Friday, October 21,
Behind The Scenes During the Making of the Best of Comedies Here's what the camera behind the
cameras and microphones caught during the filming of "You Can't Take It With You," which should
top the 'Best 10' and which comes to the Grand screen Friday.
Director Frank Capra Tells
How He Picks Perfect Casts
Principals In Prank Capra'a
"You Can't Take It With You,"
which opens today at the
Grand Theatre, ire Jean Ar
thur, Lionel Barrymore, Jamea
Stewart and Edward Arnold.
George 8. Kaufman and Moss
Hart wrote the original Pulitzer
Prize play, which Robert Rla
kin adapted to the screen for
Columbia.
1938
l" viHik Vi - ' V f 1 ill '
By Frank
(Academy Award Winner, President of
Art and Sciences and Director of "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," "Lost Horl;
ion" and "You Can't Tave It With You.'!
I've been asked, what makes
the big stars who have come under my direction convince me
that the greatest asset an aspiring screen actor can have is
the ability to express natural characteristics of sincerity. The
best person to play a Chinaman is
to play a grouchy old man is a grouchy old man. The less a
man or woman has to make over his own personality to por
tray a character on the screen,
an outstanding performance. In the
final analysis, I believe that good
casting makes stars.
A good example of a star who
scored success by living the part is
that of Gary Cooper in "Mr. Deeds
Goes to Town." Gary Cooper was
Mr. Deeds. Without his complete un
derstanding of the inner psychology
of the character Gary could never
have conveyed the splendid convic
tion to his audiences that he did. i
Can't Fool Camera
You cannot fool a motion picture
comera. Natural behavior shows
through labored histrionics like gold
through dross.
Let's take a look at the case of
Clark Gable. I had never met Gable
before he walked into the studio to
make "It Happened One Night." The
Gable I saw was not the Gable of
the screen. It was apparent that the
real Clark had not been photograph
ed. Perhaps he had been so Keenly
aware of his screen reputation that
he had tightened up before the-camera.
His flair for light comedy and
his great personal charm had been
missed. The Gable I saw was a more
likeable fellow. He was una i foe ted
easy and humble. It was a person
quite different from the aggressive
physical specimen we had seen up
to that time.
His performance In It Happened
One Night" won him the award of
the Motion Picture Academy for the
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Caprm
the Academy of Motion Picture
a star? My observations of
a Chinaman. The best actor
the better are the chances of
best acting performance of the year.
The truth of the matter is that he
wasn't acting at all.
I attribute no small measure of
whatever success my pictures have
had to perfect casting. The cases of
Cooper and Gable are examples of
my argument. Every actor is best
when he is expressing himself In the
type to which he is born
That Is why, after long de liber a
tion and tests of every actor who
was suggested as a possibility for
the part, I selected Lionel Barry-
more to play Grandpa Vanderhof in
"Yo uCan't Take It With You."
Mr. Deeds' Grandfather
For "You Can't Take It With
You" I had to find a man who was
really Grandpa inside. After read
lng Robert Rlskin's screenplay
suddenly realized just whom we
should look for the grandfather ot
Mr. Deeds. We persuaded M r Bar
ry more to be tested for the part,
and as soon as he stepped before
the camera I knew that Grandpa
had been found.
Prank Capra's production of "You
Can't Take It With You" Is showing
locally at ti e Grand theatre. Sup
porting Arthur, Barry more, Stew
art and Arnold Is a strong cast of
favorites Including Mlscha Auer,
Ann Miller, Spring By lng ton. Mary
Forbes, H. B. Warner. Halllwell
Hobbes and Donald Meek.
NEYV
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itSdHawmoit
The Capital Journal, Salem,
LIONEL BARRYMORE
in his most lovable role as
Grandpa Vanderhof, who
quit, work for fun !
MISCHAAUER W W Affi M ANN MILLER
K07n'fehov"Rus0sian M4i (ffljM 3i&lWi3 'iWAi " wftl toCacha1.
dancing teacher.. I KlAi (-" f tvW who dances for joy I
j jpmm f:
SPRING BYINGTON k LL J I ' I LL J I I V M i 1 I I Nl toALDMMK
delicious as Penny Kr Iflll III- ill excruciating as Mr.
Sycamore ... who'd K lilt I I I I 1 A I Poppini, inventor o
love to be a writer I UU Villi 1 I II j ly very 4ay 4adets,
H. B. WARNER J HALLIWELL HOBBES
powerful as Ramsey, SSt VyV "slyL? inimitable as that ice
paying the price of fv5Si. I mtn, Mr. DePlnna,
6ghting Wealth 1 p Vy j who just stayed onl
W)( 6 iJTZlIl) I iX)I7
Oregon
JAMES STEWART
as Tony Kirby, the rich man's
son who'd rather be a poor
girl's husband!
JEAN ARTHUR
more adorable than ever as
Alice Sycamore, who's crazy
about the boss' son I
5even
EDWARD ARNOLD
as Wall St. Tycoon Kirby. . . '
who learns the best things in
life are free!