Johnny Dark Movie Book

108 Director Sherman arranged a pleasant surprise for Miss Laurie when, during location shooting at Lake Ta- hoe, he surreptitiously arranged for the star ’ s mother, Mrs. Charlotte Jacobs, to appear with her in one sce- ne in which she stands in line to wait for an autograph. Don Taylor, recently seen with Bill Holden in “ Stalag 17,” appears as Tony ’ s war - time buddy, Duke Benson, a test driver, who vies with him for the affections of Miss Laurie. Taylor was borrowed from his home lot, Paramount, for the assignment. The impressive supporting cast reads like a Broadway “ Who ’ s Who. ” Paul Kelly, seen as Jim Scott, chief engineer at the plant, was the first child star in motion pictures, going back to the old Vitagraph days when the Kelly family lived across the street from the studio in Flatbush, Brooklyn, where Kelly was born. He be- came known as “ The Vitagraph Boy. ” Later he appeared in the first two - reeler ever made, “ Billie ’ s Bur- glar. ” In recent years he has appeared in numerous hit plays in Gotham. Ilka Chase, cast as Abbie Binns, a private secretary at the plant, is one of New York ’ s most talented citi- zens, being recognized as an actress - lecturer - novelist - wit. The assignment in “ Johnny Dark ” marks her ini- tial screen role since “ Miss Tatlock ’ s Millions. ” On Broadway she made a memorable performance as harp- ish Sylvia Fowler in “ The Women. ” She is currently engaged, in her spare moments, in the completion of a biography of her mother, Edna Woolman Chase, for more than 40 years the editor of Vogue magazine. Sidney Blackmer, portraying James Fielding, the plant owner, won both the coveted Donaldson Award, and the Antoinette Perry “ Tony ” for his work in “ Come Back Little Sheba, ” which ran for more than a year on Broadway. Although he and Kelly have been close personal friends for many years, they had never before appeared together in a film. Ruth Hampton, the brunette beauty who was named “ Miss New Jersey ” in the 1952 Miss Universe Contest, reaches the screen in the role of Miss Border - to - Border, official queen of the big auto race. One of the unscheduled performances in “ Johnny Dark ” was that of Senator Pat McCarran, of Nevada, who was in Reno at the time the company located there, and who was persuaded by director Sherman to ap- pear as himself in the film, serving as official starter for the first leg of the race.