NEWS of the FILMS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 23, 27 July 1939, Page 21

NEWS of the FILMS

MICHAEL REDGRAVE. Michael Redgrave, who is now cast in four G.B.D attractions. io be madt one'after the other, is the busiest stai in 'England. In his current picture "The Stars Look Down," an £80,001 production from the noveJ by Dr. A J. Cronin. author of "The Citadel," tte plays the part of a miner At the first opportunity Redgrave went to Workington, in West Cumberland, and speitt days below ground, with drills and borers, shoulder to shoulder with the' miners at the coal-face As the hero was a red head. Redgrave visited a Bond Street hairdresser, and had hn light golden hair changed to red Like Sara Bernhardt who had the colour of her hair changed whenever the occasion demanded it, Redgrave w:ll not wear a wig. "AN ENGLISHMAN'S HOME." Fißjimg of ,".An Englishman's Home' was inspired "by Mr Neville Chamber lain. The three men concerned with the production were watching the crowd cheering Mr Chamberlain in Downing Street, on ; his. return from Munich last .September "There's a typical Englishman going into nis home,", one..of them remarked The remark-reminded a second of the play of which-'the -'.other two had never heard. The- idea was submitted to United Artists and; United Artists at once agreed 'to ' distribute the ' film throughout 'the world. . COMEDIAN'S, DAUGHTER. Another newcomer co the Alexander Korda roster of stars who will oe built up into international fame with London film productions programme of great pictures. is June Duprez. daughter of. the famous comedian Miss Duprez is under- contract to London Films and plays the feminine lead in "Foui Feathers.' A E W Mason's famous story She is 20 years old,: a vivacious;br ? une.tte with haze.l eyes She weighs I^Qnj^jßlb and is'sft 6in. tall. Miss Du^Fesr brought her own screen' test t4oCdhpbn'Films an« it," was'not until ,sfife had been given the part of Ethng£is:-"Fbur Feathers" that her relatianShip ,to Fred Duprez became knowiif ;■■':' • '£■£ rl V."'J T. .' .. ; ..- : TBRS&YEAR STAR PACT. ~ Famous; Productions, a new film firm headed <by- -Harry Edington and- producing exclusively for Umversa] release, nas signed Douglas Fairbanks jun., to a three-year, starriiig contract Fairbanks now starring in production■ pf'stli'e-'British.cblpniaJ service, "The Sun is^evei Set's.*, wi^J head the cast- of Edington's' inaugural feature, "Atlantic Cable." His future films for Famous will -be announced later. ■••.-.-.-.- SALLY EILERS ; EATS. All kinds oi .things happen on movie sets when food is served during a scene in production But among the oddest is that of a real invalid's diet prepared on prescription and served to Sally Eilers from a "medical kitchen" concealed on the set of 'They Made Her a Spy.'" The star returning to work at R.K.O -Radio after a week under medical care from a severe attack of influenza, found herself called on to play a dining sequence in a t-afe Director Jack Hively however had consuJfj^j in advance \vith her physician Result was a special dinner resembling appearance steak, peas, potatoes, salad coffee, and dessert In reality though, the only items she was called on to eat were artfully prepared to provide the required vitamins of a prescription. And one particular pea was a pill. BARRYMORE AS ARTIST. :;JLioneJ I3arrymore was more important" to one fan than everything else jn Hollywood combined, although she liia.d;.only seen him once on the screen $nd once on the stage She is Eliza fojeth -Strong, one of America's great '©st vfemen painters The artist many •«Sj| whose works have hung • the Paris $^lon. said: "1 don care about seeing j^studip "or stars, but before I go back ■ttji Carrnel J' would like to meet Lionel whom I consider one of tlie best American etchers of today." trrymore and Lew Ayret are feaed- in "Calling. Dr Kildare," seco v ijjfc the medical-detective series, with lE&rraine Day Nat Pendlcton. Lana burner. Samuel S. Hinds, Lynne

FILM THRILLS ON WORLD'S EDGE. t . Narrow escapes by film actors ap pearing in "The Edge of the World' r to be screened by the Film Institute !, at the Dominion Museum on Monda> [) next, were described by Mr G. Blatt ncr, studio chief of Rock Studios, who j made the film on the island of Foula t Mr. Blattner said that the actors and . technical otaff of his company had 1 iaken great risks during the producs on of the film Several times players i had to be rescued with ropes from t perilous positions when making the se: 1 and cliff scenes. One actor, Mr Johi^ v Laurie, broke his collarbone in a fall 2 being fortunate to escape so lightly r "Thi film is a great success,'" Mi 2 "'.attner added, "and we will go bac* ] to Scotland to make more films One could not find t nore beautiful settings anywhere " Journeying by train plane, and- ship Mr Blattner covered miles in 24 hours to reach Foula. He supervised tht shooting of the final scenes THe film is a dramatic story of the stern, rugged existence of the Foula slanders, and the pathos of de- > population is depicted amid wild seen - cry with grim cliffs frowning down j from a height of 400 feet. I i • ' r ——— J "GRAPES OF WRATH." [ Nunnally Johnson, one of the screen's most brilliant writers, "has been assign | ed to write the screen play and act as ' associate producer of 20th Century--1 Fox's screen" production of "Grapes oi Wrath.'" John Steinbeck's sensational best-selling novel The assignment .was announced by Darryl F Zanuck who will produce the film 'Grapes of Wrath" is scheduled to be the most momentous produotior undertaken by , 20th Century-Fox The book already r r a'bestseller, is hailed by critics as one , of the greatest creations of American literature,'and has created a furore j because of the frankness of its dramatic | story. ; > MYSTERY ON THE SET. J^^Clie^yme^ Wolf^rjy Hunt" is re- ' ported r-'io"' tirim over with serio-comir adventure;'but no mystery in the film ■is-more intricruiffe than one that developed at the Columbia ctudio during, ororiu.ction ■ Warren William who plays the Lone Wolf, wa?; the cause of the bewilderment, and the 'after beean when he-w seen to take y broom into his ciressine-room "What in the world i.c tViqt for°" though* Ma r,mvrip aloud Others!- 'shared her curiosity For severe' riavs g watohfni pvp was '<ent on William the room and the broom All three were obvinuclv together, between seenps. vet the rnnnec fibn ended thpre Cerfaihiv William was not puffing th» broom to its normal ijse Ralnh M<"»rijan who nlav? suave spy chW f n the film finaiiv 'oivpifl the riddle He drifted into wniis»rn\<s drocciritf-room for a match William, anothpr nine hart the broom across his lara With a touch almost Invine he was extracting a straw Piop cleaners he later told members of thp cotdd ny. are not nearly so good. He prefers old-fashioned ■ straws. FROM STAND-IN TO STAR. ..... .From, stand-in to star is an old story Sometimes the hero betrins as an extra But one featured olayer lately risen to prominence bp^an even lower in the cinema wale H° borts>n by not berne in pi^ures at all He in this instance is "Haisv"—no^sifrlv a mi«v)ntnpr hut not a misraptincr —for of all the canine olavers in Hollywood he alonp is Daisy of the famous romir strip "BloncHe" In brin«ir>? "RlonrJip" to fhe screen. Columbia ess* Penny Singleton in the life role. Arthur Lake as Dapwond and H^l*» Larrv S'ms as Baby Dumnline The Daisy chosen was idpal—thnueh mainline—and how he a"ot his start in films is a most unusual success story Daisy belongs to T?pnnie Rpnfro who owns somp 35 ' performing animals, and the rfoe first pokpd his muzzle within stnrtio gates whpn Renfro rpcentlv fulfilled an ' assignment at Columbia Renfro was facinc a prntVem The pWnre was 1 "Life Beeins With L^ve" E^'tb Fpl- i lows was featured The cast included ' several dozen children ar .1 two of i Renfro v does, a hnep St B»roarH and i a tiny P^ke And when the children i and the dogs pot together the pro- I blem arose The ch'idren tired the '• iogs out by playing with them bptween I scenes. When the animals appeared j before the camera thpv were exhausted i and unresponsive Then came Daisy One moraine Renfro arrived with a I third, dog The latter was tied out- ■ side the stage door and the kiddie? < were given to understand *hat when I they wanted to romp with a dog, Daisy

mount Theatre.

SHIPS A CENTURY OLD. Heading out to sea from Los Angeles Harbour the other day in the face of heavy headwinds, were two ships of types seen on the Atlantic a century ago. They were the Dog Star, an accurate replica of the first paddle steamer to cross from the British Isles to New York in 1838, and the Falcon, a full-rigged packet of the period Under command of -Jim Havens, marine expert, the two carried combined sailing and movie production crews of 150- men comprising the second unit Ox Producer-Director Frank Lloyd's "Ruler of the Seas'" company which has Douglas Fairbanks, jun.. Margaret Lockwood, and Will Fyffe as principals. Reversing the usual r-ocedure by looking for bad weathei instead of good, the ship's destination wah the shoal water >ff San MigueJ Island where Havens planned to make storm shots for the Paramount sea epic.

Penny Singleton, Arthu> Lake, karrj ("Baby Dumpling") Sims, and Spooks, who are in "Blondie.'' which has been filmed from the famous comic strip and comes to the Para-

: TECHNICOLOR FILM COMING. P . m n i ■■ ? "Heart of the North," Warner Bros hrilling action drama dealing with idventures of the Royal Canadian I Mounties. which opens at the St James II Theatre shortly it. filmed entirely in ? Technicolor Heading the cast are 7 Dick Foran] Gloria Dickson. Gale Page. 5 Janet Chapman. Allen' Jenkins, and Patric Knowles. J NOT ALL GOLD THAT GLITTERS. 1 Mickey Rooney was almost the discoverer of a new gold area in South crn California when, on location at Crater Lake California for "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." he found "nuggets" in the stream in which he propelled a raft for the picture He gathered them up and reported the 1 find. There was wild excitement, and 1 Walter Connolly and William Frawley. ■in scenes with him started prospecting But when they took the nuggets " to John Nickolaus. head of the M.G.M laboratory, the bubble burst. Nicko 5 lavs's, tests disclosed that tl ey were only iron pyrites, known to miners as > "fool's gold." ; FILMS AND BOOKS. r Motion pictures are making the great- ■ est contribution to modern literature ; and to the perpetuation ->f established i classics, in the estimation of Edward Small, who produces pictures for ; United Artists elease Small has long contended that successful books make : the best possible screen, stories and : has utilised this theory in many of his most successful pictures Only rei cently Small purchased the screen ■ rights to Howard Spring's best-selling novel. "My Son. My So-*."' paying 50,000 dollars for the privilege of converting the popular story of English life to the screen He also holds the screen rights to the Alexandre Dumas novel "The Man in the Iron Mask," which will gc into production shortly, with James Whale directing. In .erenl years ne has registered successes by utilising such well-known stories as "The Count of: Monte Cristo." "I Cover the Waterfront." and "The Last of thp Mohicans." "A substantial story s the basis ol

A Letter frrow Hoityieooii (Specially written for "The Post".) Hollywood*

(~WER their luncheon of salads and sandwiches, Deanna Durbin and Helen Parrish barracked iov their respective schools. Hollywood and Fairfax, bandied words as only sixteen-year-olds can. and debated the merits of various lipsticks "Do. you like fuchsia lipstick. Miss Durbin?" asked Miss Parrish. "because if you do. you're no friend ox mnio. I'd forgive you Hollywood High, but 1 wouldn't know you if you used fuchsia lipstick." "You'd forgive rat Hollywood High Miss Parrish 9' said Miss Durbin. with a threat in hei voice 'Now now Deanna,' said Helen. This sparring wen* on all through luncheon. Helen Parrish Vivacious talkative- "I've been «uflorating at school on the back lot all morning." she explained "ana now 1 want to talk"-Deanna Durbin rathei silent very observant.. •-co poised her large grey eyes marking the arrival of everybody in. the studio cafe "Perhaps you don't know we are friends." said Helen Parrish to me, "but if we were sweet all the time t would oe kind of monotonous But Deanna didn't know me with my hair done in a different style." Interested Only in Sinking. Deanna Durb n told me i.hat she has no desire to make a name foT herself as an actress, she wants only to continue her singing studies till one day sh< may become famous in opera "She thinks she can't net.* interrupted Hplen Parrish 'but 1 know there are lots of people who know she is mistaken Me I want to learn as much as ! nan acting " Luncheon was interrupted at this point by Dan Kelly a casting director, who gave the * cuns singing star three cents "He gives me pennies every day," said Deanna "Probably because 1 played Penny in my first film 'Three Smart Girls'" Deanna Durbin's day is a busy one. In the morning she is at school: between luncheon and her singing 'esson she frequently has a wardrobe call; later in the afternoon she records songs for her next picture "F'rst Love." That was to have been the title for Deanna'? picture with Charles Boyer, but when the film is made next January, another title will be found for the story As yet a leading man has

NEWSREEL NEWS

Paramount (British) News, at Regent Theatre, Today: Young England joins the army to learn trades. . . . Artist prepares exhibition of "paintings" executed on typewriter. . . New paint gives protection against fire. Drive or fly-one machine does both. . . . America welcomes new Mauretania after maiden voyage. . . Yankee Clipper with 19 passengers and seven tons of mail inaugurates weekly trans-Atlantic service. Pathe Gazette, at St. James Theatre, Tomorrow: More bomb explosions in London. Prime Minister's speech at Cardiff Mile of the Century race in United States. . . France's navy at manoeuvres. Atlantic Clipper arrives at Southampton. . . . Forest fire look-outs in the United States. . Costers' pony and donkey show in London. . King and Queen at Westminster Abbey. Fox (International) News, at Plaza Theatre, Tomorrow: King and Queen attend Abbey thanksgiving service on return from tour. King takes salute at National Service parade at Hyde Park. . . Genera] Franco visits his home town, El Ferrol. . . Mauretania at New York on maiden voyage. . . Swedish day at World Fair. .. . Cheetah racing at Aldershot Royal Show. . . . United States cruisers round Cape Horn in gale. Fox (Australasian) News, at Plaza and King's Theatres, Tomorrow: Motion pictures are taken for the first time in the Legislative Assembly when Sir Winston Dugan is sworn in as Governor of Victoria. . Minister of Defence visits fortifications at Rottnest Island. Western Australia where latest guns are installed. . A school of penguins pays Jervois Bay surprise visit. Sydney Pomeraniam has back legs broken, but walks with special appliance. . Ashton brothers in Kyeemagh polo in New South Wales. . . . Pictures of new show playground at Charlotte Pass. Cinesound News, at Majestic Theatre, Tomorrow: Sir Winston Dugan. previously Governor of South Australia, arrives in Melbourne to assume new Vice-Regal post. . . Australia's crack polo teams take the field when Goulburn meets Scone in Sydney Megan Taylor, amateur skating champion of the world, arrives in Australia. Old-time pottery-making shown as Melbourne expert moulds the famous Toby jugs Specially staged drama testing operation of unique cliff rescue gear. Metrotone News, at Majestic Theatre, Tomorrow: British concession at Tientsin blockaded by Japanese troops. . . . British troops at Hong Kong reinforced Six hundred German refugees reach haven in Belgium after wandering over half the globe. Whirlwind spreads destruction in Minneapolis. . . Norwegian windjammer brings cadets to New York on training voyage. . . Chicago family demonstrate freak bicycles. . . . New Mauretania arrives in New York . Yale-Harvard boat race. . . . King and Queen at A.R.P. display in Hyde Park.

not been selected to play opposite Deanna in "First Love/ On and Off the Screen. Deanna Durbin is one of the few stars who appear just the same off the screen as on. and her great success on the screen is in no small manner due to the fact that she is herself before the cameras. When she is .10 longer herself it will be time to wonder what her future in films will be She has a fresh charm which is particularly appealing in the midst of so much sophistication; her frocks are girlish befitting her years; she uses no make-up but lipstick and her finger nails are not lacquered Her glossy, light brown hair is dressed in a simple manner but her feminine interest in more adult hair-dressing styles evinced 'tself in the manner in which she in <pected Helen Parnsh's new coiffure For relaxation off the set she swims. and is devoted to her dog Tippy 'He's made up all of sixteenths so I guess I don't know jvhat breed he is," she said.—Constance Robertson.

LIVERPOOL'S REPERTORY. A London critic, apropos of the number of plays produced originally by William Armstrong at the Liverpool Repertory Theatre! mentions "Tony Draws a Horse," and in connection with the London production O: Noel Coward's "Design for Living." further men tions a curious coincidence Three ot its four principal parts were played by Diana Wyryard, Rex Harrison, and Alan Webb, while Harold French produced. The play was not originally produced at the Liverpool Rep., but its author, Mr. Coward, made his first appearance outside London at the Liverpool Rep. in 1913, as one of tha "Angels of Light" in Hauptmann's "Hannele"; Mr. Harold Frencn was another of the Angels on the'same occasion; Miss Diana Wynyard was playing leading parts in the Liverpool Rep f vom 1927-29 before she came to London; Mr Rex Harrison was a member of the same company, joining as a student in 1926; and Mr Alan WebD was three years with Mr Armstrong from 1929 to 1932 Except for Mr Anton Walbrook, who comes from Austric. Mr Armstrong i.an certainly look en the -London production of "Desig l for Living" as 'a Liverpool Rep •• (lair."

HIGH PRAISE. . Leon M. Lion, the enthusiastic London producer, is a great admirer ti Wilfrid Lawson. the versatile London actor whose work in the film 'Pygmalion" won for him worla-wide fame. They were recently associated in the play "Hundreds ana Thousands," a delightful fantasy with a wide realism. Mr. Liou considers that Mr. Lawson, though he is nui yet forty, has the intuitive creative genius of a man three times his age. Mr Lion is a great admirer also of the play writing of Eugene O'Neill and Clifford Odets, and speaks highly of Terence Rattigan, whose "French Without Tears" was such a popular offering in London last year. PLAY ABOUT WOMEN. Beatrix Lehmann, the popular actress, played a hired girl part in the London Snaitesbury Theatre production of Max Catto's thrilling play, 'They Walk Alone." It was Mi Firth Shephard's first offering of his comprehensive programme for 1939 and followed a successful "Q'" Theatre season Mr Shepharu was so imprebsea with the play when he saw it ai the Kew Theatre that he arranged for its trans ference, as he considered the work oi the three leading ladies—Beatrix Lehmann, Carol Goodner. and Rene Ray —to be outstanding contributions to art. The scene of "They Walk Alone" is a domestic interior am the piece s leavened with bright comedy The farmhouse is in Lincolnshire, and the atmosphere is well created by. the author Berthold Viertel who produced, had not done stage work previously in England, though he had produced films. His main ambition is to produce Shakespeare in English, he has done many Shakespearean plays in Germany, notably 'Richard II," "Twelfth Night," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream."