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Show stagescreenMdio By VIRGINIA VALE Released by Western Newspaper Union. SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD Ann Blythe almost makes you shudder; she's already had so much success that you wonder won-der what's left. Not that Ann feels that way about it; she's as excited over what's ahead as if she'd never appeared in a sensationally successful play "Watch ui the Rhine", which gave a command performance in Washington Wash-ington and been a supper guest at the White House. She has made a place for herself in radio, beginning at the age of five. She's established ,y A ' L - i i i 1 : I , I ; V ' 'r I ANN BLYTHE on the screen; has a long-term contract con-tract with Universal her latest picture pic-ture is "The Merry Monahans." She sang for three years with the San Carlos Opera company. Yet she feels that she must work hard to get ahead! They do say that "Sweet and Low i Down" is a semi-biographical story of Benny Goodman's life. Whether that's true or not, it gives him a chance he's never had before in films; this time he makes his debut as a dramatic actor and comedian. Steve Cochran is stepping right along in the path traveled by Humphrey Hum-phrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, and other stars whose screen wickedness wicked-ness paid handsome dividends. A handsome six-footer, reared in Wyoming, Wy-oming, he plays a gunman of the Broadway badlands in Samuel Gold- wyn's "The Wonder Man," starring Danny Kaye. He was discovered when he played in "Without Love" on the Los Angeles stage, with Constance Con-stance Bennett. Kay Harding's Brst big role - at Universal is the romantic lead in "The Mummy's Curse," but hei first arrival on the lot had nothing to do with pictures. In those days Bhe was the helmswoman on a delivery de-livery wagon. "The Scarlet Claw" started her on her way up. Alexis Smith, who did so well un-i un-i ' der Edmund Goulding's direction in "The Constant Nymph," will work with him again in the re-make of "Of Human Bondage," in which she has the role of "Norah." The picture features Paul Henreid, Janis Paige and Eleanor Parker. Victor Jory was all set to return to acting before the movie cameras a few weeks ago, when he was offered of-fered the part of a swashbuckling adventurer on the Sunday afternoon CBS show, "Dangerously Yours" end liked the role so much that he's A renounced movies for the year to come. He's already blossomed forth as a radio matinee idol. Producer Lester Cowan has begun to wonder if every man in the country coun-try and some out of it want to play Ernie Pyle on the screen. Since it became known that Cowan is looking look-ing for someone to portray the pop-nlar pop-nlar war correspondent in "G. I. Joe," more than 2,300 letters have poured in from men who are sure they resemble Pyle closely enough to characterize him on the screen. Ernie Pyle at present is covering the invasion of France, sharing the hardships as well as the companionship compan-ionship of our fighting boys there. The company of players and technicians tech-nicians making "Objective, Burma" for Warner Bros, settled down to a full night schedule for battle scenes depicting the last ditch fight before evacuation of Burma. They've been on location for three months a new record for off-the-set shooting. Erro Flynn heads the cast, which includes George Tobias, Henry Hull and James Brown in featured roles. Dick Brown, new singing star, will tour the "Purple Heart Circuit" in the East. Brown knows the value of entertainment to wounded service men, as he spent many months recovering re-covering in army hospitals after he was injured in a plane crash in the South Pacific. ODDS t.VD ENDS Frank Sinatra auditioned dozens of girl singers be-fore be-fore he selected Eileen Barton to be his first singing partner in his netv radio program . . . Parks (Vox Pop) Johnson's John-son's daughter, Mrs. (r ifen, has named i his little granddaughter Louise John- j son Willvtl . . . Gene Krupa and his' band have been signed jnr a featured spot in "George's White's Scandals oj 1945" . in KKOs "Fareuell. My Lovely," Claire Trevor commits two more movie murders, her score is HU to j date . . . Frances Longford got permission permis-sion from Washington to carry quite a lot of extra baggage on that current trip uith Bob Hope to the South Pacific. j |