MICKEY ROONEY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 February 1940, Page 3

MICKEY ROONEY

EOX OFFICE STAR NO. 1. HOLLYWOOD, December 31. Mickey Rooney has been voted No. 1 star at the box-office by 12,273 movie theatre owners in the annual poll conducted by the “Motion Picture Herald," a reliable trade paper. The 1939 poll is full of upsets and surprises, the biggest of all being che dethronement of little Shirley Temple from the No. 1 spot, which she held undisputed for the four previous ay ears. Here are the 10 winners for 1939, and the percentage they polled: —Mickey Rooney, 370; Tyrone Power, 677; Spencer Tracy, 566; Clark Gable, 412; Shirley Temple, 339; Bette Davis, 315; Alice Faye, 271; Errol Flynn, 253; James Cagney, 226; Sonja Henie, 219. Rooney’s victory in this poll is a blow to Hollywood’s much publicised glamour boys and girls, and is proof that the people who pay to see movies prefer homey, down-to-earth entertainment to all other kinds.

Mickey’s triumph will give all studios much food for thought. He is anything but glamourous, and there’s no doubt that he won the poll for his performances in the cheap-budgeted Hardy Family series. The Money-Makers.

This poll is more important to Hollywood than even the Academy Awards. Studios find out through the poll which stars are the big money-makers at the box-office, and after all, Hollywood i& in business for a profit.

Exhibitors who vote in this poll are asked to “Please list in the order of their box-office strength the 10 players whose pictures drew the greatest number of patrons to.your theatre in 1939, without regard to age of picture, net profit, length of run, nature of competition, or other conditions during exhibition.”

More than 8,000 independent exhibitors cast their votes this year.

Rooney’s rise to top place has been little short of sensaticnal. He was listed in 133rd place in the exhibitors’ poll in 1937, but in 1938 climbed up to third spot. Now he is on top with a sweeping majority. Until this poll he was

receiving 1,000 dollars a week, and 10,000 dollars bonus for each picture. Now his salary has been increased to the 4,000 dollars a week mark, and he is on a par with Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Robert Taylor, studio fellow-work-ers.

The appearance of Tyrone Power in second place is one of the big surprises of this year’s poll. Although critics said he was badly miscast in most of his pictures and was called upon to play impossible roles, the people who pay their good money to see him didn’t agree and evidently didn’t detect any miscasting. Spencer Tracy rose from fifth place to third, and I think most “fans” will be pleased at his promotion. This trouper is Hollywood’s most unanimously admired player. Clark Gable's Position. Although Clark Gable dropped from second to fourth place his ability to stay in the first ten year after year continues to amaze Hollywood. Critics had been expecting Clark to drop right into the cellar this year because he made only two pictures, “Idiot’s De-

light,” which was not very popular with fans, and “Gone With the Wind,” which was not taken into consideration for this poll. But good pictures or bad, Clark seems able to hold the public in< terest and. he seems destined to continue as a popular leading man. His performance in “Gone With the Wind” will assure him of a ranking place next year. Shirley Temple’s slip down to fifth place seems to indicate that fans are tiring of child stars. You’ll also notice that she is the only child star to be ranked in the first ten. Jane Withers, who squeezed into tenth spot last year, dropped to 13th this year, giving further proof that the child star is on the wane in Hollywood. Shirley’s decline may have been caused by the fact that

she is growing up, and her studio is still searching for the right vehicle for her. It will be interesting to see the reaction, to “The Blue Bird,” one of the most ambitious pictures she ■ has ever appeared in. Bette Davis Comes Up. The sudden rise of Bette Davis from nowhere in 1938 to sixth position this year comes as no surprise to Hollywood critics, who maintain that she should have won ranking last year. Her position in the poll seems to indicate to this observer that fans are more discerning and are placing good acting above glamour. You’ll probably notice that she is the only big dramatic player outside Spencer Tracy to gain a place in the coveted first 10. ' Alice Faye is gaining popularity with the years, leaping from ninth place in 1938 to seventh this year. Eroll Flynn jumped over 13 players to get ■ into eighth place, which was held in 1938 by Robert Taylor, who slumped to 14th. Bob Taylor’s, drop is no surprise. He hasn’t had a really good picture tnis year, and if he doesn’t soon get a good

role he is likely to drop right out of the picture. A Comeback. Jimmy Cagney's comeback is a real surprise. This red-headed rebel, who was 10th in 1935, 12th in 1936, finished among the tail-enders in 1937-38. But this year exhibitors have voted him into ninth place, the highest position he has evei’ held. Jimmy had the kind of roles he could handle this year. Although Sonja Henie dropped from third place to 10th, her presence in the top ten is a high compliment to this girl, who never has been considered an actress, but always as an ice skating champion. The biggest of all surprises is the

omission of Deanna Durbin from the top flight. > Among the Second Fifteen.

The 15 honour stars who were placed directly after the first 10 are: —-Bing Crosby, 218; Deanna Durbin, 192; Jane Withers, 158; Robert Taylor, 157; Wallace Beery, 144; Myrna Loy, 140; Bob Burns, 124; Gary Cooper, 10G; Jeanette MacDonald, 105; Don Ameche, 90; Ginger Rogers, 87; Henry Fonda, 85; Paul Muni, 84; Irene Dunne, 72; Cary Grant, 71. For the third successive season, Gene Autry, crooning cowboy, led the western stars’ poll by a sweeping majority. Autry is one of the biggest money-makers that Hollywood ever has known, and the equal of the other stars. The thousands of small towns throughout America would rather see Autry than Gable or Tracy. Next to Autry and in the following order were: Bill Boyd, who seems to go on like the babbling brook; Roy Rogers, George O’Brien, Charles Starrett, Three Mesquiteers, Tex Ritter, Buck Jones, a veteran of veterans, John Wayne, and Bob Baker.