The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1946-02-05
JIMMIE FIDLER
In Hollywood


HOLLYWOOD, Feb. B--Each year,
on the anniversary Of President
Roosevelts birth, the movie Indus
try's publlclsts 80 all out IN eulo.
RiBlng The part played BY Hollywood
stars IN raising funds for The March
OF Dimes. As usual, there's en- irony.
Understand me, have no inten.
ton Of detracting from the grand
Job that screen stars as individuals,
and the industry as a whole, does 10
make life brighter for crippled chill.
dren. Hollywood's efforts in behalf
Of the March Of Dimes deserve moth.
Ing but praise. But Isn't Il amazing
that the people Of Hollywood, who
can generate such enthusiasm In be-
half Of the children on this one oc-
casion, can 50 completely overlook
their entertainment needs through.
out the remainder Of the year9
There are no pictures being made
for children. The Juvenile" section
OF book store, overloaded with stor-
les tailored expressly for the enjoy
nent Of small fry, has no counter
part In Americas motion picture
program. And can't understand
why, for the four or five kid elias.
sizes that have been screened In the
past have all been outstanding hits.
The success Of MONS THE Wizard
Of o. alone should hav edemonstrat-
ed a fact well known to every book
publisher: good children's stories al.
so have adult appeal. II one exam
pie Isn't enough TO prove that point,
consider the box office record OF
Snow White" and "Pinocchio."
I'd like to bet, dollars to dough.
nuts, that the first producer with
vision enough TO specialize In chill
drenS' claSsics-and there are hum
dreds Of them ready to hand-will
tap a cinematic gold mine.
While I'm immodestly predicting
things, I'd like to climb out on an.
other limb and propheSy that Nelson
Eddy Is going 10 hit new high In
popularity with the release OF walt
Disney's new triumph. Make Mine
Music. I had the privilege OF view
ing that picture in the studio pro-
lection room the other day, and left
convinced that had seen one OF
the outstanding examples Of screen
entertainment Of all time. Eddy,
who does the singing for Willie the
Whale, is too good to FIT my most
glowing adjectives. It's really a.
whale Of performance.
Two or three times lately, I've
been unkind enough to poke fun at
the fancy duds worn by movie cow
boys and I'm almost buried under
the avalanche Of letters received
from western fans VINO agree with
my criticisms. Among those on my
desk is a missive from one william
Macklin, of Laurel, Nebraska, an 81
year-old pioneer, who spent his
youth punching COWS in West Texas.
Without any literary flourishes, he
manages to express the consensus
perfectly: He writes: I'm backing
you one hundred percent in your
remarks about the dress Of movie
cowboys. I was a cowboy sixty years
ago, and If one Of these nake-believe
cowboys had dropped down on us,
am pretty sure We would have
drowned him In the Cimarron River,
and If We had not drowned him, the
long horns would have stampeded
and run him out Of the country"
Mr.. Macklin is brief, but TO the point
According 10 the trade papers,
Norma Sllearer, who's been absent
from the screen for four years, is
now determined on comeback
and will probably accept an offer to
star in Mr.. District Attorney" for
an independent company. I don't
like to be peSSimistic, but the records
prove that her chances. fine actress
though she undoubtedly is, are dub
ious. Off-hand, can't think Of a
single star who. after a retirement
as lengthy as hers, has been able to
recapture lost ground. Where movie
fans are concerned there's no truth
at all in the old adage that absence
makes the heart grow fonder.
The practice Of 'lOaning out con-
tract stars is so general in Hollywood
that it would be ridiculous-if it
weren't such a big business. During
the past few years, independent
companies have sprung up like
mushrooms. and, while most Of them