Director William Seiter pulled off a small miracle, finishing a Marx Brothers film in the space of a month. [Variety credits the swiftness to the fact that it was a single story, and not a series of “gags shot off the cuff.” Other sources claim that it was a condition requested by the brothers before they would sign. After this loan out to RKO, Seiter returns to his home studio 20th Century Fox for a screwball comedy – ‘Thanks for Everything’].
Two Paramount titles to start production today – ‘Illegal Traffic’ and ‘King of Chinatown.’ [Both crime dramas, ‘Illegal Traffic’ is about a G-Man going after a theft racket operating across the US, and ‘King of Chinatown’ covers protection rackets in Chinatown. J. Carrol Naish pays the villain in both].
Writer Richard Sherman arrives from New York to begin work at RKO on the script about ballroom dancer Vernon Castle for Astaire and Rogers. [This Richard Sherman was a novelist and writer of stories for magazines like McCall’s and the Saturday Evening Post. (Not the Richard ‘M’ Sherman who worked with his brother for Disney). The Castle film would come out in 1939, and he would have another – ‘In Name Only’ with Cary Grant and Carole Lombard].
Their roles completed on ‘Angels with Dirty Faces,’ the Dead End kids reported to the WB lot today, all spiffed up to vie for a part opposite Bonita Granville in her new flm starting Monday. The project is entitled ‘The Mystery of Lockspur Lane.’ It will mark the start of a new series – Nancy Drew, the Girl Detective. [The role of Ted Nickerson, the sleuth’s boyfriend, went to Frankie Thomas instead. But don’t worry the Dead End kids would have a lot more films upcoming, including ‘Angels Wash Their Faces,’ in which Frankie Thomas would be set to join them].
Talk abounded about the breakup of the Laurel and Hardy comedy duo. [This was occasioned by the events surrounding their tenure at the Hal Roach studio. Their contracts there did not run concurrently, Roach strategically kept it that way to keep the team from leaving him. Roach was changing distributors from MGM to UA. He owed one more to MGM which he fulfilled with ‘Blockheads,’ and listed it as their swan song. After completion Stan Laurel’s contract ended, and Roach did not renew it. Hardy’s contract was still in place, and Roach put together a film with him solo for 1939 – ‘Zenobia.’].
OUTSIDE HOLLYWOOD
Josh Logan is seeking a new femme lead for a new Broadway play. [The year 1938 was a big one for Logan. He directed the successful Broadway Rodgers & Hart musical ‘I Married an Angel.’ And had just directed his first film ‘I Met My Love Again’ for Wanger. He did some dialogue direction for 20th Century Fox on ‘Suez.’ It would appear that the play for which he was looking for a ‘femme lead’ was Knickerbocker Holiday – which opened in October after rehearsals in August. The actress that he picked for this play was coloratura soprano Jeanne Madden].
Simone Simon was in New York to return to France, and was hassled by an agent from the US government, demanding to know if she had paid her income tax, which then amounted to $4000. The departure of the ocean liner was held up ten minutes while she located the proper documents in a misplaced bag of luggage.
Twentieth Century Fox reports that Warner Oland will be leaving Stockholm within the next few days to return home. He has been recovering from a bout of bronchitis. They expect to begin his next film ‘Charlie Chan in Honolulu’ before the end of this month.
