Movies in The Sunday Mirror
This Sunday Sheila Graham's Hollywood column in the Mirror was devoted to an an interview with actress Theresa Wright and her husband, writer-producer Niven Busch. Wright, who was 27 at this time, had been nominated for Oscars for each of her first three films (winning for "Mrs Miniver"), In 1946 she starred in "The Best Years of Our Lives." Her contract was famous for barring the standard Hollywood publicity cheesecake shots of the time. Busch, about to turn 43, was a former Time editor and New Yorker writer who helped launch Wright's career. His screenplays at this time included "The Postman Always Rings Twice," about to open in New York, and "Duel in the Sun," getting heavy pre-opening publicity.
Walter Winchell plugged "Dragonwyck," in his column that day, writing that the movie "lights the fuse for a stunning display of emotional pyrotechnics." He also gave mentions to a laundry list of B-pictures, including "The Falcon's Alibi," "The Wife of Monte Christo (sic)" "She-Wolf of London," "Last Ride" and "Junior Prom," which he wrote "is replete with frantic jive cacophony that sounds like a jukebox calling to its mate." Press agents jumped through hoops and spilled secrets to get plugs from Winchell.
In his column, humorist Harry Hershfield also touted "Dragonwyck," along with "Murder in the Music Hall" and "Joe Palooka-Champ."
Lana Turner and her boyfriend made page one in the late edition. Page one of the home edition had a pin-up shot of actress Marjorie Woodworth, touted as the new Jean Harlow, and according to the caption, about to be married. Despite a big buildup from Hal Roach, the shapely actress never caught on with moviegoers. The home edition also had a picture of actor Craig Reynolds with his wife and son. According to the captions the actor, who had suffered a leg injury at Guadalcanal, had decided to give up on his Hollywood career to find more lucrative employment to support his family. (Reynolds, who seemed to have had a greater presence in the gossip columns and fan magazines than in movies, suffered a number of postwar setbacks, including a divorce, before his death in 1949 from injuries sustained in a traffic accident)