Leon Schlesinger claims a speed record in cartoon production, having 16 underway for the 1938-39 schedule. The maker of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies has a total of 42 planned for the season.
Paramount is reducing operating and production costs across the board. Budgets formerly set at a million dollars have been trimmed to $800,000. Directors, actors and writers have taken their cuts with a smile, the studio claims. Studio also is farming out writers and players when between projects. Producers – instead of commanding 4 or 5 assistants, are doing without.
Henry Hathaway is set to direct Goldwyn’s ‘The Last Frontier’ (formerly ‘The Real Glory’) about American soldiers in the Philippines during the Spanish American War. He is currently at work on the Paramount lot on ‘Spawn of the North.’ (‘The Last Frontier’ reverted back to its original title ‘The Real Glory’ by the time it opened in 1939).
Sam Goldwyn is dropping ‘The Exiles’ (dealing with racial and religious problems) and replacing it with a new acquisition – ‘Dry Guillotine.’ [I was unable to identify with certainty what ‘The Exiles’ was based on, but the ‘Dry Guillotine’ maybe a reference to a book that came out in 1938 by René Belbenoît, writing about his experiences as a prisoner on Devil’s Island. Neither made it into production).
Two ‘A’ productions have been handed to Robert Sisk, associate producer in the RKO ‘B unit, due to get underway within the next two weeks. “Five Came Back” and ‘Coffin Ship’ are both in the writing stage. (‘Five Came Back’ was released in 1939, and ‘Coffin Ship’ was more than likely ‘Pacific Liner.’ They were two of the thirteen films that Sisk produced for RKO that year).
Milton Berle is under contract at RKO for $2500/week, but having no stories for him, they are going to loan him out. [RKO had him in one show in 1937 and another in 1938, but none in 1939. In fact, he was not in another film until 1941. His main stay in 1939 looks to have been on the radio].
‘Mr Moto in Egypt,’ the sixth of the Peter Lorre detective series produced by Sol Wurtzel at 20th Century Fox – set to start this week with Norman Foster directing. (The film would be released in 1939 as ‘Mr Moto’s Last Warning’).
‘The Gay Nineties’ an original by Louis Sobol (the NY Journal entertainment columnist) will be set for WB 1938-39. Cast – Dick Powell, Pat O’Brien, Olivia DeHavilland, Kay Francis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan – director to be selected. (One more project that never made it on to the screen – not Sobol’s version, at least).
Shooting of WB’s ‘Return of Dr X’ (a 1939 release) scheduled to start last Thursday, was postponed a week. ‘Angels with Dirty Faces’ (which opened in 1938) slated to roll June 22 will not go into production until 6/27.
WB and Cosmopolitan Pictures (the firm owned by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst) are dickering for a new deal although the contract runs until 12/31. Indications are that the renewal will go through, although their principle Marion Davies may not make a film next year. (Davies’ most recent film for WB had been in 1937. It was her last film. Cosmopolitan had started with Paramount in 1918, then switched to MGM in 1923. They moved on to WB in 1934, and evidently the relationship was not renewed. Cosmopolitan had one film for 1939 – ‘Young Mr Lincoln,’ directed by John Ford, and was released by 20th Century Fox).
Items of Interest
At a fundraising party at Frank Tuttle’s for the Commonwealth College of Alabama, Chico Marx was encouraged to buy an original manuscript. “Not me,” he begged off. “The last one I bought cost me $11,000 in a plagiarism suit.” Instead he bought an original George Gershwin number for $100.
The ‘pay-for-a-name’ racket will bring in a total of 1.5 million this year. (Prior to this, 1936 was the big year for star endorsement fees). This year Disney tops the list, then Shirley Temple, Edgar Bergen, Gene Autry, Deanna Durbin, and Bobby Breen. The studios plan to cut themselves in on this action in future contracts. Disney (with Kay Kamen) launched a special firm to handle these things – Walt Disney Enterprises – which netted him $125,000 for 1937. (Aside – after the 1929 crash it was the picture of Mickey Mouse on a dollar watch that rescued a clock making concern [Ingersoll-Waterbury] from bankruptcy and reestablished it financially).
