Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-05-18

i1l1AuIG oOSCS fll0 -.
except for h e W
Astaire Rogers Vera-Ellen
musicals and an
occasional Cover Girl" we've had
mighty few that can really be de-
scribed as dancing films.
In this connection, the late Mark
Sandrich was one of those rare pro-
Queer directors who had enough
foresight to cry, "On with the
dance!" He did the best of those
delightful ballroom romances with
Ginger and Fred, and just before
he died he was preparing blue
Skies" cavalcade of hits by my
old (but only in years of friendship
pal, Irving Berlin.
Only Local Oversight
But if Hollywood - and excep-
tons like Mark Sandrich only
prove the rule - has failed to
grasp the terrific possibilities of the
dance, the rest of the country GER
tainly hasn't. On Broadway and in
the once so called hinterlands
something has been happening
something to which Hollywood can
not close its eyes much longer.
What has happened, my dears, is
that the dance has come into its
own. And by dance I don't mean
1--WE, although that, my spies report,
is doing all right, too. I mean-and
it's perfectly safe to come right out
and say it-ballet. Only it's ballet
with the curse .off-pantomime and
jazz and the classics and the joy of
living, all rolled into one.
Today the big names are those
like Agnes De Mile, Jerome Rob-
bins, George Balanchine, and Da-
vid Lichine, among photographers,
and Leonard Bernstein, brilliant
young composer of Fancy Free"
and "On the Town" There are bal
lets in "Oklahoma," "Bloomer
Girl" lone Touch of Venus" Song
of Norway" Cup in Central Park"
"La Vie Parisienne," and Carmen
Jones'" Anton Dolin and Alicia Mar
kOva are demonstrating terpsichore
in Billy Roses "Seven Lively Arts"
Vera Zorina, that gorgeous, elflike
creature, is posing in Shakespeare's
1.-THE Tempest" And Ruth Page and
Sgt. Bentley Stone have set New
York town-and Commissioner Moss
- on their respective ears with
a sensational Interpretation of
FRANKIE and Johnny"
Common Denominator
Sooner or later motion pictures
and the dance are bound to get to-
gether. The very soul of both is
rhythm. In one sense they already
have. Isn't Walt Disney the great
est creator of rhythm of them all?
And we've had our numbers"
and our "specialties" by Veloz
and Yolanda, the De Marcos, Car
men Amaya, the Hartmans, Katha-
rine Durham, and countless others.
We've even had short or two
with the Ballet Russo. And we've
had Astaire, Gene Kelly, Jimmy
Cagney, George Murphy, and that
spectacular leaper Marc Plat of
Tonight and Every Night"
Our dancing daughters have been
few but precious - Rita HaywOrth,
Betty Cradle, Ann Miller, Ruby
Keller, Eleanor Powell, Ginger (of
course), and little Joan McCracken,
who highlighted Hollywood Can
teen" with her BALLET in 1--WE"
The other day l had the pleasure
of watching a sequence from "Won-
der Man," Danny Hayes new one
for Sam Goldwyn. Danny wasn't in
it, but Vera-Ellen was. She sang and
danced number called Pm So in
Love- Sam hired her without even
making a screen test after he'd
caught her in "a Connecticut
Yankee" and this time I'm betting
on his judgment. Vera-Ellen (the
last name is Rohe) is not only
petite and blonde as Marilyn was;
she can put over song with re-
freshing charm and she's dancin'
fool.
If Warmers ever get around to
making that Marilyn Miller film
they'll be wise to have look at
Vera-Ellen. 1t it's OK. with Sam
GOldwyn of course.
Incidentally, Goldwyn, who is
something of wonder himself, has
already snapped up Jerome Rob-
bins, who staged the dances for ION
the Town." to design numbers for
Danny Hayes next. Which brings
ballet that much nearer to the
screen.
Ouer.Age at IS Months
Gene Tierney thought for one ex-
citing moment she'd get her daugh-
ter in for a christening scene in
"Dragonwyck." In fact, Joe Mankie-
wicz led her to believe it, then asked
how old the baby was. She said, "15
months" Sorry" said Joe, "She's
IA months too DID," Since so
much fuss, feathers, and furbelows
have been put on her in 1.-THE Dolly
Sisters" Betty Cradle thinks our
costume designers should get an
award next year. Why not? Set de-
signers do.