LATEST NEW FROM THE STUDIOS

Chronicle (Levin), 27 March 1946, Page 7

LATEST NEW FROM THE STUDIOS

Les. M.

Murphy)

INGRID BERGMAN FORMS OWN COMPANY

(Special — From

WELLINGTON, This pay. For her roie of a brilliant psychoanalyst in Columbia Piecuies' "She Wouldn't Say Yes," Rosalind Russell, acquired a library of twenty-seven volumes on psychiatry to aid her in her characterisation. It leaas, she says, to self examination, and, if you're honest, exposure of persoiral idiosyncrasies. It could be quite disturbing, in fact! . Scantier attire than has ever before been worn by an actress 011 the screen — a bedroom outfit con'sisting only of cxtremely brief scanties — wnl be seen in Fred MacMurray's new picture "Pardon My Past." The revealing garment is worn by Karoiyn Grimes. And she is only five years old!

Jevome Courtland. of Columbia Pietures. was going to be a draughf^man. before he met Direetor Charles Vidor at a party and gained his first part in "Together Again." Now he says "I'd like to act in pietures all the time. That is, if people want me. If they don't, maybe I ean go into eartoon drawing if Mr. Disney sthl has a job open." Com'tiand's portrayal as Dexter Franlclin in "Kiss and Tell" should answer that. Wlien Mickey Rooney is diseharged from the serviees, which is expected this week, and reports baek to M.-C-.-M., the first job facing him will be a resumption cf the Andy Haray series, dormant since Mickey was belatediy drafted inLo the Army. There was some talk of resuming the series with visiting stars taking over Rooney's spot, but this wTas abandoned because a survey indicated Mickey was Andy Hardy in the minds of the pubiic. and a Hardy-labelled story without him would stand little chonce of success. Rooney's homecoming will be marked by "Andy Kardy's Country Cousin." Arthur Rank, British tycoon, has already stolen a march 011 Hollywood producers. He has beaten them to the rights for filming James HiltoiTs "Fo Well Rpmpmbered," which aroused lively bidding among all studios in Hollywood. Rank is nego'dating with Paramount to get Ray Milland's presI ence in London for the starring j roie. ' David O. Seisnick's super-western.

"Duel in the Sun," is going to1 be the costliest film ever made. The stars in the film will be Gregory Peck, Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones. The story is adopted from the novel by Niven Busch. By the time "Duel in the Sun" reaches world audiences, its cost is expected to be 7,000,000 dollars — over 1,000,000 dollars more than "Gone With the Wind," another Selznick production. "Duel in the Sun," Selznick. hopes, will beat the money taken by "Gone With the Wind" — 32,000,000 dollars. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" made 10,500,000 dollars; "This. is the Army," 10,000,000 dollars; and "Snow White," 8,000,000 dollars. One of the first to put tbrough a telephone call on the recently opened trans-Atlantic 'phone service was Columbia's Dutch-born actress, Nina Foch. She learned that the house where she had been christened had miraculously been missed in Germany's devastating bombing of that city. Nina, who

will be seen shortly in Columbia Pietures' "My Name is Julia Rose," was born in Leyden, Rotterdam. Dame May Whitty, appearing in the unreleased thriller, "My Name is Julia Ross," a Columbia Picture, has

| iust celebrated 63. years in show ' business, and the 31st anniversary of her first motion picture. Her film debut was in "Enoch Arden" with Lillian Gish, way back.in 1914, but her stage eareer goes baek to 1882, when she made an appearance in the ballet "Les Sylphides" in Liverpool, Eiigland.

For the fourth time, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour arc on the road. This new Pa'ramount burlesque. is the "Road to Utopia,"' and like "Sing'apore," "Zanzibar' and "Morocco,". it is packed with • 1 nonsense gags, crazy people , anc I „ igx, a iew tuneful songs and 1 much ostensibly genuine ad-libbing There is also an assortment of bears dogs, reindeer and also taiking fish 1 111 uie 111m. Miss Lamour exchanges her sarong for woollies and lots of furs, as the story deals with a trip to cold Alaska by Crosby and Hope in search of gold and girls. Claude Rains, who started opposite Bette Davis in "Mr. Skeffington," has arrived in Hollywood with his wife and daughter after morc than a year's absence. The wellknown British actor has been in England to star in "Caesar and Cleopatra" with Vivien Leigh. Hi; father Fred Raines, died recently in Engjand, aged 85. Oh, the casy life of an actress! Eleanor Parker just spent a day in the following way: She rose at 5 o'clock in the morning in order toi arrive at the studio in time for 1 make-up, etc., so that she could bcj 011 the set at 7.30 a.m. During the) day, she got in and out of diii'er- j ent changes of costume, was photo [ graphed with four different hairdos, and was interviewed by four out-of-town correspondents on tlie side, until 8.30 p.m. Thirteen"hours ! All for wardrobe tests for her new Warner Bros.' picture, "Never Say Goodbye," opposite Errol Flynn. Angela Lansbury's new husband. Richard Cromwell, is{ being tested 1 by M.-G.-M. for the starring roie in ; the "Dr. Gillespie" series. 'ine Dui- j ver City lot has a script all ready j for shooting. but is calling franticT ! cally for a doctor type. Now that j Van Johnson has become too| important for a mere series and j Lew Ayres is not Jinterested ir , resuming the series, M.-G.-M. must1 . cast • ab, out 1 ampng other lots for a prospect. j A grim and timely warning to' Americans that they must secure the peace that has been won is con- J tained in a provocative short subject, "Hitler Lives." It has been produced by Warper Bros. from newsreel and stage shots, and pleads with Americans not to be lulled into a false sense of security by the fallacy that the Germans are "kindly, clean people like themselves." The film traces Germany's attempt at world domination from Bismark to Hitler. It is a powerful plea for the retention of an Army of Oceuo'ation, making it exceedingly timely here. It closes with sensarioiicu shots of native American Fascists selling their poison to Americans, and warns- that the danger from these sources is greater than ever. Amelita Vargas, . headliner at Mexico City's famous E1 Patio night club, arrived from Mexico to report to Columbia for a rhumba speciality number in the Pat O'Brien-starring "Perilous Holiday." The dancersinger was picked for the featured roie. after direetor Edward H. Griffith viewed test footage of Senorita Vargas shot in Mexico uioy. Although Charles Vidor has been 1 shooting Columbia's Rita Hayworth — Glenn Ford co-starrer, "Gilda," in sequence, he is leavmg one ea1''/: scene for the last day's work. The ! scene in question has Rua whip a j cigarette from between Glenn's lips j with- a twenty-foot gauho lash. ! Although Rita has been practicing j with the whip for several weeks, I Vidor doesn't want to take chances ' with production delay if her aim is not as good as she thinka it is. Ross Hunter, one of Hollywood's most promising players to-day, fell and broke both legs during his nrilitary training. He also sufl'ered severe concussion and temporary blindness. Ross' dancing days were over but he has since proved hisl acting capabiiities. For Columbia he j has made "Ever Since Venus," 'A| Guy, A Gal and A' Pal." "Louainm j Hayride," and now "Hit the Hay'h with hilarious Judy Canova. Following a eurrent trend, which is worrying the major studios, Ingrid Bergman has formed an ; independent company with Walterl Wanger as associate, and will pro- | duce and star in her own pietures. j Miss Bergman refuses to renew her contract with David Selznick, who brought her from Sweden, and has tumed down 200,000 dollars a picture, the highest salary ever offered to any star. Her first independent film will probably be Rosamond Lehman's powerful hovel, "Ballad and the Source." She has named the company the En Corporation — "en" meaning "one" in Swedish. Wanger is president and she is vicepresident, Wanger recently formed a similar successful company with Joan Bennett, his wife. Bergman is now rated a.s Hollywood's top feminine star, displacing Greer Garson as First Lady.