Evening star., 1937-08-25

CraWfordS, LOmbardS, POWellS, De
Havilands, etc., look up to their direc-
tors. Studios may make their money,
directly at least, out of personalities
such as Robert Taylor, but it is pretty
obvious that on the inner circle they
are more proud to have assets such as
Robert Leonard, Woody Van Dyke,
John Ford, Tay Garnett, Cliff Reid,
Pan Berman and persons like that
around.
Not the actors nor actresses, how
ever good they may be or however pop
ular, but the directors are the ones
who make good pictures. Or bad ones.
1t is bit surprising, even when you
realize in advance, thai among the
directors you find the real glamour
figures of the industry in the in
dustry's home city. They are far more
colorful persons around the lots-and
In some cases around town-than the
handsome maids and men whom they
send spiraling to what is called star
dom.
Take, for instance, the case of Van
Dyke. He is one of Hollywood's most
vivid personalities. The girl in Iowa
may not know him as anything more
than a name behind which the film
comes spinning along, but the door
man of this hotel does and SO does
every one else whose path out here
crosses that of Van Dyke. At work or
at play, Van Dyke is genius and that
fact is appreciated far beyond the
walls of M-G-Ms studios in Culver
City.
Van Dyke is person Of enormous
vitality There is no one quite like him
In Hollywood, unless possibly it is John
Ford, Both of them are rated as the
kind of picture makers who could take
a couple of COWS, girl dressed as a
dairy maid and a few similarly simple
ingredients and turn out screen
drama that really would be dramatic.
Van Dyke is a whirlWind worker.
The air of suppressed excitement which
hangs over M-G-M today is pre-
lude to the actual starting of produc-
ton on "Rosalie" The picture will
have Nelson Eddy, Eleanor Powell,
Frank Morgan and number OF others.
But the thing that makes for the ex-
citement is the fact that Van Dyke Is
going to work on another picture and
give a demonstration of speed plus
quality that every one is anxious to
watch.
THE speed of a Van Dyke picture
is the result OF military-like prep
arations. That is not so odd IN view
of the fact that the director is Marine
major, Reserve and possibly more en-
thusiastic about that side of his life
than any other. He moves slowly in
getting ready to work fast. Everything
is carefully set before there is a
thought of shooting, but when the
shooting begins the effect is that OF
q whirlwind.
Van Dyke sets the pace Of his pic
lures himself. He Whirls along at
breath taking speed and sustains 1t
through days that are so long the very
clocks are dismayed by his antics. But
cast and crew are not dismayed. Van
Dykes sense Of speed is communic-
able thing which those around him
absorb without any feeling that 1t Is
being forced upon them.
Making pictures with him, players
will tell you, is thrilling kind Of ad-
venture. That is characteristic of most
of those directors rated as great in
these parts. His associates say the
same thing of Ford, of Garnett, Mer-
vyn Leroy and others. None of these
have trouble, serious trouble, with tenn
peramental stars-which only a few
stars really are. They make picture
making a kind of fast hilarious game
which can last bewildering amount
of overtime without any one becoming
conscious of it. That is especially true
in the case of Van Dyke. And, pre-
Vious story in this series already has
indicated, Ford can pause long enough
In the making of Hurricane" to chat
or roughhouse depending upon his
mood with a visiting fastener. He
Is one Jack who is not going to be
made dull boy by all work and no
play. He would not think of it and
neither would Van Dyke.
Getting around among directors Is
one of the more Illuminating expert
ences of a Hollywood sojourn. They
are the easiest persons in the business
to talk to and almost invariably are
more articulate than even the pub
ucity departments.
One learns that a common specter
that haunts the lives of all of them is
exactly the same as that which lnt1u-
ences the thinking of players-the fear
of becoming typed. Making two pic
lures of the same general character
in succession is completely repulsive
thought to most of them. That is why
Ford will hop from "The Informer,"
a tense study in psychology, to "The
Hurricane" which is spectacular ad-
venture. Or why Archie Mayo will be
found making "The Adventures of
Marco Polo," which is spectacle stuff,
after getting a reputation for whirl-
wind comedy. Van Dyke, who seems to
be the hero of this success saga, will
turn out "The Thin Man. with one
hand, then get to work on musical
like "Rosalie."
The studios go nicely along with the
greater names among their directors in
letting them avoid the danger of be-
coming typed. It is assumed-al-
though directors sometimes have to
get quite stormy about it-that good
megaphone user eve have not yet seen
one, but it is supposed to be the mark
of directory can get along with any
type of subject. In the course of time
the men who have run through the
gamut of picture types - mysteries
musicals, comedies, dramas, spectacles
or what do you want anyhow, have
more or less proved a quality Of ver-
satility that impresses the still bigger
shots.
X X X X
RETWEEN the director and the com.
pany is another one Of the more
interesting persons one finds in tht
center Of the industry. Two of those