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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 24, 1940)
4 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN Friday, May 24,. 1 940 movies radio hit parade broad way Theater head finds .. . Student's chances of success in screen careers rank high For a young woman or man of college background, what actually are the chanres for a real try-out for a job in Hollywood pictures? Are the A. D.'s or the M. A.'s chances better or slighter than a bathing beauty contest winners? Than a fashion model's? Than a stenographer's ? Cecil Clovelly, first man to study the question, is the man most fitted to answer these ques tions. Conductor of the Student Theatre, at Woodstock, N. Y in association with E. J, Ballantine, he was variously test director, head coach and chief talent scout for Paramount Ficlures, both in New York and London. In the course of these duties in the mid dle 'Thirties he founded Tara mount's New York dramatic school for promising apprentices. One toct in 500 applicants. While at Ivramount he watched the products of the American campuses undergoing screen tests in competition with aspirants hay other backgrounds. The competi tive handicap is shown in the fact that cither a silent or full sound screen test is given only to one out of some 500 applicants (screen test are, for the picture companies, expensive). The question is, then: of all who are screen tested, what proportion do come from colleges? The an swer is sruprisingly high. Mr. Clovelly estimates it at 70 percent. "There is not much variation in the proportion from year to year, Mr. Clovally said. "To arrive at an average, the age group from 19 to 25 years should be taken. Of the number accepted for tests, about 50 percent gave college rec ords in their case histories. I found, however, that about half the others had college records which they had failed to mention. In most cases this was because they were able to point to stage experience other than college dra matics." Statistics hold up. New York talent offices of major companies, on the basis of Earn during vacation $5.00 and up daily selling article appealing to housewife. One at least and per. haps more for every home. Write for information to SLIP-LOK,lnc. 532 West Huron Street, Pontiac, Mich. results since 1937, are able to verify Clovelly's conclusions sta tistically. His estimate was checked against screen test case history files for 1939-40. There are thousands of these brief bio graphies in a picture company's talent office. From a leading com pany's files a substantial cross sec tion of recent case histories was taken at random. After the elim ination of those whose ages fell outside the 19-25 range, in the sample stack, there remained 1G coming within the scope of the inquiry- 1G between the ages of 19 and 25 who hail qualified for tests. Nine of the 16 had been at ten different colleges or finishing schools, their records showed, one girl listing two schools. Four men and four women pave one college reference, each. Uni versity of Virginia, Western Michi gan State Normal Cullege, Colum bia University. Dramatic school product. Of the seven who gave no col lege references, one had gone di rectly from high school to a New York dramatic school. Two others uppcarcd to have had a certain amount of college training. Of the four who definitely had come from workaday jobs or from home, two were members of theatrical fam ilies whose parents had prepared them to enter the profession. Mr. Ciovelly's 70 per cent esti mate thus was not far wrong. . "The difficult step for aspirants in any dramatic field is getting a start," Mr. Clovelly said. "Students leave courses in dramatic art ask ing, 'What do we do now'? Then the producer or screen talent of fice asks them, 'What have you done'? They are in the middle of a vicious circle. That is why we undertake such phases of training as the rudiments of trying out for jobs and why we give coaching for auditions." Sinfonia initiates 16 new members Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, national men's musie fraternity, initiated 12 new members last week, accord ing to Don Anderson, president of the chapter. The initiates are: Reiner Andreson, Bob Black, Eob Buddcnberg, Bob Gates, Albert Gregory, Cleve Gcnzlinger, Richard Koupal, Bob Krejci, AUIen Marvel, Tom Pierson, James Price, and Keith Sturdevant. GET YOUR DATE AND JOIN THE GANG "fill Uoiversity Might" FREE Tickets on Tumble Bug & Merry-Go-Round and Reduced Prices at KING'S BALLROOM CLIP THIS AD Ilrlnit In 11,-nrh UUtCP 3 VHiW for Free Tickets. ,CJJ to CLIP THIS AD .dSLfi Y and Itring to Beach Office FjRf for Free Tickets. $'U . - IJLIAiIiwAti Su. tMiriifvl I i n i Hollywood . . . Wind storm crosses sea by steam boat HIGH WIND Patrons who saw the raging Pacific storm in Paramount's "Ty phoon" can rest assured that they really saw a storm that traveled acioss water. Yes, the storm, pcr- Wit' ML "VS f Dorothy Lamour and Robert Preston so-star at the Stuart Theater in a Technicolor produc tion of "Typhoon." sonified by huge wind machines and wave making equipment ac tually travelled from Catalina Is land, where the first part of the storm was put on, to Baldwin Park, near Santa Anita race track, where the second part of the typhoon was filmed. LONG HAIR PLOTTERS William Holden is beginning to suspect that there is a conspiracy in Hollywood against him. It re volves around haircuts, and it seems that not once during the three pictures he has made has he been permitted a haircut. First, there was "Golden Boy," in which he played a fighting vio linist, and naturally couldn't be shorn. After that came "Invisible Stripes." He was a poor boy who couldn't afford a haircut. Now, Jn Paramount's "Those Were the Days," he is playing a 1904 col legion, and the director bus again banned the shearing. "Sometimes," signed Holden to day. "I envy Albert Dekker. He had to have his head completely shaved for "Dr. Cyclops." HORSE FANCIER The one man in Hollywood who legitimately could be expected to own race horses, hasn't a single one to his name, doesn't intend to own any, and rarely goes to Santa Anita. The ayer is Lynne Overman, and he could be expected to be an owner because he used to be a jockey. Until he was 18, Over man was a rider in the "leaky roof" circuit in and around his na tive state. "And that," he says, "is the rea son I am not a horse owner. I had enough of horses. Still, I do love to see a thorobred run." UTILITY IS BORN. Long time contention of Chi cago meat packers that they make use of every part of the pig ex cept the Hqueal is no longer the best criterion of efficiency, for now they even manage to use the squeal. By special arrangements with the sound departments of several of the major Htudios, the packers Movies . . . Theatre brings Lamour m new 'Lava hya sarong By Hubert Ogden. Last weekend before the finals and then vacation may be spent in part with enjoyable benefits at the Lincoln theatres which again present a variety of entertain ment. Pictures included are "Ty phoon," "Kid Nightingale," "Shooting High'' and 'Lillian Rus sell." Dorothy Lamour and Robert Preston in a technicolor filming of "Typhoon" are now showing at the Stuart. Fire, typhoon and tidal wave are brought 'together in a furious sequence, resulting in a scene where whole palm trees go hurtling by in the tropic dusk. Dorothy is shown in a new South Sea island costume, a bright swatch of cloth called a lava lava. She is cast as a young woman cast away on an island since childhood. Then Robert Preston arrives on the island and there follows an unusual love story. "Those Were the Days," the show whose preview Bettie Cox saw in Galesburg, conies to the Stuart Wednesday. John Payne as the "Kid Night ingale" and Jane Withers with Gene Autry corral a desperate band of bank robbers, break up a family feud, arrange a love match for Gene and sing as only they can. Five melodies are sprinkled throusrh this nwrnip. Gene hnv- ! are now selling the squeals, bleats, moos, and assorted grunts of their stock-in-trade, to the film pro ducers, who will keep the sounds on file, using them whene,r necessary. ing aided in the composing of three of them. Today and Saturday on the Ne braska stage is "Barn Dance in Swingtime." On the screen ia "Free, Blonde and 21" with Lynn Eari, Joan Davis, and Henry Wil coxon. Alice Faye sings her way into millions of hearts in her portrayal of Lillian Russell in the picture of the same name which features Don Ameche and Henry Fonda with her at the Lincoln. The blonde activss brings back, songs which were popularized ty X the glamorous Lillian Russell. Among them are "After the Ball Is Over," and "The Band Played On." Don Ameche sings two new songs, "Adored One" and "Blue Love Bird," which were written especially for "Lillian Russell" and styled for the picture. College men tend to marry earl ier and in larger proportion than college women, according to a survey. DCCA RECORDS 35$ S for 1.00 JUST ONK MOKK ClIANCi: I ting Crosby NO NAillK JIVK Clen (ry IMAGINATION I'Ala Fitzgerald IJLUKS IN TIIK GROOVE Jan So cit f H0W TO START YOUR SUM MR MC.i -3! WJV 1 J 4 'A I"': M 1128 "P' Depot Office: C. Phone 2 RAILWA AGENCY ust bhrne Railway Gxpm.ts. We'll ijl call for your trunks, bags, boxes and bundles. We 11 deliver dicmqtikkly and economically direct to your home, without extra charge in all cities and principal towns. Off your mind . . . out of your wy...and you can sink into your train scat with peace of mind. If you are returning to school, merely repeat. Rates are low. $ Confidential: You can send your bffiage home "collect "by convenient Railway Express. ..and the same with your weekly laundry. Just as fast, just u sure. St. Phone 2-3263 B. & Q. Depot, 7th A R Sta. 3261, Lincoln, Neb . XFRESS Inc. ,4 F4 ir.l ffiMlMOMIIlM NATION-WIDE RAIl-AU SERVICi NMIUUini TONIGHT THE ORPHEONS Present The Lincoln High School Choir in the "MIKADO" A Gilbert and Sullivan Opera FRIDAY AND SATURDAY MAY 24 & 25 LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM Admission 25c