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Show By VIRGINIA VALE (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) J WALTER RUBEN, Metro producer, took all of two weeks off recently; with three pictures ready to be released he'd earned it! The three are "Bad Man," with Wallace Wal-lace Beery, "Maisie Was a Lady," and "Flight Command," Com-mand," a navy picture, with Robert Taylor and the talented tal-ented and beautiful Ruth Hussey. It was a busman's holiday, in a way, as Mr. Ruben had to see all the new plays. Mrs. Ruben (Virginia (Vir-ginia Bruce) was with him, but wasn't on exhibition as so many Hollywood stars are when they visit New York. He was enthusiastic about the cooperation co-operation given him by the navy , during the making of "Flight Command," Com-mand," and also about Robert Taylor Tay-lor and the tremendous handicap he had to overcome because he was launched as a handsome and romantic ro-mantic lad who bowled women over on sight. When somebody mentioned the possible effect on Hollywood of this country's entering the war he predicted that men would join up in droves. Ruben himself formerly held a reserve commission in the army, and has been offered one in the navy. Just as Cary Grant seems to bob un in Dracticallv every picture late- ! I' vj ly, "so James Hilton seems to be the author au-thor of the moment. Columbia will film his "And Now Good bye," co - starring Joan Fontaine and Brian Aherne for the first time; it is her first screen appearance ap-pearance since "Rebecca." "Re-becca." And Metro is doing his "Rage in Heaven," with Ingrid Berman and Joan Fontaine Robert Montgomery. This is said to be one of the most exciting "perfect crime" stories to be brought to the screen. So Miss Berman is in for a lot of horror; she has "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" as her next assignment, assign-ment, with Spencer Tracy. George Raft, poker-faced as usual, almost lost his aloofness when he saw "Pal Joey" recently. "Pal Joey" Jo-ey" is a musical show with a real plot, and is currently one of the hits of the New York theatrical season. sea-son. The hero is a master of ceremonies cere-monies who dances superbly, and the role is right up Raft's alley. It's said that the next day he implored im-plored Warner Brothers to buy the screen rights for him. Certainly it seems a natural. The only difficulty is that, to get by the Hays office, the plot and the hit songs would have to be discarded; in fact, there wouldn't be much left hut the title. Remember Billy Lee, the appealing appeal-ing boy actor who scored such a hit in "The Biscuit Eater"? Eat-er"? You'll see him in "Power Dive," an aviation picture; Jean Parker and Richard Arlen star in it, supported by Roger Pryor and Don Castle, a young Paramount contract player who's on his way up fast. Paramount Para-mount gives its vouneer Dlavers fea- Billy Lee tured roles as stepping step-ping stones to stardom, so Castle was given the second lead, playing Arlen's younger brother, in "Power Dive." Vivian Leigh and Laurence Olivier Oliv-ier finally set off for England, and possibly for more movies; Paramount Para-mount would like to have them as stars of J. M. Barrie's famous play, "The Admirable Crichton," screened many years ago with Gloria Swan-son Swan-son and Thomas Meighan. John MacCormick is the quiet-voiced, quiet-voiced, dignified young man who announces an-nounces the numbers each Sundaj afternoon on Columbia network's "Design for Happiness" hearing him, or even seeing him, you'd never nev-er suspect that he once was a speed demon. At 17 he designed and built a racing car that would hit better than 100 miles an hour, and was a regular participant in the dirt-track classics at Robey's Speedway near Chicago. At the same time he began be-gan studying aviation, and now holds a full transport pilot's license. Now, at 26, he's overcome his desire de-sire for speed, and is quite content to earn his living just by talking. ODDS AXD ENDS C. Warner Brothers tti7 give "Flight From Destiny" a typical Hollywood opening in Buenos Aires, with Xlona Maris presiding. C Rudy Vallee makes his debut as a ventriloquist in I'athe's "Picture People." Peo-ple." L Parents' Magazine chose Virginia U eidler as 1940's outstanding screen juvenile. C Clocked for laughs at a "sneak preview, pre-view, Preston Sturges' latest for Paramount, Para-mount, "The Lady Eve,'' recorded an average of two laughs a minute . . . It co-stars Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. |