The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-03-26

HOLLYWOOD, March 26-rt looks as though Hollywood produ-
 cers, once they turn picture over
 to their distributing departments, seem to forget all about protecting
 their investment from damaging
 exploitation. Lost weekend" for example, which was intended to be serious sociological study of the
 evils of excessive drinking, seems instead to have been transferred mto an hilarious, almost slapstick comedy.
 The reason for this strange turn ot events can be laid to the un- wise ballyhoo given the picture since its release. Ray Midland, star ot Lost Weekend" has made many personal appearances on the ra- dio, all part of campaign to bring additional patrons to theater box offices. In practically every such ap- pearance, Midland has played the role of a drunk or devoted his time in front of the microphone to corny cracks exaggerating the the humorous side of the picture which brought him an Academy Award.
 Numerous gags and comedy sit nations have been used on ether radio programs, all presenting Lost Weekend as anything but the kind of picture it was meant to be-a warning against the evils of drinking.
 The result of this stupid cam paign is that the picture has lost all value as lesson in the wrong way to handle liquor and has be- come an out and out comedy, glamourizing psychopathic alcoho- hsm. And the fault for this dan gerous trend is due, strictly, to the laxity of the men who made the picture. The fact that it was per- mitted to happen is further proof that the average Hollywood pro- ducer is not concerned with public welfare, only with the number of dimes and quarters their product is able to garner at box offices.
 II was reading an item about Frank Sinatra in a local news paper recently, and was surprised when the columnist referred to Frankis-boy as the inexplicably popular Broadwayite." Rushing to my dictionary I discovered that "mexplicably" means incapable of explanation. Seems to me the columnist is all haywire. It isn't too difficult to explain Sinatra's popularity. He may not be beauti- ful, but he has warmth and a deep feeling of humanity that millions of people recognize. Tn other words. he's a great guy who never forgets the less fortunate people of the world. As long as he does that, and sings, Sinatra won't have to bother explaining his pop ularity.
 Reports from the studio front indicate that Director Andre dc 10th is about to make a picture starring his wife, Veronica Lake. MT. de 10th probably feels that his wife is in need Of special att tention to bolster her falling pres tige, and he is undoubtedly right in the opinion. But, I wonder If 1t is ever wise for a husband to have too much of a hand in directing his wife's screen career. Up to now. such teaming has had dire re- suits. Consider the case of Deanna Durbin and her husband Felix Jackson. Mis- Durbin'S career seems to have been much safer in the hands Of interested strangers than 1t was in Mir. JackSon's. Perhaps Director de Toth should get one of his friends to take care of Yer onica's career, while he devotes his time to telling her how wonder ful she is.
 As I listened to the Walter Win chell program on a recent Sunday night, I was amazed to hear Wal ter announce that No one mat ters to Orson Welles. but his wife, Rita Hayworth, and l know 1t, be- cause Orson told me sol" Well, | that's a nice gesture for Winchell to make and I hope he finds his Cupid'S bow and wings attractive, but I wonder if the announcement | is going to further Welles' inter- ests. If Miss Hayforth is like most | women, I'm sure she would have l preferred to receive that sentiment tai message from Orson, instead of | Mir. Winchell.