Evening star., 1938-06-19
Dissension
Hits Dead
End. Ranks
All.for.One Spirit
Goes When One
Gets a Role. .
By Douglas W. Churchill.
HOLLYWOOD.

By Douglas W. Churchill.
HOLLYWOOD.
ascension has hit the rank
of the Dead End" boys whs
have been as merry and q.
united Q gang Of cut-throat'
Is has ever come from the New Yorl
streets. When they were brought Yves,
for the picture they viewed themselves
in . one-for-all, all-for-one light
The boys are growing up and hav'
heard that the Hollywood formula fol
success is to step on the necks o
others. The other day Warmers, where
they are under contract, decided to test
one Of them for the leading role oppo-
site Bonita Granville in the Nancy
Drew, the Girl Detective" series. Bobby
Jordan was selected as the most likely
candidate but the others set up a
howl and demanded they be given q
chance. That the youthful and per-
sonable Miss Granville inspired their
interest is denied by the lads; they
lust want to be movie stars
THE cinema has q terrible time try
ing to be erudite. Generally the
villain standing in the path of the
march Of culture is the exhibitor; at
least Hollywood has a habit of charg-
Ing all of. the evils of the screen up to
the poor theater man. The blasts are
MT Nr,firoyv ana c;<1nd for <to ovh;h
ttors have been embarrassingly frank
in tossing everything in'the laps OF the
producers. Latest element in this
cross barrage is the contemplated pro-
duction Of Emily Bronte,s "Wuthering
Heights" by Samuel Goldwyn. Ac-
coding to reactions received, there is
no objection to the story. but the
theaters are vehement in their objec-
ton to the title which they term "too
Arty."
It is the first time that Goldwyn has
been unnerved by a controversy over
titles. He has long contended that a
good picture with bad title will do
business and bad picture with a good
title will fail. But under present con-
ditions, with everybody shooting at
everybody else. he is hesitating on fly
ing in the face Of such strenuous OBJ
jections.
The movie business is IN sad way
and the recent pressure Of the theater
men typified by their onslaught on the
decadent star system is being felt.
Hollywood has always ignored or re-
sisted the attacks made on it and for
the frst time in its history is on the
defensive. In an effort to satisfy the
exhibitors to whom the towns mer-
chandise must be sold. concessions are
unadmittedly being made by the in
dustry. One Of the largest lots has
transferred the activities of one of its
distribution chiefs from New York to
Hollywood and no pictures are being
made without his approval. Another
studio has appointed a theater operator
a. chief of production. although he has
had no experience in the making of
dlms. The sales leaders of other
studios are spending far more time in
Hollywood now than they ever have
IN the past. An era in which the pub
lie will get what the theaters believe
they should have rather than what
Hollywood dictates is dawning. What
this means to audiences remains to be
seen.
THE independent studios like to con-
slider themselves a rejuvenating
machine for stars on the wane. When
. major lot believes that performers
box office power has been expended
the player is dropped and is generally
snapped up by the quickie boys pro-
viding the stars conception of money
changes. Stars always enter their in
dependent careers with great deal Of
optimism but it is as significant as it
Is lamentable that few ever manage
TO make q comeback Claire Windsor,
one of the more luminous Of the CLAM
our girls of the silent era, emerged
from retirement this week to join the
cast of Barefoot Boy" at Monogram.
There is no doubt about Miss Windsor's
talent but recapturing the public's in
terest Is q difficult matter. AS the sage
said of love, there is nothing so dead
Is . fire that's gone out.
Barefoot Boy" was suggested by
John Greenleaf Whittier's poem with
screen play by John T. Neville. It is
about q city boy who has disintegrated
under the evils of civilization and who
goes to the country to be reformed by
barefoot Jackie Moran and Marcia
Mae Jones who wears shoes. Miss
Windsor will be seen as the mother of
the lad who has been tainted by taxi
cabs and petit fours.
The whittier poem is an example of
how American copyright laws bless
Hollywood. Being in public domain,
Monogram is accountable to no one for
picture rights. Such ideal conditions
do not exist in Europe, however, and
because the continental copyright laws
uniformly hold that copyright exists
as long as an heir to the author lives,
the cinema's acquisition of well-known
stories is limited. II international pro-
lection has been secured by writer, q
descendant can prohibit the showing Of
. picture in Europe until q satisfactory
sum Is paid.
This iniquitous attitude is forever
disturbing the industry when it wants
music. Metro has recording of Ca
ruso's voice which was used in "Esca-
pade" and they searched for months
for son by the tenor's first marriage
He was never found, but they took a
chance anyway, feeling that they could
settle with him later One of the rea-
sons for the delay Of Walt Disney's
''Ptnocchio" has been the producers
(see CHURCHILL, Page F-2.)