About Picture People.

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20509, 27 May 1938, Page 4

About Picture People.

FROM LONDON FILM WEEKLY

JUDY GARLAND'S getting to be a ** busy young lady. M-G-M have bought the “Wizard of Oz” from Sam GoMuyn and will star her in it as the heroine, Dorothy. They've also bought Top»y and Eva, the musical comedy of “Uncle Tom's Cabin,” formerly made by the Duncan listers. Judy's Topsy of course, and Betty Jaynes, another chanting child we haven't seen yet, will be little Eva. Evidently M-G-M are trying to make up for lost time and race Judy neok-and-neck with Deanna Durbin. Luoky for them the two are on slightly different tracks. 0 0 0 0 pRANCEB PARMER may come back A to a fresh start in Hollywood when the stage run of “Golden Boy” winds up. Both Warners and Sam Goldwyn are interested In the film rights of the Odet-i play. The hero’s a boxer, so Warners want it for Wayne Morris, and Sam might like it for Jon Hall. Whichever gets it will probably bkl to borrow Frances for her original part. Nobody wanted Frances much when she stalked off to Broadway, thanks to her lordly ways. But she put one over on everybody, being the only screen star to succeed on Broadway this season. And there’s nothing Hollywood forgives like success. • • • • T)ORis NOLAN'S another comebacker from Broadway. She’s to get that part in ‘’Vacation Bound” that was hoped to re-unite Hepburn and Rogers. Don’t quite know what happened. as Ginger was said to have signed. Doris, having left Hollywood for good, planed in from Broadway and goes right to work. Universal never struck her line for her before, which seemed to me “youngish heavy.” In the not-so-nice Mary Astor part she might make more impression. Alto It looks more like sticking closer to the original “Holiday.•• The part would have needed turning Inside out for Ginger, and “Holiday” was too good to need much improving. 0 0 0 0 \fARY OAKES was one of the models Imported by Walter Wanger for his "Vogues of 1938.” Nobody expected to hear much more of her, but this girl had a head on her lovely figure. She sat down and wrote a story and sold it to Pete Smith. IK’li make a short of it called 'Modelling for Money” and there’s a fair chance she’ll be the star as well as the author. Maybe a producer one day too. • • • • pRANCISKA QAAL has been teasing Hollywood with a hermit act. Every time they let her out of sight she dashes ofT to mountain seclusion at Big Bear. Very awkward for Jack Benny and ail the writers, designers and executives trying to prepare the new version of “Artists and Models” for her and Benny. One rehearsal call for Miss Gaal took the form of a message saying, “tell Miss Gaal Biz Benny is just as important as Big Bear.” Meanwhile Benny and his team of writers have settled down for a week’s work at Lake Arrowhead, just the other side of the mountain from the Hungarian’s hideout. 0000 CRRING BYINGTON has been booked by Frank Capra to play the part of the mother in “You Can't Take It With You.” Nice work for Ma Jones, who’s never given a bad performance yet. Capra seems to be breaking new ground with his cast in r of this one. He’s already arranged for Columbia to borrow Ann Miller for the pari of fhe daffy ballet-dancer. Una Merkel wis up for this spot. Interesting to see what Capra does fur a cast or character actors and lesser known*. Nobody can say the big directors aren’t trying to r'-’v. pictures pay without star name*.