Evening star., 1941-10-26
Call to Arms
Is a Problem
In FilmdOn1
Drafting a Film
Player Arouses
Complications
By Ira W0lferf.
HOLLYWOOD.


The most recent movie actor to be
measured for Army khaki Is Herb
Anderson, a 25-year-old California
boy who was once headed for the
ministry. The Anderson movie ca
reer got off to good start in Navy
Blues" and really began banging
with his performance as the juve-
nile in the ot-yet-released Male
Animal" Now it's suspended in
mid-flight and since male faces
change with age and styles in juve-
niles change, too. the Anderson
career may very we'll be over.
Young Anderson at present Is
bundling himself up for the voyage
to camp. There he will find scat
tered among the Army and Navy as
brothers-under-the-flag such movie
personalities as James Stewart,
Jackie Coogan. Robert Montgomery,
Douglas Fairbanks, jr.; Keith Doug
las, Wayne Morris. Lief Erickson,
Director Carson Kanin and Pro-
ducer Gene Markey.
The question of grabbing up movie
personalities and putting them to
work as soldiers and sailors is a
complicated and interesting one. The
first indications of its complications
we had from Orson Welles, who is
26 now and would look beautiful
In khaki
Il have bad heart" Mr.. Welles
said. Il also have asthma, fiat feet
and something wrong with my back.
If I had been a guy that nobody
ever heard of, 7 would have been
classified 4-F" CThe AZ classifca-
ton is note by the draft board to
the Army reading: Please do not
disturb until Gabriers horn blows.'D
There Was Way Out.
But" continued Mr. Welles, "I
was classified 1-B. This means. ac-
tive service as soon as the IA guys
are used up. That would never
have happened if the draft board
hadn't been afraid of being accused
of favoritism and hadn't leaned over
backwards so far that they were
practically horizontal"
Then there is the case of James
Stewart. Stewart was a s2.0O0-a-
week movie star and is now a S50-a-
month corporal up at Moffett Field,
Sunnyvale, Calf.
Metro -Goldwyn- Mayer. the studio
to which Stewart is bound by con-
tract to deliver four more years Of
acting work, has made a number Of
defense and training films at the
order of the United States Govern.
ment. Certain executives there ap-
preached Stewart when his number
came up-aS, in fact. Robert. Mont
gomery was approached-and sug.
gested that way out could be found
for him if he'd ask for it. There is
no question of impugning the pa
triotism of the movie business.
which has proved its patriotism
more than any other business with
money and services on the line.
He'll Stay in Khaki.
Two factors were involved, We are
told. The first is that Stewart un-
doubtedly would be most valuable
to the national defense set-up as an
actor doing the kind of persuading
work for which he is especially
gifted. The movie business is in an
especially favorable position to make
this kind of argument reasonably
because it is the only business that
the United States Government COM
mandeers for defense work on a
cost basis instead of a cost-plus
basis. A second factor is that, at the
time Stewards number came up, he
was the newest face among the
Big 10 at the box Office and, as such,
was a multi-million- dollar property
on which all the planting had been
done at the great cost and only the
harvesting remained.
However, Stewart refused to 60
along on the argument for number
of reasons. One Is that he Is an
See WOLFERT. Page E-3)