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Show STAR ! I DUST I Movie Radio I By VIRGINIA VALE IFYOUthoughtDeannaDur-bin IFYOUthoughtDeannaDur-bin a remarkably talented youngster last year when you saw her in "Three Smart Girls," you will think she is nothing short of a baby genius when you see "One Hundred Men and a Girl." Her voice, al-ways al-ways good, has developed DeannaDurbin SO amazingly that she ranks with the best of screen prima donnas. Even more startling is the development of this quiet fourteen-year-old as an actress. ac-tress. She plays comedy, farce or tragedy with the deft assurance of a veteran. Supported by Stokowski, that most brilliant of conductors, no nervous qualms weaken her voice, and in scenes with Alice Brady, Adolph Menjou, and Mischa Auer, those persistent scene stealers, she more than holds her own. RKO has already finished the screen version of "Stage Door" with Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers in the leads. The dialogue, everyone says, simply sparkles, and although Hepbnrn and Rogers are at their very best in it, Andrea Leeds and Lucille Ball, who play small roles, draw a big share of the enthusiastic comment. Bill Powell paused In New York briefly on his way to the Scandinavian Scandina-vian countries for a much - needed vacation. vaca-tion. He has been near collapse ever since the death of Jean Harlow, to whom he was engaged en-gaged to be married. mar-ried. When he comes back, he and Myrna Loy will make another an-other sequel to the "Thin Man." Far from being tired of Myrna Loy the roles that brought them their biggest success, he says that they enjoy them more than audiences do. Very few actors enjoy success in Hollywood for more than five years, but producers never find a newcomer newcom-er who can handle Alan Hale roles. He has just signed to play Little John in the new version of "Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn. It is the same role he played 15 years ago when Douglas Fairbanks made the picture. It looks as if all Hollywood will be trying to congregate on the Bing Crosby set soon, for Bee Lillie, the elegant Lady Peel no less, Is going to play opposite him. If you missed Bee on a recent Vallee hour, you should shed one tear at least. She gave the sketch that she has done innumerable times "Two dozen double damask dinner napkins, please," and it was even funnier than before. Maybe Eddie Cantor is awfully smart to switch his radio program from Sunday nights 5 Olf-T. . ' I ' A f A to Wednesday, because be-cause the Sunday night competition is going to be even more fierce than usual this winter. There will be Jack Benny, of course, Phil Baker, and Joe' Penner, but in addition addi-tion there will be two big screen fa- Eddie Cantor vomes wun ?ew programs Rosalind Russell and Tyrone Power. Robert Taylor had better hurry back from England if he doesn't want Tyrone to displace him as Matinee Idol Number One of the younger set. Humphrey Bogart is getting to be so popular on the screen that producers pro-ducers are toying with the idea of making a hero of him, but every time they bring up the subject, Humphrey takes to his heels and runs away. He played a smirking hero once, back in 1930, and neither audiences nor directors wanted to see him again. It wasn't until he played the murderous Duke Mantee in "Petrifted Forest" that they forgave for-gave him. Since then he has specialized spe-cialized in the deepest-dyed villainy in "Black Legion" and "Bullets or Ballots." In "Dead End" he is so magnificently villainous that hero and heroine, Joel McCrea and Sylvia Sidney, have a hard time distracting distract-ing attention from him. ODDS AD LNDSConslmice Ben-nftt Ben-nftt is going to make another goofy comedy like "Topper" as soon as she tmd Countess di t'rasso launch their cosmetic company . . . Erin O'ISrien Moore, uho plays "Nana" in "The Life o Emile Zola," is being boomed by thousands of admirers for the much-disputed much-disputed role of Scurlcll in "Cone U ilh 'he Wind" Western Newspaper Union. |