/

chased for Lou Edelman's production slate. Henry
and Phoebe Ephron are set to do the screenplay.
Technically
Columbia
Dialog director for "Undercover Man'! will be
LOREN GAGE.
CHARLES LAWTON checked in to take over camera
work on "The Walking Hills."
Enterprise
RICHARD DAY was signed as art director on
"Tucker's People," John Garfield statrer, to be
mode by R. B. Roberts Productions.
Metro
The assistant directorship on "Neptune's Daughter"
went to JERRY BERGMAN.
Cinematographer assignment on "Act of Violence"
was handed to
ROBERT SURTEES.
Monogram
Production crew assigned to "Manhattan Folk
Song" includes JACKSON ROB'S, camera; BUDDY
L. MYERS, sound, and WILLIAM AUSTIN, cutter.
RKO
JACK OKEY takes over the art directorship on
"Baltimore Escapade."
Technical assignments on "Indian Agent" included
J. RAY HUNT, camera; JOHN TRIBBY, sound,
and LES MILLBROOK, film editor.
20th-Fox
HAROLD GODSOE was named assistant to Director
Joe Newman on "West ot Tomorrow" for Frank
Seltzer Productions.
BENJAMIN KLINE wcfs signed as cameraman and
MAURICE VACCARINO as assistant director by Producer
Sol M. Wurtzel for "Trouble Preferred."
Universal-International
Lensing chores on "The O'FIynn" were handed
ARTHUR EDESON.
Warners
ERIC STAGEY was assigned the unit manager
job on "The Girl From Jones Beach." CARL GUTH-
RIE was set as art director of photography. ART
LUEKER was assigned as assistant director.
The unit manager post on "The Younger Brothers"
went to DON PAGE.
ED DAVENPORT was named dialog director for
"June Bride." •
Title Changes
20th-Fox
Sol M.
WIND.
Wurtzel's "Big Dan" is now called NIGHT
VIDEO
Set lor roles in Jerry Fairbanks' "Public Prosecutor"
television film series for NBC, were Vera
Lewis, Edwin Maxwell, Ben Welden, Joe Mantelle,
Dian Fountelle ctnd Ray Parker.
Vote Ten New Members
On Board of Academy
HOLLYWOOD—Ten new members of
the
board of governors of the Academy of IVtotion
Picture Arts and Sciences have been elected
for two-year terms. Newcomers include Robert
Montgomery, actors branch; Robert Haas,
art directors; John Boyle, cinematographers;
George Stevens, directors; G. Carleton Hunt,
film editors; Harry 'Warren, musicians; Gabe
Yorlc, public relations; Walter Lahtz, short
subjects; Gordon Sawyer, sound, and Emmett
Lavery, writers.
New members will join with holdover officers
at a board meeting May 25. Governors
retaining places on the board until April
1949 include Jean Hersholt, Urie McCleary,
Charles G. Clarke, William Wyler, WilUam
Hornbeck. Morris Stoloff, Perry Lieber, Fred
Quimby, Thomas Moulton, Charles Brackett,
N. Peter Rathvon, Jack L. Warner, Walter
Wanger and Donald Nelson.
Producing 'Home' Movies
From Mideast Edition
ALTOONA, PA.—A "home town" feature
length picture is being produced here by Abe
Eskin for the Fabian interests. Recently he
has been successful in producing similar
films in Allentown and Johnstown.
LWAYS quick to adhere to trends,
Cinemania currently is having a bit of
a hassle with freedom of the press.
One manifestation thereof came in connec-
ambiguous de-
tion with the supreme court's
cision in the government's antitrust suit
against the major companies. On the morning
following the rendering of that momentous
ruling, a Hollywood tradepaper
printed quoted statements thereon purportedly
noade by several industi-y biggies, among
them Edgar J. Mannix, MGM studio executive,
and Joseph M. Schenck, head man at
20th-Pox's film foundry.
Efforts to confii-m the Mannix and Schenck
pronouncements brought forth, in both cases,
emphatic denials that any statement had
been made. As concerns Mannix, the everpresent
"authoritative spokesman" declared
that Mannix was "plenty bmned about the
unwarranted quotations and proposed to do
something about it."
Despite the apparent fictlve nature of the
news, one of the wire services, probably without
going to the trouble to verify, must have
picked up the alleged Mamiix statement, because
it was subsequently heard on several
radio newscasts.
Of greater importance and interest, litigiously,
at least, are a pair of suits against
prominent publications recently filed by two
Thespic limiinaries, Hedy Lamarr and Errol
Flynn. Both of the glamorous litigants are
being represented by Attorney Jerry Giesler.
Parenthetically, that widely publicized great
mouthpiece for denizens of Never-Never Land
informs that it is a mere coincidence that
he is appearing for the plaintiffs in both
actions and that the simultaneous suits in
no way hint at a patterned plan to discipline
journals specializing in fan fodder.
In the Flynn complaint it is alleged that
Ideal Publications prepared and published a
story in Modern Screen, a fan magazine,
under Plynn's byline. The brief prepared
by Giesler contends that the actor was never
approached by the publication for permission
to use the story, that he never wi-ote a
word of it, and that he was never given an
opportunity even to read it until he picked
up a copy of the magazine containing the
article. Spokesmen for the Warner studio,
where Flymi is under contract, further depose
that the publicity department's fan magazine
staff likewise was given no chance to clear
the yarn or assist in its preparation.
The action on behalf of Miss Lamarr holds
that in a recent issue of Look magazine an
article about the actress appeared which in
the opinion of the actress and her attorney
caused considerable damage to her professional
reputation because it declared—WTongfully,
say the plaintiffs—that she had undergone
plastic sui'gei-y to make her aheadycelebrated
nose even more symmetrical.
Assimiing that the beefs in the incidents
above chronicled are justified by fact, it would
appear that in Hollywood freedom of the
press sometimes becomes license. But the
rap therefore cannot be hung upon the publications
or their film capital representatives.
Rather, it is another case of Hollywood's
hybrid publicity chickens coming home to
roost.
Since the days of the Industry's infancy,
filmdom's evaluation of publicity and public
relations always has been quantitative rather
than qualitative. Much space, regardless of
what often-harmful eyewash is printed
therein, is still the goal of most Hollywood
publicists.
And as a byproduct of .such credo and
modus operandi there is the well-known
phoney story. 'Whether it emanates from
free-lance or studio space-snatchers, whether
it is planned and planted as news or saccharine
drool for fan publications, a deplorably
large percentage of the material distributed
by press agents stems from their
active imaginations with nary a shred of fact
to back it up.
It is entirely natural and understandable,
then, that reporters on matters cinematic,
taking their cues from the blurbers, occasionally
will forget some of the fundamentals of
good journalism—accuracy and truth.
If the darlings of the industry's nobility,
be they executive or artistic, are willing to
have their careers built and dependent upon
such public and press relations procedure,
then they should be prepared to take in
stride the occasional bitter situations when
the system backfires.
Those who live by the sword .
. .
UTTER CONFUSION DEPARTMENT
Columbia announces it will star Rosalind
Russell in "Miss Grant Takes Richmond," an
original by Gene Towne, while the Warner
docket lists "Miss Richmond Takes Grant,"
by Lester Fuller.
Following news of Howard Hv^hes' acquisition
of RKO Radio, Praise F>undit Lieber
deserted his flying lessons sufficiently long
to inforfn one and sundry that "Janine Marsay.
'Miss Cinemonde' of Paris, winner of
continental beauty contest conducted by the
French fan magazine 'Cinemonde.' came to
Hollywood under auspices of RKO Radio.
Mademoiselle Marsay, a professional mannequin,
spent a week here visiting the studios,
with RKO providing the escort and generally
showing her a good time."
Presumably Lucky Perry was at least technical
adviser on "generally showing her a good
time."
Hollywood can safely claim to have reached
the millennium when some courageous producer
makes a hores-racing; picture without
casting Frankie Darro as the jockey. Or a
super-western in which Barton MacLane is
not the hea^'J.
BOXOFFICE : : May 15, 1948 57