Front Page Woman (Warner Bros.) (1935)

Listen, my little tid-bit, if I had my way, I'd give you life! (Review ) “Front Page Woman” Scores Big Hut at Strand Opening Bette Davis and George “Brent Please Fans In Dramatic Newspaper Story Bette Davis has done it again. The girl whose “Mildred” in “Of Human Bondage” made every woman in the land hate her, and whose “Marie”, played opposite Paul Muni in “Bordertown”, established her as the ‘meanest woman on the screen”, has turned to light comedy. Last night, as a newspaper reporter, she scored an equally great triumph in “Front Page Woman’ which had its local premiere at the >=: Theatre. No one except Warner Bros. casting executives would have believed Miss Davis could be successful in such a role. It was as far from the heavy dramatic portrayals for which she is famous as ¢an be imagined. Even the critics were surprised when the blonde screen menace showed herself a_ thoroughly capable comedienne in the humorous sequences that lighten this fast moving and thrilling story of newspaper men and women, their ways, and their lives. Bette is “Ellen Garfield,’ a sob sister on the staff of the “Star,” whose bitterest professional rival is George Brent, in role of Curt Devlin “Express” reporter, who loves Bette but believes women are bum newspapermen. How Bette surrendered to love after making George admit~ she was a better newspaperman than he was, forms the plot of the story which it would be unfair to the movie fans to disclose. Brent, too, is thoroughly at home im this role, in which he appears to the best advantage. He needed just the fillup of humor and action the story provides to bring out his real talent. Bette Davis Is Opposed To All Beauty Contests That malady which might be designated as “Hollywood Heartbreak” can be traced, in countless cases, to a definite and yet curable cause, in the opinion of Bette Davis, star of Warner’ Bros. “Front Page Woman”, which eomes to the Theatre on “To cure the disease we must perform a major operation”, contends Miss Davis, “and absolutely cut out the infecting ‘Beauty Contests’. -They are very frequently the primary cause of cases of ‘Sereenitis’ or ‘Moviemania’. And we all know that these ailménts, seldom leading to success, frequently develop into ‘Heartbreak’.” Young men as well as girls have suffered from the “contest bug”, the Warner Star points out. “T know a young man who is absolutely handsome and who had got quite well started on an education to be a surgeon”, she reealls. “Unfortunately, there was some kind of a so-called screen contest at his college, and he won it. Immediately he dropped everything and tried to crash Hollywood. “That was several years ago. He'll never be a doctor, and despite his good looks, he'll never be an actor. He’s now working as a waiter in a Hollywood cafe.” “Front Page Woman” is a rapid-fire comedy drama depicting a running professional fight between a _ newspaper _ sob-sister (Miss Davis) and a reporter on a rival paper (George Brent). It was adapted from Richard Macauley’s Saturday Evening Post story “Women Are Bum Newspapermen”, by Lillie Hayward and Roy Chanslor. Laird Doyle wrote the screen play. The supporting cast includes Roscoe Karns, Winifred Shaw, Walter Walker, J. Carrol Naish, Gordon Westcott and J. Farrell MacDonald. Roscoe Karns, as ‘*Toots O'Grady”, Devlin’s cameraman and constant companion, provides a thread of comedy throughout the picture. Winifred Shaw does a splendid bit as Inez Cordoza, the missing eye-witness of a murder that forms the crux of the struggle between the two reporters. The cast also includes such stellar names as Walter Walker, J. Carroll Naish, Gordon Westcott, Dorothy Dare, June Martel, Joseph Crehan, J. Farrell MacDonald and Addison Richards. Much of the credit for the success of the picture must be attributed to Michael Curtiz for his dynamic direction. f “Front Page Woman” was adapted by Roy Chanslor and Lillie Hayward from Richard Macauley’s Saturday Evening Post Story, “Women are Bum Newspapermen.” Laird Doyle wrote the screen play. “Front Page Woman” is one newspaper film that newspapermen can see without getting angry. It is fast, clean and thrilling entertainment, with a good love story and lots of humor. It should not be missed. Romantie Rivals Bette Davis and George Brent look quite chummy in this scene, but they're really rival reporters in Warner Bros. “Front Page Woman’, now at the .......... Theatre. Mat No. 102—10c; Karns and Newspaper Roles No Strangers Roscoe Karns and newspapermen roles are by -no means strangers. “Rocky” will be remembered as the harum-scarum reporter, “Hildy Johnson,’ in the stage road production of “The Front Page”. According to Karns, it was like old times when he stepped into the part of “Toots O’Grady,” press photographer, in Warner Bros. comedy-drama of newspaper life, “Front Page Woman,” featuring Bette Davis and George Brent, now playing at the .......... Theatre. Others in the east include Walter Walker, Winifred Shaw, J. Carrol Naish and Gordon Westcott. N. Y. Reporters Live Characters When Bette Davis, blonde film star, gets to New York next time —possibly Jater in the summer— she is going to pay a visit to a young man and young woman whom she has never met but whose romance and happy marriage interests her deeply. The man is Bruce Rae, one of the star reporters of the New York Times. ‘The girl is Ishbel Ross Rae, who was, until two successful novels took her away from daily journalism, one of the stars of the Herald Tribune. The real life romance of Bruce and Ishbel more or less parallels the fictitious love affair of Bette, as “Ellen Garfield,’ and George Brent, as “Curt Devlin,’ in a comedy-drama called “Front Page Woman,” which was produced by Warner Bros., and now showing at tne... “While we were making the picture, we were all curious to know whether or not newspaper men ever married newspaper women, especially in cases where they had worked as competitors,” Bette says. “We were curious, also, as to whether a newspaperman in love with a girl would ‘scoop’ her on stories, or whether he wouldn’t quietly slip her the news so that she could hold her job. “The situation in ‘Front Page Woman’ is that George Brent scoops me several times, in fact even ‘frames’ me so that I print a story that makes me appear ridiculous, although he’s in love with me, and I with him, while he’s doing so. “Some of our company believed that love would prevail, in actuality, and that the reporter wouldn’t be so mean to his girl friend. But then we heard about Mr. Rae and Miss Ross, and were convinced that our picture was authentic. “T have letters of introduction to them and will certainly look them up when I go East. They must be an interesting pair.” “Front Page Woman” was directed by Michael Curtiz from the screen play by Laird Doyle as adapted by Roy Chanslor and Lillie Hayward from the story “Women Are Bum Newspapermen” by Richard Macatiley. Besides George Brent and Bette Davis, the cast includes Roscoe Karns, Walter Walker, Winifred Shaw and J. Carroll Naish. Many Newspaper People on Staff . of Film Director Bette Davis, the popular Warner Bros. star who plays the part of a sob sister in “Front Page Woman”, which opens at the ....... Theatre on ..........., Spent several days in the newspaper offices of Los Angeles getting atmosphere. Her co-star, George Brent, needed no such preparation since he comes of a newspaper family. The elusive spirit of a newspaper plant, so seldom captured on either stage or screen, did not escape Director Michael Curtiz since he surrounded himself with a staff that was newspaper-wise. His cameramen, Tony Gaudio, was formerly a newspaper photographer; the dialogue for the screen play was written by Laird Doyle, a former newspaper writer; the Saturday Evening Post story from which the picture’ was adapted was written by Richard Macauley, newspaperman, and the publicity man on the set was a former Associated Press feature writer. “Front Page Woman” is a fastmoving romantic comedy of newspaper life with two young lovers pitting their wits against each other in a series of highly dramatic episodes. The picture was adapted for the screen by Roy Chanslor and Lillie Hayward. Introducing .... A NEW IDEA IN FEATURES From the various chats we’ve had lately with youse guys in the field, we find that the usual star biographical cartoons are about as dead as a two reel silent. So we’ve devised something a little different and if you'll pardon our enthusiasm—a little more interesting. It can be used as a straight feature with answers appearing on another page of the paper, or as a one-day contest. See what yo’ ed has to say about it. 5. What is this star's name? 6 His nation ality ? 7. How tall is he? 8. Color of his eyes? His hair? This lovely star is ..... # What film won her stardom? Is she married? R WN, What color are her eyes? 9. Her screen name? | 10. Her real name? — : To what queen is she related? 12. What song did she make famous in “Gold Diggers of 1935"2 Mat No. 205—2¢e ANSWERS I. Bette Davis; 2. “Of Human Bondage”; 3. Yes—Har mon Nelson; 4. Blue; 5. George Brent; 6. Trish; 7. 6 ft. I inch; 8. Hazel—Blue-Black; 9. Winifred Shaw; 10. Winifred Lei Momi; 11. Lilioukalani of Hawaii; 12. Lul laby of Broadway. Bette Davis and George Brent at the Strand Today “Bront. Page Woman,’ Warner Bros. fast-moving comedy-drama dealing with the intense rivalry between a man and a woman reporter on opposing newspapers, opens today at the Theatre for a engagement. Bette Davis, deserting for the moment the heavy dramatic roles she has portrayed in the past, and George Brent, the Irish-American actor, are starred in the picture, which includes a supporting cast comprising popular players such as Roscoe Karns, Winifred Shaw, Walter Walker, J. Carroll Naish, Gordon Westcott and others. Miss Davis is cast as Ellen Garfield, sob-sister on the staff of the “Star,” while Brent has the role of her rival on the “Express.” Their professional enmity begins in the press room of a_ prison shortly before the execution of a Broadway butterfly for the murder of her paramour, carries through a series of dramatic and comic situations, and ends in a truce and, of course, love. The picture was adapted from Richard Macauley’s magazine story, “Women Are Bum Newspapermen,” by Roy Chanslor and Lillie Hayward. The screen play was written by Laird Doyle. Michael Curtiz directed. Polo Too Dangerous For Aviator Brent George Brent, who flies airplanes, had the laugh on Michael Curtiz, who rides horses, when Curtiz appeared at the Warner Bros. studio recently carrying a cane. For it walking was a cane—not a stick — that Director Curtiz bore. What is more, he was using it. He walked, with a definite limp. “Ha!” laughed Brent. “You will play polo! I told you it was a dangerous sport. Me— T'll stick to my ships.” Curtiz, who was directing “Front Page Woman”, in which Brent is featured opposite Bette Davis, admitted that, in a polo game the day before, a horse had stepped on his foot. He further admitted, with a grimace, that he had actually invited Brent to take part in the game, and Brent had refused on the grounds that it was “too dangerous”. Brent is a reporter in ‘‘Front Page Woman”, which will open at the Theatre on eee ee ee , and he jokingly parodied the “man-bites-a-dog” saying by this comment on Curtiz’s injury: “It’s not news when a man gets upon a horse,” he said, “but when a horse gets upon a director—that’s NEWS!” Page Ten