The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-08-23

HOLLYWOOD, August 23 - In yesterdays publicity, found an- other bleat from a studio head, be- Wailing the great dearth of play CTS now available for screen work" His complaint would be laughable- If 1t didn't hold within it such trag- ic possibilities for Hollywood new corners.
 Last month, that producer and his fellow studio-heads, all of whom seem to make talent-scouting their No. 1 hobby, signed 43 new players to term contracts. Despite the al- legged shortage of talent" I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that of those 43 hopefuls, not more than five will be given opportunities to prove their worth within the next year. I'll give the same odds that at least 50 percent of them will be dropped from contract, without adequate trial, within the same period of time. Almost every studio in Hol- lywood already has ) many con- tract actors and actresses that it can't conceivably employ them all in roles good enough to actually test their ability.
 Consider, for instance, the case of Faye Marlowe Signed two years ago by 10th Century-Fox, she was given one mediocre role, then rele- gated to the sidelines. After a year of idleness, she was finally remem- bered, and put out on loan to Re public, where she scored a smash hit in Rendezvous With Annie" When that picture was held on the shelf, she applied for release from con- tract, got it, and went back to New York in well-justified disgust.
 I wonder what SHE thinks when she hears producers vail about the dangerous scarcity of talent in Hol- lywood?
 MEMORIES THAT BLESS AND BURN: When Mickey Rooney, in the first flush of his stardom, hired negro valet and became target for the most unmerciful ribbing ever aimed at a 'teen-aged boy -. When Pola Negri, vacationing in seaside hotel, indignantly phoned the desk at A. M, and ordered the night clerk to stop the seals on nearby rocks from barking When Jean cite Macdonald took me for a ride in her custom built car and proved, to my terror, that it could do 100 miles an hour =. When neighbors of the Withers family, who had born with Jane's 36 other pets, filed formal protest when she acquired the 37th-a jackass that prayed at all hours of the day and night When Anna May Wongs papa, sWayed by the Chinese superstition that it's bad luck to be photogra ph- ed, yanked his daughter off her first movie set.
 Joel McCrea tells it-and not without a bit of chagrin, When he was in Zion National Park recent ly working in location scenes for "Ramrod," he took time out one day 10 give a group of set-vSiting kids a lecture about the intriclties of movie making. He explained how the sound camera worked, how the camera crane was operated, how various process" scenes were film ed and ended. finally. by paying high tribute to the industry's tech nicians. Without them he ex- plained, "it would be impossible to make pictures. They're the back bone of the business At that point, one of his schoolboy listeners in- terrupted If that's true" said he, .'how come it's guys like you who make all the money?'
 Speaking of studio technicians and their ingenuity, I'm reminded of a surprising development l encounter ed at the RKO ranch the other day when I defied the summer heat to go there and watch location work for Trail Street" A spur track runs into the ranch from the nearby rail- way. Hearing the cast complain about the soaring temperatures (the thermometer stood at l04 degrees when was thereJ, one of the grips advanced a suggestion that was in stantly translated into action The company rented a dozen refrigerator cars from the railroad, parked them on the location, and used them as dressing rooms!
 The more I hear ex-G Is talk