Theatre Arts (August 1951) [Hollywood Issue]

Chicago: John D. MacArthur. Very Good. 1951. (Vol. XXXV, No. 8). Magazine. [some edge- and surface-wear to covers, vertical crease down middle of front cover, old subscription label (with name blacked out) on rear cover]. (B&W photographs A jam-packed issue with numerous articles and features about films, filmmakers, and other aspects of what the editors considered "Hollywood"-ish -- really a lot of great content in just 104 pages. A primary feature is the full screenplay of John Ford's 1935 film THE INFORMER, with an analysis by John Gassner. The issue also includes contributions by: Mel Ferrer (about the La Jolla Playhouse); David Wayne ("Acting for the Screen"); Sidney Sheldon ("The Hollywood Writer"); Gilbert Seldes ("A Short Angry View of Film Censorship"); John Houseman (about the "Drama Quartette" recently presented on stage by Charles Laughton, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Agnes Moorehead, and Charles Boyer); Emily Genauer ("The Art Film"); Arthur Knight ("Up from Disney," an article about the UPA animation studio); and John Gassner (Part 3 of an analysis of the works of playwright Sean O'Casey). There are profiles of Jean Renoir, Ina Claire, and Danny Kaye. Alfred Hitchcock's STRANGERS ON A TRAIN is discussed at some length, and there's also an interesting review of Nathanael West's "The Day of the Locust" (which had just then been re-issued by New Directions), accompanied by somewhat grotesque drawings of the novel's main characters by Arline and Marvin Oberman. There's a discussion of musical presentations at the Hollywood Bowl, and even an article about television shows then being produced in Hollywood. .