Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-06-15
Hopper:
Looking at
HOLLYWOOD

SAoS' &AAo pSliCSS yOo HlS, llidI LII
cludes the fracas that started in the
Garden of Eden and is still going
on-the battle of the sexes.
All kidding aside, Hollywood has
become an expert military tactician,
recreating combats from the dawn
of history right down to the most
modern warfare of World War II.
Hardly major engagement in the
eternal struggle of man against man
has not been waged for the studio
cameras.
Within the shadow of Hollywood's
peaceful hills Greek phalanxes have
marched and died. Cortez and his
Spanish invaders have sent Monte
yuma to his doom. The French have
flooded the streets of Paris with the
blood of civil war, stormed and cap
tured the Bastille, and sent Marie
Antoinette and Louis XVI to the gull
lotine. We've refined the defeat of
the Boche at Verdun. And the hero
ism of Doolittle and his bombing
crew over Tokyo has been brought
to the screen to thrill the hearts of
all who believe in the Allied cause.
No.D It's China
Right now Hollywood is doubling
for China, and Leslie Fenton is stag
ing Jap bomber foray against the
China coast for Pardon My Past"
Fred MacMurray, who plays mer-
chant seaman, gets chance to see
how the Nips work from overhead
and, incidentally, so does the audi
ence.
In contrast, "a Thousand and One
Nights" uses Vasquez Rocks, sew
eral miles outside town as the des-
ert near Bagdad.
For "Counter-Attack" Zoltan Kor-
da took Paul NUM- and Marguerite
Chapman to Burbank, Calf, which
appeared for this film as portion
of Russia invaded by the Germans.
Last year Korda took a troupe to
the Mojave, which served as the
North African desert when Hum
phrey Bogart rode across it in a
tank in Sahara"
Ancient History
In contrast to the modern mech
anized wars, the movies went back
to the beginnings of history when
Hal Roach made 100000 B. c."
The battles, which employed crude
weapons of flint and stone, were as
factual as archaeological experts
could make 'em. Yep, Hollywood
posed the stone age and got away
with it.
Many other wars of antiquity have
been fought for the movies. D. w.
Griffith recreated the battles of bib
ical times for Judith of Bethulia,"
which had Chatsworth, Calf, dou-
bling for Palestine.
A few years later D. W. built
Babylon right in what is now the
heart of Hollywood. The walls of
the city lowered 800 feet into the air,
and these walls were wide enough
to accommodate two chariots rae
ing abreast.
Cecil B. De Mile used the old
Paramount lot to house Rome, and
he had that city sacked by the bar
barians for flashback sequence in
"Manslaughter."
Egypt in DUN Back Yard
For cleopatra" c. B. built por-
tons of Egypt and even reproduced
the battle of Actium in the studio
tank. Claudette Colbert was an
Egyptian queen and sailed the STU
dos mile" in a luxurious barge
that the real ruler couldn't have
equaled.
The battle of Chateau Thierry,
with John Gilbert participating, was
one of the highlights of the unfor-
gettable "The Big Parade" A few
palm trees and native huts and pres
to! California became the Philip
pines for "The Real Glory" which
had Gary Cooper in the star role.
The Mojave also did duty as North
Africa for two versions of Ouida's
novel "Under Two Flags" Napo-
Icons retreat from Moscow, one of
the greatest of all military opera
tons, was shot in the environs of
Culver City when MGM made "Con-
quest" with Carlo and Charles
Boyer.
Dunkirk, one of the gravest ad-
ventures of this war, was the climax
of Ty Powers "a Yank in the Raj"
Since, Ty has gone into uniform off
the screen. Robert Taylor did role
in "Bataan" before he answered the
call to the colors. Both have seen
action more thrilling than they ever
underwent before the cameras.
One of these aeons, men are 60
ing to stop acting like kids and put
away their deadly toy guns and can
mons. When men really grow up
and learn to settle quarrels by ar
bitration-just talking things over
there will be an end to war.
Which is a wonderful thing to look
forward to - except, maybe, for
movie producers.
Bracken Goes Crosby
When you hear Crosby's voice
coming out of Eddie Bracken's face
in "Out of This World" you'll
scream with lauphter The whole