Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1944-12-08
Box Office Second Thought

Box Office Second Thought
1t is Mr.. Ross belief that good pic
lures make money, and if you make
good pictures the box office will re-
spond, so why think of the box office
first? And he has proved that he
has something on the ball. When
Columbia, after searching for a sto-
ry for his wife, Jean Arthur, re-
vealed its dilemma to him, Ross Of
fered to write an original. The re-
suit was 1.-The More the Merrier."
Before that, with Norman Krasna,
he produced 1.-THE Devil and Miss
Jones" for Miss Arthur, and since
then has produced 1.-THE Lady Takes
Chance"
With this record any studio in
town would be ready to entrust to
him a group of its high-budget pic
lures, but Ross, a Bostonian by
birth, is independent by preference.
To keep faith with the millions of
readers of 1.-The Robe" which be-
comes an increasing responsibility.
he early had inserted in each copy
a questionable asking the reader
to advise him on the attached post
card what portions of the book made
the greatest impression. The re-
plies were to guide the writers Of
the screen play in choosing and
dramatizing scenes.
There's Public Opinion
A tall stack Of replies comes in
daily. People Of all walks Of life
write that no book in their memory
has laid such definite hold upon
them, brought them such faith and
understanding.
His best critics have called him a
chump for turning down the 81 ,OOO,-
900 offer. But he has an interesting
philosophy. It's his belief that no
social system, no schemes for post
war happiness and peace, can work
until people are little better. It
is the greed, the suspicious and
treachery within people themselves
that cause social systems and re-
forms to fail. People must some
how, sooner or later, be brought to
the realization, he declares, that
they must individually improve to
have the world improve.
IF this picture can help people
to be even little better, as the book
seems to have done in thousands of
cases." he says, II will have per-
formed the greatest function l can
ever perform as a producer"
Familiar Faces Out
Ross casting views are a little
quaint. In most pictures familiar
faces are an asset, but this is not
one of them. His whole success in
recreating the Roman era and the
characters of 1.-THE Robe" he feels,
is dependent upon audiences believ-
ing that the players are actually the
people of the past whom they are
supposed to be. To have audiences
recognizing familiar players through
out the film would be, in his own
word, fatal.
1.-The Robe" will be in technical
or, which adds third to its cost.
Sets, makeup, and wardrobe have to
be more realistic than is necessary
in black and white. The color cam
ca Pi>No uP oiiiy loo quickly any
cheating in quality.
He approaches the task without
any illusions. And he's spent l8
months preparing.
I'm hoping with all this care it
will be as good as Going My Way"
If it's not, it won't be because Ross
and Mervyn Leroy, who will direct
the film. didn't try.
Confoosin' an Amoosin'
Maj. Frank LIoyd's large vocabu-
larry of air force slang is causing no
end of confusion on the set of Blood
on the Sum-" which he's directing.
AS airmen do. Lloyd banks "Roger!"
when he means yes" or "okay."
And every time he does it, the ward
robe man, assistant camera man,
and two grips leap to attention.
They're all named Roger. Lyle
Talbot, in San Francisco in 1.-The
Dolls House." has a new way of
counting his gal, Sheila Rogers. He
sends her steaks. butter and bacon.