Evening star., 1938-07-31
Hughes Flight
Cause for
Retakes
News Events Keep
Producers on
Their Toes.
By Harold Hefernau.
HOLLYWOOD.

morning of July IL when Producer
Director William wild BilD Well
L man and several other executives
gathered in the office of Adolph Zukor,
general manager of the Paramount
Studio, to discuss plans for the re-
lease OF one of the companys most
promising Office bets.
The conferees were happy. Wellman
was bringing his aerial epic. Men
With Wings" in on schedule, and well
under the million dollar budget set
for 1t.
Zukor's secretary entered and spread
an extra edition of one of the Los
Angeles dailies across the chiefs desk.
Members of the official family peeped
at the heavy headlines. They gasped
as the import of that big banner
crashed down upon them:
Hughes in Paris on first leg of
world tour"
Wellman came to his feet moaning.
He began pacing the floor, support
ing his head in his hands.
Every one in the room realized that
while aviation was scoring one of its
most brilliant achievements its back
fire could throw Men With Wings"
for major loss. There were no cheers
from this little group for Howard
Hughes and his brave crew-not at
that moment, anyway If Hughes
sklrted the globe for a new record. and
there was every indication that he
would, Men With Wings" would have
to 60 back for important revisions.
Costs would pile up. A release date
might be missed!
VET there was nothing particularly
novel about this situation. 1t hap
pens time and again in Hollywood
production circles. Rapidly moving
headlines often catch up with and
pass the events being imprinted on
celluloid. Nothing can be done about
it. either. During the past year perhaps
dozen film features were called back
on the eve of release dates for revi-
slons made necessary by news events.
Men with Wings" was planned and
produced as a cavalcade of American
aviation, and all important aeronau-
tical events had been intertwined with
the story in proper chronological or
der So, with release date set for
August, the picture couldn't very well
appear as complete aviation caval-
cade unless the Hughes fight was in
cluded.
After many conferences (and over
the head of one executive who in
sisted the fight should be ignored be-
cause 1t was "a stunt that contrib
uted nothing to the science of avia-
tion"b it was finally decided to make
script changes so that Actors Fred
MacMurray and Ray Milland could.
through newspaper inserts, radio lis
tening and dialogue, make reference to
the Hughes flight.
The Hughes fight also affected two
other productions under way at the
time in another Hollywood studio,
but not nearly so drastically as it
did the Paramount air entry.
In the script of Wings of the
Navy at Warner Bros, John Payne
the hero, spoke these lines: Il want
to lead a mass flight to Midway
or Alaska. Within 10 years ships
will be able to circle the world in five
days" The lines were changed to
eliminate reference to time. and this
was added instead: Il don't want to
be a m-dizzy fighting pilot all my
life
WOMEN IN THE WIND" bought
as Kay Francis last picture at
the same studio, was intended to be
the story of a trans-continental flight,
but when Hughes checked in at Floyd
Bennett Field on his return trip it
was changed to an around the world
Highland its boX-office value was
upped some so per cent, it is esti-
mated.
Producers and directors won't soon
forget another ''hot potato that turned
up at Paramount a few months ago
The studio had previewed a picture
called Stolen Heaven" and was about
to distribute it to theaters when a
thunderous world event sent it scut-
Ting back to the sound stages for
revision. The pictures background
was Vienna, and continual reference
both in word and in scene had been
made to cheerful. gay. merry Vienna" :"
When Hitler suddenly decided to invade
Austria and take over, the atmosphere
of the picture didn't apply at all
Hasty changes removed all reference
to Vienna. When the fans saw it
the locale might have been Graustark.
Sometimes producers are lucky and
find subsequent news events unfolding
in such a manner as to team in with
their plot plans.