Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-05-14

through the room, these girls,
screaming, try their best to push
down their dresses. But the wind
is too much for them.
When the camera finally comes to
halt, it shows March and Robert
Benchley, his best man, blown over
into a corner of the room where
they land in a lot of ported palms.
While hats, flowers, ribbons and
other decorations are blown into
their faces, they are busy peering
out past the camera-popeyed.
1t seems that the property men
must have their fun, too. Although
the girls are no longer in the shot.
they continue to play that air hose
on them. The dresses are still blow
ing skyward. And Messrs March
and Benchley are busy looking past
the camera and at the frantic lady
guests-all picked in advance for
their shapely limbs.
Making pictures is lot of fun
sometimes.
The lighter side of making
also prevails on stage 81 at Univer-
sal, where Henry Roster Is produc-
ing and directing Love and Kisses,
Caroline" with Diana Barrymore,
Robert Cummings, Kay Francis and
John BoleS.
This is key scene and everything
is going nicely. The dialog Is smooth
and the action well co-ordinated,
Then, suddenly Roster gasps, for
there-unless he's gone completely
haywire-is Charles Laughton, clad
in an old-fashioned flannel night
gown, descending the big staircase
directly behind Rosters quartet of
players. Laughton is also wearing
the same handle-bar mustache that
adorned his upper lip in "It Started
With Eve" the Deanna Durbin pic
ture which Roster directed q few
months before.
Roster rubbed his brow, took an
other look and gasped again. Ger
tainly Laughton had no place in
this show. The directors wild
thoughts were interrupted by six
blasts from a gun. Miss Francis
shrieked and dashed of to her dress
ing room in state of temporary
hysteria.
A shout went up from the cast and
crew-and the surprise birthday
party they were rendering Roster
was under way, with the usual
serious and comedy gifts, the giant
cake and other trimmings.
The strain OF Hollywood's worka-
day life has been increased by
wartime calls for appearances at
camp entertainments, services as
air raid wardens, canteen attend
ants and Embarrassing driyes-but
the folks still find time for q little
fun, too.
This Is a very complicated camera
set-up for Orchestra Wife" ut 10th
Century-Fox. Director Archie MAYO
works the scene out carefully. It
Is one in which Glenn Miller and
the boys in his band exchange
dialog with the professional mem
bers OF the cast-George Mont
gomery, Ann Rutherford, Lynn
Bari and Cesar Romero.
They rehearse it four times. Two
cameras one on q rubber-wheeled
dolly. the other on q crane, swing
about overhead and underfoot like
couple OF badminton birds. Then
Mayo calls for the real thing, tech
nically known as a take"
The boys in the orchestra read
their lines without q single mistake.
but the professional actors, gummed
up in the complicated action, muff
1t as one man. Same thing hap
pens on the second take.
How is this?" Mayor asks, that
these sweet boys In the orchestra
read their lines without q mistake.
while you folks who have been
raised in front Of q camera, con-
tinue to muff?"
We'll" says Miss Bari, with sugary
satire in her voice, IF we were In
the orchestra we would have that
nice dialog all written out in front
Of us, on the music"
Mayo bounds from behind the
camera to the platform where the
Miller boys are working. Each has
neatly written his dialog and cue
and placed the paper in front of
the music on the stand.
Just proves that musicians are
smarter than actors any time" he
remarked.
released By North American Newspaper
Alliance, Ine)