Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 8 April 1937 — Page 9

THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1937

Film Serials Find Favor

In New Era

They Suffered From Depression, But Now Are In Demand.

By PAUL HARRISON HOLLYWOOD, April 8 (NEA).—Hair-raising chap-

ter films, which leave the hero |

and heroine in very precarious situations on the screens

of neighborhood theaters |

every Saturday afternoon, are making a comeback. Earliest form of celluloid art, they suffered during the depression, which brought two full-length features to nearly every flicker palace. But now the two-reel serials are in demand again. Almost any day you can prowl the back lots of Universal, .Republic, or Columbia and find a tightlipped actress chained in a tiger's den, or a mad inventor preparing to destroy #he world with some new mechanistic horror. Each of these three studios will make four serials this year. of from 12 to 15 installments each.

‘The costs vary from $50,000 at Republic to $100,000 at Universal, with Columbia planning at least one Frank Buck thriller which may cost a quarter of a million. The latter will be what Hollywood would call a colossal little picture.

But They've Changed

7

traction beginning tomorrow.

| Two noted exponents of tense drama, Bette Davis and Eduardo Cianelli, thicken the plot in “Marked Women,” the Lyric's screen at-

Times Special

Dixon line. There'll be nothing like that in

Prof. Dalton S. Reymond. head

Confederate Army officer and whose family has been prominent in Louisiana for several generations,

Spurious Southern Accent Barred From New Picture

HOLLYWOOD, April 8.—Too often. what movie makers have considered Southern ways and Southern accents have their origin in Southern Indiana or the South Side of Chicago rather than below the Mason-

“The Deep South,” Mervyn LeRoy’s

current production based on the successful novel hy Ward Greene.

of the opera department of Louisi-

ana State University, has been engaged by LeRoy to act as technical adviser during the filming of the picture, second on LeRoy’s schedule as a producer releasing through Warner Bros. Prof. Reymond, grandson of ae

|ter actor, heads the cast of “The

| Deep South.” Gioria Dickson, new- |.

icomer to the screen who was discovered in a WPA theater project by

Serials have changed since the will have the final word on what is one of LeRoy’s scouts, has the prindays of Helen Holmes, Ruth Roland, land what isn’t Southern, so far as ‘cipal feminine role. Two other and Pearl White. Heroines don't get | the picture is concerned. top billing any more. Heroes are | He was selected for the post of

the stars.

| technical adviser after a lengthy

voungsters without previous screen | experience, Lana Turner and Linda Perry, also have important parts. LeRoy, alert for new faces and

And plots are inclined to revolve | hunt by the producer for someone new vigor in his players, Fas chosen around pseudo-science. Thus, a re-|with a broad knowledge of the

cent episode filmed at Republic featured la futuristic airship which tries to shake down the San Francisco bridge. The hero arrives in the| nick of time |and, with similarly fantastic equipment, shakes down the enemy. In another thriller, the villain boards a trans-Pacific super-plane and sets it afire. It falls into the sea with all hands: apparently doomed. But the hero buzzes along in his super-submarine and saves the situation. Also the heroine. However. three. time-tested formulae still are in favor. These are adventure (usually exploration), cops-and-robbers, and cowboys-and-Indians.

| South, its people, their customs and | peculiarities, and who had enough | experience of the theater to give

land atmosphere.

Prof. Reymond, at Louisiana State, produced a number of successful operas and assisted student dramatic groups in the production of a dozen-odd plays.

| “The Deep South” authentic Dixie- |

| Claude Rains, celebrated darase

i for this production a majority of | players who are unfamiliar to movie goers. They include Edward Norris,

Elisha Cook, Allyn Joslyn and John |

| 1 i COMING Hl RO

They never fail to excite kids, and |

will keep ’em coming week after week on pennies saved by heroic thrift and parsimony.

Boos for Love

There is no sex in serials. That is because kids Will boo heavy love scenes. They want plenty of action, and they get it. Also, for the benefit of juvenile morals, the hera never smokes or drinks. The feminine menace, if there is one, is almost as pure, and wears Just as many clothes as the innocent heroine.

Ray Corrigan, former vaudeville |

strong-man, and Kay Hughes, onetime professional model, are the stars of Republic's serials. Monte Blue, who used to be a romantic star of topnotch pictures, is their favorite villain. Johnny Mack Brown is head man in the next serial to go before Universal’'s cameras. It will be titled “Wild West Days,” and in the feminine lead is Jean Rogers, queen of modern-day cliff-hang ars.

No Thanks, She Says

Miss Rogers has had some tempt- |

ing offers for legitimate features, but she always declines with thanks. * Her job is. steady, and she's ab- | solutely tops in her line. The perennial heavy at Universal is Harry Brandon, who is an old hand at spine-chilling. Republic serials are made in five weeks and make about 100 per cent profit. Universal thrillers are made in six weeks. They're shot so rapidly that two -directors are necessary— Ford Beebe and Cliff Smith. Beebe directs drama, Smith action, and they work on alternate days. The players work all the time. Serial salaries aren't what they used to be. Three hundred a week is tops. Helen Holmes earned $3000 a week in “The Hazards of Helen,’ “The Lost Express,” and “Lass of | the Lumberlands.”

| Lloyd Saunders, saved his money, | too. They invested everything in a

cattle ranch near Sonora, Cal., and |

Saunders is trying to pick up a

were wiped out by the depression. little prize money at rodeos again. |

ESA)

you

This Picture

Recommended

‘ve never known!

in the finest role ef her career,

Warner Bros.’ eye-opening hit, with

HUMPHREY BOGART Is NET LOLA LANE « EDUARDO CIANNELLI ISABEL JEWELL<ROSALIND MARQUIS \ JANE BRYAN - MAYO METHOT- Allen FOR CHILDREN |f Jenkins:John Litel-Ben Welden-Henry O'Neill * Directed by Lloyd Bacen

Buzzingicn

| Extemporaneous

FEATURING

THE PINE RIDGE # SILVER CORNET BAND

NBC Radio StarswithFzra

9 2 ¥ Dick Huddleston % Zon | IN PERSON STAGE : o ee i THREE Made it, and saved a lot of it. Her | 4 Vaughn Cornish 432 | stunt man and rodeo rider husband, |

Conducting

SMART

Winnie & Jinks GIRLS

Sophisticated

Chap OTHER STAR ACTS Ladies

TODA = MacDonald and Nelson = in MGM’s Musical warms NOEW'S

THE THRILL YOU HAVE WAITED FOR!

(Special Road Show Engagement)

2 Three years in the making! -Two fortunes to produce! And NOW = this city will see Pearl Buck’s prize-win-ning novel burst to flaming life on the screen!

TOMORROW - —AT 2:30

RAINER

M.-G.-M's. epic with stars who won academy award as best actress and actor of

year! CAST OF 5000! WALTER CONNELLY TILLY LOSCH

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

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CS de see ar EINE LOR

PAGE 9

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»

An event that will be the

. talk of Indianapolis for

weeks to come. ..

to 44

a