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Show STAGESCREErOADIO By VIRGINIA VALE Released by Western Newspaper Union. 'npHE nation's largest radio l stock company is behind the weekly production of the WPB's new program, "Three Thirds of a Nation," heard Wednesday evenings on the Blue network. Produced in cooperation co-operation with the Hollywood Victory committee, clearing house (or war-time appearances of the Associated Actors and Artists of America, the program has at its disposal the resident membership of all Southern California. Castings weekly draw from a reservoir of more than 10,000 screen, stage and radio actors, all volunteers. The Tone family, Franchot and Jean, will soon be working at the same studio. Franchot has signed a term agreement with Paramount; it calls for four pictures during the next two years. Jean Wallace Tone, a "Louisiana Purchase" beauty, is already there. Ann Harding is returning to the screen in Metro's "Odor of Violets," a mystery drama soon to go into i'fi IS . ANN HARDING production. Edward Arnold has the principal male role. Donna Reed, one of Metro's abundant crop of starlets, is also in the cast. You may not recognize Chester Conklin at once in "I Married a Witch"; playing a bartender at a country club who's in much of the opening action, he appears without that famous walrus mustache. An evening gown that Priscilla Lane wears in "Silver Queen" is going to be melted down and given giv-en to the Ambulance corps when she's through with it. It's a 17-pound 17-pound silver dress, and will eventually eventu-ally become wiring and dental plates for soldiers. The diamonds that Marlene Dietrich wore in "The Lady Is Willing" Will-ing" are facing the camera again, this time in "Ellery Queen Across the Atlantic." The picture teams Margaret Lindsay and William'Gar-gan. William'Gar-gan. The story requires a collection collec-tion of jewels, that are stolen, so James Hogan, the director, got busy and rented them. Miss Dietrich got a break she just borrowed the gems. Those children's giggles you will hear in Walt Disney's "Bambi" are the sounds of youngsters, filled up with ice cream, enjoying some old Mickey Mouse shorts. Disney wanted want-ed spontaneous laughter, and that's how he got it. In all the movie studios Adolphe Menjou is known as the script girl's pet He keeps track for himself of all the tricky little details which the girls have to watch. For example, in RKO's "Syncopation" Menjou and George Bancroft do a lot of smoking, which means that lengths of cigars and ash must be matched In scenes which may be filmed weeks apart. Menjou carries a pocket rule, measures cigar and ash at the beginning of each scene, and calls his results to the script girl. Claudette Colbert has signed a three-year contract calling for one picture a year with RKO. Her first assignment will be the leading role in the screen version of Pearl Buck's "China Sky" she'll play an American doctor. Stepping into the title role of the "Bulldog Drummond" series,- back on the air after an absence of several sev-eral months, Santos Ortega follows in illustrious footsteps. George Cou-louris, Cou-louris, the last incumbent is on tour with that very successful play, "Watch on the Rhine." E. E. Mathews was the first actor to assume as-sume the role, and John Barrymore, Ronald Colman and John Howard did it on the screen. ?fe ODDS AND ENDS Robert Preston learned to be a proficient machine gunner gun-ner while on location with "ff ake Island" . . . Victor McLaglen of RKO's "Powder Town" has imented a 40 foot tank and submitted it to the war department; depart-ment; he's a veteran of the Boer and the last World war . , . A new adventure sttip about a war correspondent will be based on the real life adventures of If illiam L. Shirer during his days as a Berlin radio operator . . . Joan Edwards of "Your Hit Parade" has won the pool three weeks running in guessing the ten hit numbers . . . A'o unusual pets for Mary Martin. She keeps laying hens. |
