Evening star., 1939-10-22
Film Sequels
Become an
Epidemic
Hollywood Finds
Followup' Story
Pays Well
By Harold Hefernan.
HOLLYWOOD

4AoAA1 "ooO.
Many years ago, when Louisa M.
Alcott wrote Little Men" to cap
italize on the success of Little
Women she started something that
Hollywood is adopting today to help
stave of its war losses.
What Miss Alcott did was write
sequel. and today the movie cap
ital is bending its shoulders over
many a sequel. In fact. the current
epidemic of "followup" stories now
moving through All production mills,
major and quickie alike, Is unprece-
dented in Hollywoods history.
A survey of movie making opera
tions last week indicated that
movie characters with whom fam
dom has become familiar during the
last year are likely to be with us for
a long time. Almost every money!
making picture released since the
first OF the year either is being
treated to sequel or is getting
careful study for its propects of
serving up future material.
These added adventures of we'll
liked plots and characters are not
only being enthusiastically approved
by fans and exhibitors. but thew re
serving the highly desirable purpose
OF cutting down play-buying ex-
penses for studios at a time when
every lot is slashing to the bone to
counteract losses from closed Euro
pean markets.
First evidence of the sequel rage
was observed late in 1888 with the
release of -Four Daughters" Warner
Bros. didn't expect much of that
picture, but it sailed unexpectedly
into the hit class, and a newcomer.
John Garfield, zoomed with it. Fans,
exhibitors and studio stockholders
clamored for sequel. But writer's
mad made one serious error. They
had killed Garfield off just before
the flnale-and he was the kew man.
For weeks frantic bright boys in the
studio writing department tried des-
perately to conceive a logical reason
for Garfield's resurrection. It
couldn't be done.
Next best thing was to write
story similar to -Four Daughters"
and use the same cast of charac-
tiers. This was done. and the re-
suit was linked to its predecessor
by means of the title, Daughters
Courageous" This picture also
proved a tremendous hit at the
oox office. and just a few weeks ago
Warmers finished another-this time
direct sequel to -Four Daughters"
1t is titled -Four Wives" and the
essential Mr.. Garfield is brought
before the audience in ghostly form.
Ever since the Warner expert
ence all studios have been bending
ears to the ground for followup
possibilities, and just to play safe
they've urged script writers to keep
heroes and heroines in a healthy
condition at the fadeout. Killing of
a prospective sequel hero could, as
it did in the Warner case, cost lots
of money.
Daryl Zanuck regrets, too, that
historical fact forced him to end
his very profitable picture, Jesse
James," with the death of Tyrone
Power. But he's making the best
OF the mess by preparing a SEQUEL,
based on the adventures of Jesse's
brother Frank and starring Henry
Fonda.
Another of Zanuck's successes this
year was Stanley and Livingstone"
and so cheering were the cash re-
turns on it that the producer set
writer's to work mapping out fur
ther adventures of Reporter Henry
M. Stanley after his return from
that historic African trek. Spencer
Tracy undoubtedly will be borrowed
again from M-G-M to play the lead
ing role.
Within a few weeks M-G-M will
start Mickey Rooney in the title role
of Young Tom Edison" a two-fea-
ture story based on the life of the
famous inventor. At the same time,
Tracy will be making the sequel
Edison, the Man." a unique pro-
duction idea never before attempted
in Hollywood. Same studio is now
dickering with Father Flanagan
for sequel to the highly-successful
Boys Town." in which Tracy again
would be starred. And It's no secret
(see HEFTERNAN. Page F-3J