 Bidwell McCormick takes you behind the scenes in Hollywood. Nearly everyone has some idea of how cartoon motion pictures are made. That is, they know that the action for these pictures is first drawn, then one drawing is photographed at a time with slight changes in action until the completed sequences are finished and when projected upon the screen it develops into a life-like animation. But what everyone does not realize is the tremendous amount of precision mathematics involved and the detailed planning which must be done before a single drawing is made or a single foot of film is exposed. For instance, behind the whimsical, delightful Disney characters is the guiding genius of their creator, Walt. However, with all their simplicity and spontaneous charm each star of the Disney lot has been conceived in absolute mathematics, cold science and rigid discipline. Nathan, you have the full story of this interesting phase of animated cartoon production. Suppose you tell our listeners about it. Well, every film starts with a story idea. On the Disney lot in conference between Walt and the story department personnel the basic progress of the plot is outlined. And then the work really begins. In the meeting with Disney or his production supervisor musical director, layout experts, background artists and top animators they plan each sequence, draw each character and develop its personality. By the time they finish directions have been written down to cover such details as the angle of Donald's neck in relation to the rest of his body when he's fallen flat on his face. At this point there occurs what seems to be the most surprising step in the process. The animation outlined is turned over to the music department and no further work is done until a musical score has been prepared. The explanation, though, is simple. The most difficult part of producing an animated picture is synchronizing motion and sound. If Donald, for instance, is to fall down a flight of stairs the tumble is accompanied by music and the fall must correspond to the rhythm of the sound. This coordination is a matter of mathematics. In Donald's fall the music is timed after being written. Using a metronome the artist determines the speed at which he must tumble the emphasis in his fall and the final third as he lands at the bottom of the steps. Then they must apportion the fall to cover that many exposures. Of course the music can be rewritten to fit the action but this is done only when some afterthought in animation is too good to be discarded. In the final form before filming the pictures are drawn on celluloid. Disney's artists are specialists in different types of drawing. Some excel in sketching animals. Others are particularly good with people and the fort of others may be interiors, landscapes, boats, and etc. And their genius all adds up to the final composite picture. Then Nathan, the man at the drawing board, must be an actor and a vision to it being an artist, mustn't he? He must know how he would time it himself if he were to perform a certain action and must know the physics of movement. Take as an example a bouncing ball. The ball starts its downward path slowly, gains momentum as it approaches the ground and slows again as on the rebound it returns to its original height. In animation the space between the balls on each succeeding drawing is buried to show the changes in speed. Details of costumes in background are kept at a minimum. For instance the fewest number of buttons are used, usually only three. One more on Donald's coat would mean drawing 1,440 buttons for each minute's running time. In fact audiences fail to notice that most of Disney's animated characters have only four fingers. And did you know man array that three layers of celluloid are used for movement? First is the celluloid on which the characters are drawn, then there's the background and if necessary overlays are employed. For instance in a scene from the three Caballeros showing Donald Duck, Joe Carioca, and Panchito riding a magic flying serape on their swashbuckling trip over Latin America we have the three pals and the serape on one panel the villies there approaching on another and on the third the trees through which they glide to a landing. These layers are called cells and are placed at different levels and then are shot by the multi-plane camera to give the finished picture an illusion of perspective. This photography is accomplished at the speed of approximately 15 feet per hour. Thank you Nathan, that was an interesting story and this brings us to the new Disney process that permits Donald Duck and his pals to appear in the same scenes with human beings. That however is a studio secret and even Donald happily launched on a romantic career refuses to talk about the technique and when Donald won't talk, that's something. And now 60 seconds for your local announcer. And here now are a few production briefs from behind the scenes in Hollywood presented by Nathan Hale and Manor Ray Ewell. Rudy Valley has been signed by RKO Radio for a top spot in Man Alive. It's a romantic comedy dealing with a man believed dead who comes to spy on his wife's efforts to commune with the spirits. Jack Haley has also been signed to a new contract calling for one picture annually for two years. This doesn't include his current assignment in George White's scandals of 1945 in which he co-stars with Joan Davis. Lauren Backall has been awarded the silver statuette of the Dorothy Preble Model Association for being the model of the year. The award is the first of an annual series which will recognize successful actors and actresses who entered films by way of the modeling profession. Miss Backall was cited for her performance in the feminine lead opposite Humphrey Bogart in Warner Brothers 2 Have and Have Not. Metro Golden Mayor has announced the purchase of another novel by McKinley Cantor. This one titled The Romance of Rosie Ridge. It's a story of the period following the Civil War in which a close parallel will be drawn with our own future post-war days. Producer Jack Cummings will launch the production with a stellar cast. Previous Cantor stories bought by MGM included The Voice of Bugalan, Val Dictory, The Man from Dakota, and Gentle Annie. The latter has recently been completed with James Craig and Donna Reed. DeWitt Bodine, just back in Hollywood after a four-week vacation in New York, will write the screen adaptation of The Fabulous Invalid for RKO Radio. It's a play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Nathan, are you overweight? Do you want to reduce? Simple. Just follow me to the set of Warner Brothers' God is My Co-Pilot, where Leroy Prince is rehearsing an ensemble of Hindu dancers for the Oriental production number. These native dancers have such control over their muscles that they raise one shoulder without moving the other, lift one eyebrow while the other is completely stationary, and shake one hip while the other is in a total state of inertia. That's what gives them those slim, graceful bodies, as Marie Genitian, now engaged by Warners, as technical advisor of customs and locale of India. She then went on to explain that from early childhood Indians are regimented into a planned system of intricate and complicated exercises. You'll have to look far and wide in India to find a native fat person. Robert Fellows, whose option has just been lifted by RKO Radio, is now on his third year as an executive producer with this studio. His two recent productions are Experiment Paralysis, co-starring Hedy Lamar, George Brent and Paul Lucas, and Having Wonderful Crime, soon to have its Broadway premiere with Pat O'Brien, George Murphy, and Carol Landis as co-stars. Ramsey Ames pin-up Beauty Extraordinary, who once toured U.S. night spots with her own rumba band, has signed a long term with Warner Brothers. Also, Betty Davis is back on the Warner Brothers lot for huddles on her next picture, Stolen Life. Lee Patrick has signed for an important role in Mildred Pierce, in which Joan Crawford is starred with Jack Carson. Dave Willick, Carson's former vaudeville partner, also on his air show, gets a featured role in This Love of Hours. A short former with a lavish look describes the dress designed by Milo Anderson for Geraldine Fitzgerald to wear in the new Warner Brothers film Nobody Lives Forever. The dress of powder-blue satin has a crystal-beaded top with drape panel down the front of the skirt showing the same beaded treatment. Bob Arthur, 19, of Aberdeen, Washington, came south for some Hollywood sunshine following his medical discharge from the U.S. Navy. And before he could say, The Port Your Starboard found himself kissing Roslyn Russell in a scene from Roughly Speaking at Warner Brothers. Young was discovered by producer Henry Blank as the ex-soldier got off a streetcar preparatory to gawking along Hollywood Boulevard. In a matter of moments, Arthur had a contract to portray Miss Russell's son in the picture. He wasn't even looking for work, let alone a screen contract. We are trying each week in this series to bring you interesting facts about motion pictures, Hollywood studios, and what the stars are doing. And since this program is for your entertainment, you will help us to select the material you like most to hear if you will drop me a postcard. Just address it to Bidwell McCormick, Box 2941 Hollywood, or in care of this station. And now a word from your local announcer. In this week's edition of Behind the Scenes in Hollywood, my associates and I have personality close-ups of two very interesting people. In this manner, I will give you a thumbnail biography of Hedy Lamar, and then Nathan Hale will bring you Danny Kay's own incredible success story. Hedy Lamar doesn't underrate beauty, for that it'd be silly. But she does think it can be overemphasized. Millions of fans have come to look upon hers the personification of glamorous beauty to the exclusion of her capabilities as an actress. I'm an actress, she points out, and when you're labeled with an adjective like glamorous, you're acting as apt to get put in the background. A concert musician wouldn't be particularly pleased if the critics noticed only his clothes, his features, or his haircut. He wants to be judged by his ability as an artist, and so do I. She is outspoken, frank, friendly, and thoroughly honest with herself. Of one screen role which the critics generally praised highly, they said, several other girls could have done it better. And so could I if I had to do it over again. As a housekeeper, she considers herself good, but doesn't think much of her own cooking. When working on a picture, she has lunch with her dialogue coach and close friend, Ruth Roberts, her hairstylist, Blanche Smith, and the script girl. They take turns fixing the lunch, and when it's head-eastern, she has to put up with loud and funny complaints about her cooking. She admits that it's likely to be unpredictable, but insists that at least it's exciting and has personality. Heady is devoted to America and Americans and thinks American women are the most attractive and well-dressed in the world. She has no desire to return to Europe except to visit old friends in Vienna. If she adds grimly, they are still alive. Her slight accent becomes noticeable only when she becomes excited or especially amused, and she gives full credit for this to Ruth Roberts, who taught her English and eradicated her accent. Without being pryingly curious, she is genuinely interested in other people's problems, is tolerant and lists as her pet aversion foreigners who criticize America while enjoying its hospitality. When asked what she wanted most in life, she replied unhesitatingly, a free word for my son to grow up in. Yes, sir. From Broadway obscurity to Markey matched the fame in 12 months, is the sensational record made by comedian Danny Kay. Kay was recruited by producer Goldman from the stage play Let's Face It. The play ran 16 months with Kay doing 552 performances, but between January 18th, 1913, when he was born on New York's famous East Side, and 1943 when he left the show, there's a lot to be told. Danny was something of a neighborhood party entertainer when he was only five, sponsored, of course, by his proud parents. Then there was a minstrel show at Public School 149 where he was a pick and any, representing a seed in a big slice of watermelon. He did all right, too, although his hair was very red in his eyes. Ears, I should say, were very white. After attending Thomas Jefferson High School, he went to work for an insurance company, until he made a mistake that cost the company supposedly $40,000. His next job was an entertainer for the summer camps in the Catskills. He waited on tables, took part in some professional plays and musicals. He started at $200 a season and worked up to $1,000 in five seasons. His fourth season, and Dave Harvey and Kathleen Young, professional dancers, taught him to move his feet rhythmically. They made up an act which was a hit and which landed in an A-Beam Marcus musical unit show, starting a tour of 41 night stands to San Francisco with Tokyo with its ultimate destination. With them sailed Mrs. Marcus's dog, which was responsible for having the troop barred from Australia when Mrs. Marcus refused to leave it in quarantine. It was in Tokyo that he first began to piece together a style that he now uses in most of his numbers. Back from the Orient, Danny got a job in New York as a stooge in the act of Nick Long Jr. at the Casa Manana, playing eight weeks with Abe Lyman. Another foreign interlude followed in London, home again on another season on the country circuit. Danny on January 3rd, 1940, married Miss Sylvia Fine. They had a capital of either $70 or minus 10 between them. Sylvia had 30, but Danny wasn't sure whether he had 40 or owed 40. Meanwhile, one of Danny's numbers, Anatole of Paris, caught on at the nightclubs, which got him signed in a featured role on Broadway in Lady in the Dark. Then in Boston, the Boston Colonial Theater, came Danny's big moment. His great success in Lady in the Dark would have satisfied most artists, but in addition to his work at the theater, Danny with the assistance of Sylvia Fine doubled at La Martinique nightclub. For three and one-half months, he stopped everything in cafe entertainments, and went into the Paramount Theater, where he became the first comedian to remain there for five consecutive weeks. At the end of this engagement, Kay starred in the Cole Porter, Dorothy and Herbert Fields musical comedy, Let's Face It. Thus having completed in one year the first phase of his fabulous jump from obscurity to stardom. Listen in again next week, when Bidwell McCormick again takes you behind the scenes in Hollywood.