PRODUCTION SCHEDULES OF HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 119, 5 June 1937, Page 16

PRODUCTION SCHEDULES OF HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

Play in "Gone with the Wind."?— Consuming a good eix months of scouting for the cast, "Gone With the Wind" has revealed more spectacularly than any-other motion pieture production just how and why players are chosen for their retspective parts, says a Hollywood correspondent. "More speetacularly" because of the current interest engendered by the rising oi readers won by the Margaret Mitchell novel of the American South. On the announcement . that a piece of literature is to be filmed, it's nothing new to find its readers conjuring up a cast, but it's a- rare thing that more than a million persons in the space of a dozen months or so have read the basis of a script. And these readers find many would-be producers among themselves dealing out advice against tlie day when these readers becomo cinema audiences. Producer David Selsnick eeeks their help in answering Hollywood 's recurring question: does the story need stars, or will the story create its own stars? He recently denied the widespread report that Miriam Hopkins and Clark Bable have been signed for the leading parts, saying that the question was far from solution. Hie problem is as much economic as it is artistic. He says that showing of his pictures an the United States in general pays for the actual investment, while all profits accrue from- foreign exhibition. In point, he says foreign returns accounted for 40. per cent. of* the total world gross for "Dinner at Eight," "Viva Yilla," and "Dancing Lady"; more than 50 per cent. for "David Copperfield" and "A Tale of Two Ciries," and actually more than 60 per cent. for "Anna Karenina," "Little Lord Fauntleroy," arid "Tho Garden of Allah. " Eye on Foreign Markets. Mr. Selsnick must diecover whether "Gone With the Wind" is a large enough attraction in . Japan, Africa,' and England, for example, to warrant a risk of an investment of perhaps 1,000,000 dollars or more without the help of proved stars. Me thinks it's good insurance to pay a little more and get "names," and "names" don't exactly keep patrons away from American theatres. Some commentators believe ' ' Gone With the Wind" needs nothing more than normal, execaition with a passable cast to make it as outstanding a boxoffice attraction as it has Deen over book counters. This attitude prompted criticism of Mr. Selsnick 's interviewswith. Norma Shearer about the role of Scarlet O'Hara. Many critics say her playing the part would deprice the industry of au excellent . chance to develop another star. Mr. Selsnick quotes Miss Shearer as saying that she will take the part only if no other person can be found who can insure the success of a picture whose theme may not be known the world over. He considers her unquestionably capable of interpreting the role, but realists believe Miss SheaTer is holding out of a suitable financial arrangement.

Hollywood 's business oi capitaiising upon to-day 's subjeets works well along such lines as the much-publicised Mit^ chell novel, but many producers ar# runnipg into difficulties with topics lik«( Spain, Lawrence of Arabia, Jessg James, Mrs. Wallis Simpson, the Philip^ pines, and Samoa. Spanish War Picture Shelved. ' j Producer Walter Wanger has calleg off "The Eiver Is Blue." Unable to predict whdch side will win in tho Spanish Civil War,- he was unable ' toi choose which side should * win in tho pieture. Samuel Goldwyn ie hoping for an i»» terview with President Quezon of tho Philippine Commonwealth in order to devise an unobjectionable script fo« "The Beal Glory," a tale of the Phi« lippine occupation by the Uniteg States., Producer Goldwyn is seeking the full co-operation oi ihe United States Navy; in his "The Hurricane," to be filmed at Pago Pago du AmerTun Samoa. Be cause the island is tinder Navy Depart^ ment jurisdiction, Lieut. Commandef Lucien B. Green has been assigned as "governmental supervisor " " to facilw tate the quartering oi a technical crew 'and the obtaining of native tribes fo background. Memory of "Easputin" and ito heavy cost to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer'isf libel judgments still hangs over Hollyw wood; Eobert Kane, who boughi "Lawrence of Arabia" from Alexan* der Korda, is . having his script subx jected to legal scrutiny to prevent" currence of the unfortunate case io • which the local studdo lost a decisioo in an English Court for assertedly porx traying still-living persons UnfavOuw ably in a; film. Darryl Zanuck had to get permissioa from descendants of Jesse James beforO daring to make a picture, o£ the Jamei Boys. _ . ' ' . Tahoo on the Windsora, England 's. taboo on any meation of or similarity to the romance of for* mer King Edward and iMrs. Bimpsotf took an immediate hold on production schedules here% Present exploitation, however, of the likeness of Fernand Gravet to the Duke of Windsor by War* ner Brothers in "The ' King and th# Chorus Girl" is a case study of how; close Hollywood can come to the linsi of taste or law. To help producers tread. the path of ddscretion is a continuing job of tha Will Hays (censor) staff. His assocla* tion of producers and diatjifmfcors ex» smines all scripts before they go intn production, and it has been estimatef that 60 per cent. undergo rmutually« agreed" improvements. Thie is' a self* imposed censorship, for the assocdation is made up of only the producers whossf worka are inspected. Most of the writers and producers an aware of the general confines of moral* ity and taste, but an expert staff makes , quick work of checking up on question* able sequences. Not only does - the Hays office peruse scripts, but it con* siders the suitability of thtles and ex* ploitatdon methods.