The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-11-27
Hollywood Shorts

By JOHN R. CHAPLIN

The Hollywood Theater Alliance
continues its miracles in Los Angeles
It's second production, Zero Hour (suc
cessor to Meet the People,, will un
fortunately be voice in the wilder
ness. But it is a very important voice
in these crucial times.
A modern rewrite of Peace 6fl Eartl
by Albert Maltz and George Sklar
admirably directed by Herbert Biber
man, it is a potent cutlery in defense
of civil liberties in times of hysteria
Unfortunately, it is not the type O
play to be commercially successful
The reactionary press has bitterly at
tackled it, the less reactionary daily
press has only dared to be non-com
initial or lukewarm about it.
Richard Gaines (who was Patrick
Henry in The Towards of Virginia
plays modern Patrick Henry here, q
professor who stands up for his con
victions and is almost lynched fol
that. He is fine. So are Anne Re
we're, as his wife, and Eleanor Jean
Lawson and Jones o. Anderson, as
their children. Special plaudits are
due to Peter Brocco, Dick Curtis, Paul
Newlan, Earl Gum and Patrick j
Kelly, who handle difficult parts with
consummate artistry. The rest of the
cast is uniformly good.
With the current Vultee strike in
the Los Angeles area taking place in
very much the atmosphere of the steel
strike shown in the play, this is hard
ly fiction 1t is almost too true to
be good. Sklar and Maltz have writ
ten one Of the plays of our times, and
it is a sad commentary that all the
sympathetic critics must agree that
it's doomed to commercial failure.
Zero Hour will nevertheless be some
thing to tel our children about: an
cutlery in the face of mounting hys-
teria a heroic offering to what sanity
is still left in the world =.
The Theater Alliance is meantime
reported to have concluded a deal to
produce on it's own a film version of
Meet the People, for distribution
through one of the major companies.
The famed revue is meeting with
graet success in Chicago, and will
open around Christmas-time in New
York. The film version will follow
the New York run.
You can look for an increasing num-
Der of films on national defense and
also on the war in Europe. Beyond
several already reported at various
studios, goth Century-Fox plans Rise
and Shine, story of the Plattsburg
training camp (for over-privileged
Again. The latter, starring Don
Ameche and Henry Fonda, will deal
with the young Americans flying for
the r. A. F. in Britain. :.
Briefly Angina Enters, famous
mime, has written a story called The
Green Hour 1t is about German-oc-
cupied Paris and if Angna's current
deal with Sol Lesser goes through, she
will play one of the leading roles when
he brings it to the screen. M.G.M
is growing over the purchase of Ran
dom Harvest, James Hilton's latest
novel, which, says studio publicity,
deals with two PHILOSOPHERS in Bri-
tain-the one that led to desperate
war contrasted with the philosophy
that will save her" We're glad Mr. |
Hilton has solved the problem of saw
ing Britain and hope he will soon let |
us in on the secret. 1t is practic- |
ally certain that Gary Cooper will |
nave the lead of For Whom the Bell |
Tolls, the Ernest Hemingway novel |
about Spain. Paramount has paid the |
'ecord price of 100000 for it. Il.
THE NEW FILMS
Escape (M G. M: The most ex-
citing of all the films about nazidom
o date. Remarkably directed by Mer-
Tyn Leroy with the social fervor and
lnbroken suspense of I'm a Fugitive
rom Chain Gang and They Won't
Forget. New Dutch actor Philip Dorm,
IS DR.. Often, eclipses the stars
Worth seeing.
One Night in the Tropics (Univ):
Jndistinguished musical with medic
re Jerome Kern tunes. But Abbott
nd Costello are terrifically funny,
nd are definitely worth seeing, if
My for their last line: "a husband
5 what's left of a sweetheart when
he nerve has been taken out"
Northwest Mounted Police (Par): I
and unsatisfactory De
lille superspectacle, missing all the
ael significance of the Riel Rebellion
4 Canada, which it treats. Don't go
ut of your way to see it. Is
CURRENT BEST BETS: City for |
conquest, Christmas in July, Thief of
agdad, The Great Dictator, The Long {
oyage Home, The Towards of Vir- l
mia, Arise My Love.