Evening star., 1952-09-07
Film Topers
Put Accent
On Comedy
By Harold Heffernon
HOLLYWOOD,

HOLLYWOOD.
If there's one place where a
person can get good and drunk
and still draw no more criticism
than a fine notice in the papers,
or maybe even an Academy Os-
car, it's on a Hollywood sound
stage.
No matter how repugnant the
news may prove to those worthy
reform groups engaged in
stamping out the evils of drink,
it must be reported today in all
honesty that more elbow-bend-
ing scenes are being written Tito
pictures than ever before. A
large majority are of the comedy
type. The superdramatic, tragic
drunk appears benched for good
and whole new team of merry
making imbibers has been sub
stituted-a complete new switch
in John Barleycorning, as it
were.
Previewers of Bing Crosby's
new musical, Just for You"
are handing laurels to Cora
Witherspoon, who plays the
governess of Bing's 14-year-old
daughter in the film. Tie pic
ture is sparked-damp though
the source may be-by a scene
wherein Miss Witherspoon and
young Natalie Wood end up be-
hind bars simply because Cora
gets tipsy, takes the child into a
saloon, hits a cop on the head
and calls the Mayor a Com
munist. Miss Witherspoon has
been retired for four years, but
her brief whirl at inebriation
has ignited new interest in her
among producers.
Ford Hos q Pub
In "Stalag IT," soon to be
viewed with Bill Holden starred
in the film version of Jose
Ferrer's Broadway production.
Robert Strauss makes his bid
for screen renown with a Sc
quence wherein he plays an
American flyer imprisoned by
the Nazis. Clad only in long
underwear, bored with months
of confinement in his barracks.
Strauss helps brew a strange
concoction made from potato
peeling and fter-shavlng lotion
which Holden merchandise for
three cigarettes a shot.
Charles Boyer, VINO Is a papa,
not a casbah-type lover. in THE
Happy Time" finds much au-
dience interest centered on the
drunk impersonation turned in.
throughout the action, by Kurt
Kasnar from the New York stage
cast. In his Irish -backgrounded
1.-THE Quiet Man." Director John
Ford centers his funniest scenes
in a pub where the Irish gather
to drown out their sorrows in
porter. Even in the midst OF a
big Donnybrook, the warriors
pause in their furious battling
to line up at the bar, then rush
out to resume the melee.
While many actors have par
ticipated in humorous drunk
routines, one alone has made a
career of them. Balding, mus
tachioed Jack Norton. at go, is
world-famed for proving inc
briation pays. His brief but
boozy appearances, often with
out a word of dialogue, have
helped many a movie and his
fleeting moments of intoxication
bring him as much as $1,000 a
day. He staggers from one role
to another and is not afraid Of
being typecaSt. Jack estimates
he's done more than 200 drunk
scenes on celluloid-but he
never touches the stuff in pri-
vate life.
Chopin Memorable
Norton's most embarrassing
experience, he recalls, popped
up years ago when a woman
came backtsage after a Pitts
burgh theatrical engagement.
She seemed very relieved to find
he only acted drunk but actually
didn't imbibe. She handed
him her card-and he still treas
ures it.
"She was Mrs. Sidney Bond.
president of the Women's Chris
tian Temperance Union," said
Norton.
Probably the most remarkable
drunk scene of all time was
Charlie Chaplin's performance
in a two-reeler called "The
Cure" filmed many years ago.
The picture was set entirely in
an institution dedicated to kill
ing the alcoholic habit, and
Chaplin did remarkable rou-
tine staggering from bedroom to
Turkish bath to gym to corridor.
down a fight of stairs and out
through two revolving doors
down a second stairway onto
the lawn, along a twisting path
and into a fishpond. 1t was as
brilliant a piece of choreography
as any ballet artist could con-
ceive.
While there's only one Chap
lin, 1t Is pleasant for the
moment to see some happy
drunks on celluloid instead Of
the recent run of superneurotic
depresSives. Perhaps we're in for
a return to the heyday of
Wallace Berry in "The Champ"
Marie Dressler in Anna Chris
tie" or Tom Mitchell in Stage
coach"
tReieased by the NANA.)