Evening star., 1942-09-21

Hollywood's second front is Rus
sian front and it's moving along at
such top speed today that the first
months of 1943 promise to find
stories built around the Soviet
Union as our most predominant
screen cycle
All that Hollywood needs to land
an army on any designated shore
is a reasonable facsimile Of that
shore. The location man scours the
surrounding country in search of
similar terrain. If it can't be found
those studio magicians will whip
up an astonishing reproduction right
on big sound stage. Next step
is to call central casting. The boys
up there will draft an army over
night. And the landing will be
effected before overtime begins for
any of the crafts involved
1t doesn't seem more than weeks
ago that Hollywood studio heads
were deliberately kidding the pants
off the Soviet Union. Everything
about Russia had to have a laugh
to it. Remember such fluffy, ridic-
ulous film fare as 'Ninotchka," )"
with Greta Garbo? And "Comrade
X with Gable and Lamar?
Russia Is Honored.
Now what happens? The mag
nificent stand of our Russian Allies
has moved them close to the top
of the Hollywood list. Today there's
a vertible stampede under way to
move up epic productions that will
deal seriously and respectfully with
the land of the Soviets.
Warner Brothers appear to have
started the trend with their p1;r-
chase Of film rights to former Am
bassador Joseph E. Davies best
seller, Mission to Moscow" Erskine
Caldwell, author of four books on
Russia. has been brought out to
write thes screen play. Producing
it is Robert Buckner, who spent
1884 and 1885 in Moscow as CORE
spondent for the London Daily Mail.
Metro Goodwin Mayer is moving
ahead with plans for "Scorched
Earth" glorifying the sacrifices the
Russian people have made in meet
ing Hitler's invasion with his own
total war. That studio has also
bought vengeance in the Earth" a
novel by Erskine Caldwell, which
has to do with much the same sub
ject matter At last reports, MGM
was lowering, dustcloth in hand
around the shelf on which Song
of the Red Army" has reposed for
some months.
Road to Moscow" has been re-
Gently announced by Goth Century
Fox 1t is like the Caldwell move
bought by MGM, a story OF Russian
guerillas and the unremitting cam.
paign they wage behind the Naz
| lines
| Invasion Packed Romance.
Sam Goldwyn has lined up vii.
liam Wyler to direct and Lilliar
Hellman to write story of a Rus.
sian village overwhelmed by tn,
Nazi hordes, with particular refer
ence to the effects of the Hitler
blight on the lives of children o.
the unfortunate community. Thi'
will be an RKO release.
United Artists gets into the Rus.
sian picture with an invasion
packed romance titled "The Cir
From Leningrad." This will be al
English version of the Russian film
of the same name. 1t was regarded
as one of the best of recent Sovie
features but received only limitee
showing in this country.
Guerilla Fighters of Russia" ha
been put ON the production sched.
ule of Monogram, one of the smallel
studios.
This emphasis upon the guer.
rillas, it should be understood, stem.
not alone from the spectacular
character Of their activities. Guer.
rillas don't have tanks and plane
and artillery Of Russian models
with which film audiences have be.
come familiar through the news.
reels. Neither has Hollywood
Hence guerrillas, whose weapons arr
as available as they are primitive
Boris Morros and S. P. Eagle
who recently scored with their all