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Show STAGE SCREEN RADIO By VIRGINIA VALE (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) HOLLYWOOD may not see Katharine Hepburn working work-ing before its cameras again for some time; she left when she finished "Woman of the ( Year" with no plans for making more pictures, but with plenty for doing that new play; if it runs as long as "Philadelphia Story" did she won't be ready for pictures again for more than two years. Incidentally, Spencer Tracy who also wants to do a play, if he can find the right one had his hair cut for that new Hepburn picture, the first time he's done that since 1935, when he had a haircut for "Murder Man," i i 1 KATHARINE HEPBURN which he made with Myrna Loy; think back and you'll remember that he's been doing "unshaven and unshorn" un-shorn" roles, a long string of them. Case investigators on the air's "Are You a Missing Heir" program travel thousands of miles and spend hundreds of dollars in search of those heirs so imagine their surprise when a legatee turned up practically under their noses; she's Agatha Friederick, and is a script-writer for the agency handling the Heirs program. We know only that "the studio has made some concessions" in that difference dif-ference of opinion between Deanna Durbin and Universal that's kept her off the screen all this time. Last October Oc-tober it was reported that she was demanding the right to choose her vehicles and approve her leading men and directors when a star takes things into her own hands that way she's usually on the skids that lead to oblivion. Now she's set to make pictures again. Her husband, Vaughn Paul, will not change his mind about his resignation as a Universal Uni-versal producer. John Payne replaces Victor Mature Ma-ture in 20th Century Fox's "White Collar Girl," in which he plays opposite oppo-site Betty Grable. The picture is scheduled to get under way soon, with John Brahm directing. It seems to be children's day at the Columbia studios. Baby Davy James, the infant Marlene Dietrich didn't drop in "The Lady Is Willing," has a new contract with options that cover a total of 21 years; now a year old, he's known professionally as "Wonder Baby Corey," his name in that picture. And 15-day-old Norma Jean Wayne is working in "Blondie's Blessed Event." That bartender whom you'll see with Richard Arlen and Arline Judge in "Wildcat" once had his day as a famous man. He is Tom Kennedy, and once upon a time he fought Jack Johnson for the world's heavyweight championship. Speaking of war pictures Paramount Para-mount bought a story called "Channel "Chan-nel Port" way back last April, and now is going to do something about it It will be filmed in England, and executives are hoping to get Laurence Lau-rence Olivier or David Niven for the lead. It's a Commando story; the hero's a long-distance swimmer, who swims the channel from France to England with important information. Columbia grabbed the title, "The Commandos," first, however; their story deals with an American boy who becomes one of that daring band, and a girl in Norway who heads an underground movement against the invaders one more 'boy meets girl" plot in a new setting. 7T. "Bedtime Story' has a parallel in real life; Helen Hayes" announcement announce-ment that she would retire for two years was contradicted by her husband, hus-band, Charles MacArthur, who has a new play for her. Same plot as the picture! ODDS AND ENDS Band bookers are optimistic, despite the war Sammy Kaye, for example, has been booked through January, 1943 . . A pre view audience liked Donna Reed so much in "The Courtship of Andy Hardy" that the picture was given a new ending, a happy one for her In Universal's "Wake Up and Dream" bandleader Woody Herman not only makes his film bow but dances a bit for the customers custom-ers . Joan Crawford's salary for the role that was to have been Carole Lombard's Lom-bard's in "He Kissed the Uride" SI12J00 will all go to charitable organisations or-ganisations . . Sullivan's Travels' is not only very funny; it has a message. |