For Film Folks If Given a McCoy Slant By KAY CAMPBELL Jerry Wald Hollywood. Glamor has lost its glamor—for national magazines. It, used to be the sultry sirens, the Cindcrellas, who, having shed their sackcloth and ashes, burst through the s 1 i c k pages into big s p r e a d s. 'ft u s e4 to be the glittering stars, or. this year's, crop of oueens w h o w e r e, bally- hooed. Today, there's some- Kay Campbell thing new un- ' der the sun for readers^—stories about the in- ner workings of the industry. The sun has set on glamor. Its rays now- shine On technical sub^ jects, on the film industry as a legitimatevbqsiness, and on players as career mfen and women. Glorip ous Personalities no longer rate caps. It's the off-the^beaten-path character who harvests the space and yarn soon as he or she becomes familiar j^at contributes to the misconcep- "P sensational publicity or ad- to the public. tio„ newcomers are a priceless ' campaigns can create Talent hunts in which' scouts commodity on the screen is the ^''^^ ^"JJ'P^™^"'^"* even work down to casing high'fan mail situation. It would re- '"8- ""HSged road to school corridors and campuises, quire a psychologist to figure out ireally top stardom is littered with now. drugstores and soda fountains; nu- just Why it is so, but it is true i '**^ all but forgotten memories of | You can blame it on the war, ac- merous interviews in which picture- that something compels a certain i*i'^°^e one-shot wonders who flared | cording to the publicity depart- makers represent Hollywood as be- type of fan to sit down and write a (into undeserved stardom in one or | ments. When magazines undertook Ing at a total standstill until some letter to or about a newcomer Pictures, and then, faded into , to satisfy the curiosity of their "unknowns" and "newcomers" can when that same fan wouldn't bother oblivion. j readers about the progress of the be dredged up to revitalize the to do it about a well-established Those extremely youthful new- war, the new implements of battle, whole industry, and similar phe- star, even their favorite. There is ^.^ff.„^^*^® always hearing so | and news of. the armed forces, eially in yieW of the paper shortage —for Hollywopd's stars- The echo of the big guns over Europe, Asia and Africa drovvned put the sound of 'the feeble popguns in the film eapitol.: When .feiaders becam^! ab- soEbed in th^ doings of- Marshall,' Mltscher arid MacArthurj they lost jhterest in Susie Glotz, her won- drous Wardrobe, her fabulous jewels and her castle in Holly- wood; - And ■■ Beale Street's, bluest nonriena, have ; all contributed to something abOut pulling for a iiew ["[""ch talk about may have a decora-1 there was no longer space—espe th.'s misconception. . , jcomer that inspires letters, ' .. Itive value in the background, but . ... Absolute honesty would require I This leads to a distorted picture ^5;j^..?am^s don't punch up the any experienced producer to admit i of public opinion, because; in bulk that newcomers, as such, don't fan mail does not give a true indt swing any boxoffice weight around'| cation, of the general public's de t!je lot or the lobby. The most valu- sires. Anothet psychological factor . able-thing about unknowns, apart is the consideration that the major- from the fact that they are cheap, ity of fan mail writers are unques- Is that long, long chance they might [tionably very youthful themselves possibly develop into stars. Pre- and it is natural that their screen sumably, according to the logic of i "crush" frequently turns out to be the "fresh talent" disciples, if and i some new movie juvenile about when they did "arrive/' they would their own age. But the same cor- . then be worthless and the public j respondents walked up to the ad- marquee any. It is the seasoned troupers who bring in-the cash customers. . FOX MIDWEST, RKO SWAP HOUSES IN K.C. would be tired of tbem and scream- mission window, and pushed over ing .for more newcomers.: ; their money because the picture I'oung unknowns in secondary ^'arred one of the mature. Well- roles may enliven .a picture some-l '^"°w" P'ayers. what, but they sure won't drag the ' Despite these occasional flurries customers in to see the film, It is °^ interest in newcomers, we still still the mature, well-known estab- ; ""^'y on long-established players to Jished stars who command the big ' exercise, wide audience appeal, boxoffice followings. i r"Expe rience the Best~f ea^h Reference to a list of the really 'ing. „^ _ big money stars of the past and . No student of the year-to-year \ ate the Orpheum, until reraodelline Kansas City. Major theatre properties' changed hands h e r e under an agreement between Fox Midwest Theatres and RKO,"following a favorable ruling by the United States District Court in New York. Fox Midwest acquired the Orphe- um, now operated by RKO, and RKO gets the Mainstreet, dark smce 1941. Trade had been in the works for jl about two years awaiting court rul- ' RKO -will continue to Oper- carried Mrs. Peck's by-lino; Harry James turned out a about his wife, Betty Qrable. Each month, The Womaiji runs an in- spirational editorial by a I'emme star. Gracie Allen and Loretta Young were among the recent "contributors." Best Years iised a piece titled "Papa Was a Preachep;" by Dana Andrews, and followed it with a story based on the philosophy expressed in Brown- ing's Rabbi Ben Ezra, by-lined by Sydney Greenstreet. Beginning with the "Best Years of Our Lives" campai^'n, -Bill HebertV Sameul Goldwyn's head Coast flack, has noticed a grow- ing emphasis on technical subjects " As an example of this, a number of books requested material on Gregg Toland's new camera tech- nique, now being used to film "Roseanna McCoy," which, a few years ago, would have been paSsW by on the grounds that it was of no interest to the layman. Art directorSi who used to be anonymi- ties, are entities now. Songwriters, film editors, producers and dance directors have edged out stars as story matcKial. - Redbook built a layout around art directors; Nowadays has car- ' i;ied pieces about the green gang and set decorators; and Coronet has skedded an article on Bob Tan- sey, animal director. The Sateve- post featured Mike Curtiz, and Le- Roy Prinz is Pete Martin's current ' assignment. Life's tale by Erie Hodgins on his experiences as a writer was reprinted by Reader's: Digest; and Jimmy McHugh has copped space in virtually every • big-circulation book. If Lassie's lineage were added up, the total would be far greater than that of any other star on the M-G-M lot. When players are the subject, the rank and file of readers, it ap- pears, are interested in the nor- notes were a mere squeak of de-I „f tv,„j„ . tt, . . spair against the trumpeting dirge ' ^^^^^^ ''^'»^' ^ome that sounded over the screen, col- ony. , ■ ■ ■ Before the war, the slick ap life, how they rai.se their children and how they entertain. Down to earth and factual. One of the first books to discover the reader-inter- proach to a piece about Susie was | est in the stars' normal home lives not too dissimilar Irom that of the was The American Home. And fan mags. It was remote, adoring or at least, sympathetic. Today, the clay teet of the idols are bared to public view. The slant is factual, and the starker, the more deroga- tory the' facts, the belter the edi- tors—and readers—like 'em. The new twist is far-reaching. It encompasses even the galleries I where natural art has .supplanted present will show that, with a few boxoffice graph will have forgotten of the Mainstreet is completed un- oovious exceptions such as Shirley [that Greta Garbo, for instance, was I der a lease agreement with Fox Templei all the boxoffice giants lone of the queens of the screen vMidWest. RKO novv operates the have been mature actors and ac-1 after she had spent many an ardu-1 Orpheum with product from RKO tresses. As a matter of fact, many ous sea.son learning how to act. I and Warner Bros with an occa I S^amor portraits and retouching of them like Marie Dressier and They didn't grab her out of the sional release from other compan-' ^"^ airbru.shing are virtually ob Will Rogers were well past the diploma line on high school gradu-1 ies. It will lake this product over """" — half-cehtury mark. Significantly,,ation day and push her into star-' to the Mainstreet. Probably will they all got to the popularity top I dom. She got there by hard work ■ be Sept. 1 before renovating is atl-r .yoar.s of inspired trouping. and years of experience. | completed. Probably will cost If you don't think experience I $400,000. . pays off, take any top stars of today The Mainstreet last was operated . , , , ...„....-,, and check back through screenings as an independent in 1941 but actoi, ju.st as it takes time and ex-ifl' their earher pictures and you I earlier had been RKO'S regular perience for one to become a good will observe a steadily growing ; firstrun outlet here lawvffr nr g -f<^p .^^^^ ■'' ■■■■ ■ ■ .standing educator. Acting is not a among the numerous .stories eov? ered, a layout depicting the stars' workshops resulted in a deluge of mail. -You no longer have to be a Con- tender for a beauty crown to get space in the slicks. "Fa-sh Still Commersh Acting is an exacting art and a demanding s-cience. It takes lime and experience to become a good solete. Near - candid pictures run neck-and-neck with action shots. The news magazines have al- tered Hollywood's still photography just as the newsreels have influ enced documentaries. Rollieflcx, I on the fash ed Fashion art has taken a turn for the bettor—so far as studio pub- licity departments are concerned. Not too long ago, when the econ- omy axe chopped off llack.s, the; fash gals were first to feel it. In- the latest drive; Warner Bros, laid off their national contact, but kept bag of shoddy tricks you cin pick UD overnight. It is a pursuit in ■Which experience shows up and I pays off The gulf of difference in i the seasoned, capable trouper and ' the inexperienced ham is just as i obvious on the screen as it is on ' the stage, i_i-l'^P-?:tars ComeJOp Slowly All the top stars come up slowly Many ,i really promising career has been harmed or ruined because an overly enthusiastic producer boosted an inexperienced player' into a stellar role that was too ex-1 acting for his or her experience and talent. Even with reasonable experience back of her. it still takes at least five or six years for a player to nrmly entrench herself as a star Real stardom is always hard won. It never comes easily nor quickly Educating the public to a screen porsonalitv takes years, a lot of money and "blood, sweat and tears." ^ The Academy Awards are the .highest recognition of acting ex- cellence -that the industry can be- stow on its members. Consider! the roster of Oscar winners backi over the years. With very few ex-1 ceptions they have been well-estab- Ir'^-d stars of thorough acting ex-1 penence. They include Joan Craw-1 ford, certainly one of the finest I actresses on the screen and no' HOLIDAY GREETINGS DIOSA COSTELLO first used by Life, is now in wide use. While, generally speaking, flacks report it harder to sell Hollywood to the slicks than ever before, I some books are using more movie -I material and longer stories: Red- | book belongs in this cla.ssification. 1 Some of the other nationals iirp in I a state of flux, with an undeler- I mined, or unannounced policy I Lite has discontinued it's "movie I of the week," every week, but will I use it occasionally "when the qual- ity of the film.warrants the space," I Esquire has abolished pix reviews. The film page, in Woman's Home Companion has changed its format. When a slick does accept a story or an idea, it usually concerns the technical side of the industry fa.shions, or it carries a strong angle.of reaUer-idehtification. The war is responsible for other sweeping change.s. The avalanche of wartime literature; by-lined by outstanding members of the armed forces, has resulted in a trend for by-line aitides from the industry. While the reader - participation pieces concerning the martial melo- drama have brought about similar reader - participation stories from the film industry. Take as an ex- ample, Pete Martin's Satevepo.st .yarn which told of his experiences disguised as a bit player in "Com- mand Performance." by-lined pieces may be told from the standpoint of the wife husband, mother, sister or brother-"this Is the real Joe star, himself. A The reasons are many. To name r a lew, Cosmopolitan, Look, Ladies Tlome Journal, Lite, Vogue and- Harpers. How much more circur lation can you hope for? Collier's, too, ties in frequently with studio' wardrobes. LHJ sends its fash ed out to Hollywood, periodically, to photograph stars in prc-sclectcd . duds. The malc-tcstod tashions in Cosmopolitan get a good play irom Hollywood. Look is interested, primarily, in ■ two subjects from studios. Fash- ions; and tieups between books and movies, a la the coverage given : "Gentl'eman^s Agreement.'' Seven- i teen uses an occasional biographi- cal sketch on a player of interest to that age group, as well as young players modeling new clothes, Mc- , Call's ignores the film centre ex- cept, for iashions and beauty fea- tures. Most of the national magazines have their own reps now in Holly- wood, but an oceasional piece is bought from a freelance writer, A : few, like Magazine Digo.st, prefer ; to gather material direct Irom the .studio publicity departments and have it staff-written. Few free- lance writers hit the jackpot in filmland. You can CoUnt the really successful ones on the fingers of - one hand. Some studios go so far I as to have an agreement never to ■make the first contact with a liee- lance writer, but to peddle stones ■• and ideas via their N. Y. offices directly to magazine editors. This policy stems, probably, from th? barriers erected during recent recent story about «rego?rPec5 Z^::^^^^^,:^^!^;:^^^