Leon Schlesinger has signed ‘Pinto’ Colvig to work in his story department. He will also use Colvig to voice characters in some Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. For the past six years Colvig was with Disney, where he supplied the voice for Pluto and for Grumpy in ‘Snow White.’ [By February 1939, Colvig joined the Max Fleischer studio in Florida. He would supply the voice for the ‘Gabby’ character in their animated feature ‘Gulliver’s Travels’].
Charles Bennett, a writer who has just finished a collaboration for a Janet Gaynor film (‘The Young in Heart’) for Selznick, is moving to Columbia to work on an epic about dirigibles. [Nothing credited for Bennett from Columbia in this time period. Instead, after ‘The Young in Heart’ there is only a single credit for 1939 – ‘Balalaika’ from MGM. Long affiliated with Hitchcock, beginning with his play ‘Blackmail’ in 1929, Bennett worked throughout the 30s with him on ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much,’ ‘Sabotage,’ ‘The Secret Agent,’ ‘The 39 Steps,’ ‘Young and Innocent.’ He would be with Hitch again for ‘Foreign Correspondent’ released in 1940].
Mervyn LeRoy’s former butler, George Ungurian, adds a second lawsuit for unlawful imprisonment against LeRoy and the security officers at the WB studio. The former suit had been decided on behalf of LeRoy. Evidence had been supplied that Ungurian had made threats that caused LeRoy to fear for the safety of his family. [See 6/2]
With the successful release of ‘The Saint in New York,’ RKO plans to negotiate for the series from its creator Leslie Charteris. Ben Holmes, the director, is being proposed for any further installments. [Ben Holmes, long a director of short comedies for RKO gave way to John Farrow instead. A total of two Saint films follow in 1939, but instead of Louis Hayward, the star of the first – George Sanders assumed the role].
Edmund Goulding has been tapped to direct ‘Dark Victory’ for WB. The former Tallulah Bankhead play is being punched up by Casey Robinson to make it more dramatic and give it more human interest. [Another of the ‘biggies’ for 1939].
‘Come on Leathernecks’ commences shooting today at Republic under the direction of James Cruze (his last film, see May 31). Richard Cromwell and Bruce McFarlane are on board, but no leading lady has yet been assigned. [The leading lady role went to Marsha Hunt, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 104].
Anne Shirley is announced for the second time that she will take the lead in RKO’s ‘Room Service.’ [And for a second time she was dropped from the picture. The Academy Award nominated actress for ‘Stella Dallas’ from the year before, would be kept busy elsewhere].
Researcher Elizabeth Hearst files a suit against WB for money due to cover her research work in New Orleans for the upcoming production of ‘Jezebel.’ She asks for $3700 (or $2600 according to most of the other sources). [Hearst had worked as a tech adviser at WB since 1936. First on their film ‘Mountain Justice’ about mountain peoples in the Appalachians. For the film she supplied the details to undergird its authenticity for director Michael Curtiz. She stayed on at WB for another film – this one about share croppers entitled ‘White Bondage.’ Her expertise sprung from her familiarity with the peoples of the South].
Per Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan writes about the Goldwyn film property ‘The Exiles.’ Word had been circulating that the Hays Office was responsible for its demise – but the Hays Office called and denied this rumor. He goes on to say that Goldwyn and Heifetz are the only ones that can be responsible. [Finally I ran down what this project called The Exiles was all about – Goldwyn had the idea for a story about a Jewish musician forced out of Germany, and approached the violinist Jascha Heifitz to star in it. However, Heifitz refused to ‘act’ – that is, no performance other than on a concert stage. So, Goldwyn came up with the idea of building a story around a music school – the result the 1939 film ‘They Shall Have Music’].
On the Move
Wallace Ford arrives from New York to test for the title role in the up coming RKO production of Gunga Din. [Wallace Ford had been on Broadway since Nov 1937 in the role of George in the Steinbeck play ‘Of Mice and Men.’ The play had just closed its run in May. The Gunga Din part went to Sam Jaffe instead].
The cast of Columbia’s ‘Wild Bill Hickok’ is due back tonight from location work in Kanab, UT. [See May 27].
