Evening star., 1943-09-21
New Movie
Audience Added
BY HAROLD HEFFERNAN.
HOLLYWOOD.

Sights and sounds:
Almost as welcome as food to the
Italians is the steady flow OF Amer
lean pictures now unreeling in their
ravaged country. Italy always was
lone Of Hollywood's best customers
per capita, and almost any sort OF
film made money there.
Owl has just arranged for the
flow of so features, including many
recent releases-mostly comedies
and nonwar subjects-into Italy for
general distribution, with total OF
about 500 prints to blanket the
country And this is just starter
owl, by the way, is pretty mad at
Hollywood for failing to make the
life story of GaribAldi, Italy's re-
vered patron of freedom, as it ur-
gently requested more than a year
ago. Paramount owns the rights
and stalled on the bid. 1t would
have made a neat subject to pour
on the screens right after the Yank
landing.
Sonia Henie, who wasn't photo
graphed we'll in "Wintertime, wants
technicolor movie as her next
start-the alternative being for goth
Century-Fox to get another little
skating girl. .. +. Dorothy Lamour
whose troubles are story rather than
photography, has settled her feud
with Paramount and will 60 into
Rainbow Island" sarong and all
!. Retakes on four pictures, ac-
cording to 10th Century Fox, have
run up an additional cost of $780,
900 each. THE Song OF Bernadette, 9
"The Gangs All Here" "Guadal-
canal Diary" and Jane Eyre" all
ere on the patch-up line. This Is a
sure sign that Daryl Zanuck Is back
on the job. Zanuck may be wrong
about lot OF things, but he won't
stand for slipshod production
methods.
Simone Simon, now making "The
Curse of the Cat People" isn't the
same girl who was out here five
years ago trying to get along with a
trick name and prayer. She's
learned good manners and is actu-
ally sociable. What's more, she's
beginning to act also. Il couldn't
speak English then" said Simone
Il thought everybody was out to
trap me-and a lot of people did"
Lee Cobb, 30-year-old character
expert Cflrst big hit as Papa in
Golden Boy" both stage and
screen), has played so many old men
you'd think he'd be completely over
looked by the Army. But he wasn't.
After finishing another old-timer in
"The Song of Bernadette," Cobb got
that tap on the shoulder and is now
in camp.
Survey shows double bills through
out the country have dropped off
is per cent since January /. What
ever your reactions to that, we know
how you'll feel about this: Theater
admissions are about to jump on a
national basis. Los Angeles theaters
went from IS to rs cents last week.
X X X X
When an actor signs up with
MGM he doesn't exactly get lost but
he has to watch the signposts. It's
mighty big lot.
One of the top executives at MGM
has been casting about for a logical
new type" leading man to star in
"Quo Vadis." He called the casting
director at Goth Century-Fox and
told him what he had in mind.
Figured you might have some
likely fellow over there we could
borrow" he explained.
We'll, we've got one man here we
think is going to be a sensation, -
said the Fox man. Name of John
Kodiak. He's playing leading man
to Tallulah Bankhead in Lifeboat.
Tall, dark, great voice-just the type
for Roman hero"
The MGM mans voice trembled
with anticipation. Wonderful" he
said, I'D like to see his test-to-
night. You can send it over?"
The Fox man chuckled. II can't
send over the test" he replied "Its
In your Office. John Kodiak has
been under contract to you for eight
months. We borrowed him from you
for this picture"
tReleased by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Inc)