Purchase Price (Warner Bros.) (1932)

Star Feature Publicity Stories Advance for Saturday or Sunday Barbara Stanwyck Consents To Be Interviewed By CARLISLE JONES Hollywood, Calif—‘Perhaps I am happy to get back to Hollywood because I have a new house,’’ Barbara Stanwyck suggested. ‘‘If that means permanence in Hollywood, then we’re here permanently. We have a house. It means just this much: we’re here today and may be gone tomorrow.’”’ Two months before I had talked briefly to the actress, who had just then completed the picture, ‘‘So Big,’’ during a trying afternoon in the studio’s portrait gallery. She had been in an exceptionally happy mood that day because she was to leave three days later for New York with Frank Fay, her husband, for a short turn at vaudeville with him. ‘“‘New York is still the grandest place in the world—always will be,’’ she declared now, ‘‘but the conditions in the theatre there were lisappointing. In Chicago it was worse.’’ ‘So you’re back in Hollywood permanently?’’ This proved to be the wrong question and brought forth both the lady’s cryptic comment on permanency and the flinty look. I had been watching the filming of a-scene between Miss Stanwyck and Leila Bennett, under the enthusiastic direction of William Wellman. ‘‘The Purchase Pricé’2wh “ecome-“tosthe: «css. Theatre n The picture was -gceue wa Miss Bennett’s one big comedy moment in that picture, the moment when, as the frowsy Emily, she confesses that she has sent Joan’s (Miss Stanwyck’s) picture in place of her own in answer to a matrimonial advertisement. Miss Stanwyck left the set slowly, drawing a warm coat over the silken dressing robe-night gown combination she had worn in the scene. Not Fond of Interviewers Her greeting was pleasant but reserved. She is not fond of interviews nor interviewers and it is difficult to penetrate the wall of apparent indifference she has built up around herself. There is nothing like that displayed toward members of the cast and crew of her pictures—particularly the crew. She meets them on an equal footing and with an interesting frankness. But an interviewer has to.make haste slowly. She insisted on standing while we talked. Once the rather obvious New York Hollywood permanency subject was out of the way—not too successfully — there were two other subjects I hoped Miss Stanwyck would talk about. One was her admitted ambition to direct pictures rather than star in them, and the other had to do with the unique fact that she has found many if not most of her close friends in Hollywood in the ranks of the technical workers in pictures rather among the stars and featured players. She had something to say on both subjects, I found, but she said what she said standing up, speaking abruptly and rapidly, using her cigarette as a baton for emphasis. “‘Yes, I’d like to direct,’’ she agreed. ‘‘When I think I’m smart enough. It’s no fool’s job, you know. You have to know a lot about a-number of things. ‘‘T am always getting my fingers jammed in the cameras. Directors have the most fun—the most interesting work. They create, I’d like to try it. So I investigate everything—and get my fingers pinched doing it.’’ She held up a damaged fingernail as evidence. Then she waved it slightly in the general direction of Page Four than . Picking The Peaches Some years ago, Adophe Zimmer, who was then working for the Bob Kane Productions in New York, tested two girls for pictures. Both were young, both were very pretty, and both got a little work. The girls were June Collyer and Ruby Stevens, better known today as Barbara Stanwyck. Zimmer found himself profoundly impressed by the young Stevens, girl, believed she had the making of an actress, and did his best to help her by getting her work on the side posing for the MacFadden Publications’ stories—for which he _ himself posed as a villain. Zimmer was the «assistant director on Miss Stanwyck’s (nee Ruby Steven’s) production of ‘‘The Purchase Price,’’? at Warner Bros. studios. The picture is now playing at the Aeron Sic Anighin-sacn sme ROALL Os the stage roof where on the temporary cat-walks above the set electricians were working to change the lights for a new ‘*Thor me ,’ she said, ~ awn can thas ee roy Sworn , cameras ud mikes, know a tot about making pictures, and don’t you forget it. They know more about this business than a lot of people sitting in front offices. They’re closer to it. You can learn something from every one of them.’’ She Absorbs Information Miss Stanwyck, I found, absorbs information as a blotter does water. She draws it from all sources on the set, from the ‘‘grips’’ and painters, electricians and property boys, makeup artists and the men handling the microphone boom. She uses it, too, both in her work in pictures and in her plans for directing. She has been known to accept a set-dresser’s opinion against that of a director, and a pretty little hair-dresser, who is also one of her closest friends, is sometimes the court of final appeal in an argument about how a scene shall be made. I tried to frame the next question with great care. ‘‘Every actress of importance,’’ I suggested, ‘‘is friendly with the crew of a production. It’s good business to be that way, naturally. But you aren’t just friendly. You make friends of them. Do you find them more interesting than—than other actors and actresses?’’ She looked at me with great scorn. For a moment I thought she might be going to swear—she does sometimes, I understand—but she didn’t. ‘“These are my kind of people,’’ she said deliberately, ‘‘they talk my language. Their problems are the same kind that I have and have had all my life. They have babies and landlords and loads of trouble and lots of fun.’’ ‘‘T’m more interested in how the property boy on this set is going to meet the eight-dollar installment on his radio this week than I am in all the gossip one could hear in the Brown Derby in a month. These are _ real people.’’ And from this I gathered that perhaps interviewers aren’t. The cast supporting Barbara Stanwyek in ‘‘The Purchase Price,’’ includes popular George Brent, Lyle Talbot, Hardie Albright, Matt McHugh, Leila Bennett, David Landau and Murray Kinnell. be oo aedarine 4,-hloze +a oun so : Fine as va. winno” vo vpausr_ Current for Saturday or Sunday Stanwyck Burned Fighting Wheat Fire in Big Scene Do they really go for realism in making movies? Just ask Barbara Stanwyck, starring in the Warner Bros. picture “*The Purchase Price’ at. the: =.=. 2-5-3 Theatre ! There is so much realism in her pictures that she is beginning to wonder if she isn’t marked by fire. Everything good and bad that has come to her in the past few months has had a fire at tached to it one way or another. In the midst of shooting in one of her recent pictures, she was informed that her Malibu house had burned to the ground. Shortly after that she made a picture, ‘‘The Miracle Woman’’, in which she played an evangelist whose tabernacle burned. Most recently, while making ‘‘The Purchase Price,’’ she had to put out a raging blaze that started in her (screen) husband’s wheat field. Long shots for the wheat sequence, and practically all the action up to the actual burning of the field were taken on location in one of the largest wheat belts in the United States. But burning the stacked wheat in an actual wheat field was considered too risky to attempt. If the fire got out of hand, miles of wheat stood to burn up in expensive smoke. Nevertheless, it was obviously impossible to have a wheat field burn on a motion picture stage. The happy solution was arrived at by shocking and stacking wheat over ten acres of the Warner Bros. ranch in Burbank, the wheat being brought down, ready-cut, from the location wheat fields. The actual burning took place at night, and in considerable wind, just as the story indicated. What wasn’t planned, was the scorching of Miss Stanwyck’s leg that she went to the hospital for a day to recuperate and have her burns treated. The plan had been to fight the fire with wet blankets. But after the fire had actually started, and after the actress and her leading man, George Brent, had fought it for a few minutes with the blankets provided them, it was discovered that, being novices at firefighting, they were drawing back their blankets too soon after striking at the blazing wheat, this quick SHO ADVANCE Barbara Stanwyck a Torch Singer in Latest Film Barbara Stanwyck sings for the first time in pictures in her newest Warner Brothers picture, ‘‘The Purchase Price’’ which comes..... Sarees Ort OMe see te oe NS ALTO: Night club, chorus and vaudeville work have helped to give her one of the most pleasing feminine voices ever heard on the screen, but the present picture gives audiences their first opportunity to hear her in a motion picture. “The Purchase Price’’ Is 3rd Barbara Stanwyck Film Directed by Bill Wellman ‘¢The Purchase Price,’’ which comes tOsthGew sims nck Pheatrea6 sate is the third Warner Brothers picture director William Wellman has directed with Barbara Stanwyck, the others being ‘‘Night Nurse’’ and ‘‘So Big.’’ Arthur Stringer Authored Barbara Stanwyck’s Film Arthur Stringer, best selling author, is the writer of ‘‘The Purchase Price,’’ which comes to the srestees ORI OM ee Se cpt. es With Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent. The story appeared first in The Saturday Evening Post, where it ran as a serial. nee Cage ere motion serving to spread rather than smother the fire, and soon causing the two fire-fighters to fight for their very safety, for the fire, spreading, had surrounded them. There were calls from the director and his assistants for them to leave off and jump through the flames to escape harm, but they chose to stick to it until they had put out the blaze. During the fire George Brent the leading man and several of the cast were slightly burned—but they stuck to the scene until the end. Cameraman Kept Turning Luckily, the cameramen had the wit to keep turning their cameras, and the scene was shot as it actually took place. Worldly-wise audiences, used to motion picture realism, may allow themselves to yawn as this scene is displayed on the screen—for isn’t everything in the movies done with mirrors?— But if they do, they’ll miss one of the few actual scenes ever to be shown on the screen of an actress battling flames for her life. So fire, as well as bringing her bad luck, has marked what Barbara Stanwyck considers her best. pictures. _‘‘The Purchase Price’? wasedentaa. and Saturday “Evening Post story,: It is a thrill-~ “‘The Mud Lark’’. ing story of a night club singer transported to the Dakota wheat fields, directed by William Wellman and adapted for the screen by Robert Lord. The cast supporting Miss Stanwyck includes George Brent, the sensational new leading man of the screen, Lyle Talbot, Hardie Albright, Matt McHugh, Leila Bennett, David Landau, and Murray Kinnell, R T 8 current George Brent, Screen’s Newest Male Sensation, in “The Purchase Price’”’ George Brent, the screen’s new sensational leading man, plays the leading masculine role in ‘‘The Purchase Price,’’ Barbara Stanwyck’s latest starring picture for Warner Bios. now. at: thée.2-3. Theatre. ‘‘The Purchase Price’’ which is based on Arthur Stringer’s novel serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, is a powerful romance and drama of a Night Club singer transported to the Dakota wheat belt. Brent also worked with Miss Stanwyck in ‘‘So Big.’’ The young Irish actor recently was seen also in the cast of ‘‘Week-End Marriage,’’ with Loretta Young, for First National. Lyle Talbot, Hardie Albright, David Landau and Leila Bennett are included in the film’s large east. Lyle Talbot, Romantic Stage Lead, Becomes Screen’s Leading Heavy Lyle Talbot, in ‘‘The Purchase Price,’’ with Barbara Stanwyck at then Ses sa ees Theatre has a dual personality. On the stage, he had always played romantic leads—but the camera brought out an entirely different quality—made him, in fact, a villain. Something in the deadly calm of his demeanor when he came before the camera in his test for pictures struck the Warner execu tives, and they immediately cast him as @ ‘‘Heavy.’’