The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 27, 1926, Page 13

A PEEK EACH WEEK AT MOTION PICTURES “THE TEMPTRESS” Greta Garbo, Antonio Moreno and a first rate director have made a suc- cess of this picture despite Blasco Ibanez, The sing of the story (and it’s a story of sins) are many. So many in fact, that the whole business is hardly worth recounting, If you have read any Blasco Ibanez drivel, you &@re acquainted with the theme: a story of “unrestrained passion,” a beautiful woman who plays hel] with the lives of more than one man, whose nature “god given or by the devil’ (that stuff still goes!) is such that she drives men to a passion of some hundreds degrees Fahrenheit. In ad- dition to the high temperature of the story, the plot moves fast tho in devious ways. That’s what that is. Greta Garbo is something else again. This beautiful woman is also an actress. Tho only in her second American picture she seems sure of a gold-lined future, Antonio Moreno is fully as deserving. He gives a characterization, which like that of Greta Garbo’s, helps to get conviction despite the unconvincing hokum of the plot. Lionel Barrymore is also in the cast —as are one or two other movie not- ables, The supporting cast is one that lifts the whole production far above the average. The direction is a first rate job. The picture as a whole has both brains and bank-account and all the resources of motion pictures. Given an honest story to tell, we would have had something very much more worthy. Motion picture art has made no pro- gress with the making of this film. But motion picture profits are sure to be swollen, “The Temptress” with its many worth-while features, plus the highly-headed hokum should prove a first-rate box office attraction. It has color, movement, adventure and passion—glorified with a mention or two of God himself and some beauti- ful photography. All the great ad- vances of the motion picture are in- cluded in “The Temptress.” The picture (showing at the Roose- velt) is well worth seeing. It is not one of the truly good pictures.. But in comparison with the great major- ity of the super-heated holy halleluja we are usually asked to swallow, and unconvincing as is “The Temptress,” you will find it entertainment worth the modest price of admission. Ww. C. e - THE THEATER A NEW THEATER IN NEW YORK Like the “Dog Bites Man” story, the inauguration of a new theater ‘in New York is not news. But a new theater has been inaugurated in New York—in America. And it is news. It is tot a commercial theater. It is not an “art” theater. It is not a “little” theater. It is something more vital than any of these. It is a workers’ theater. The first true workers’ theater on this side of the Atlantic. It is called (at present) The Workers’ Drama League. America, thank god, has no Gordon Craig to tell it its need for a national theater, America had no Romain Rol- land to tell it its need for a “peoples” theater. But America has workers. And these workers found the need of a theater to link their struggle in shop and field and mine. I say this is a true workers’ thea- ter, because theaters or rather dra- matic societies in the past and even in the present were and are “doing shows” for workers. Shows which generally depict the virtues of the poor and lowly workingman. The pro- letarian artist has gotten rid of the paper-cap working man. ~The prole tarian theater must get rid of the sen- timental weaver. The workingman in the arts, like in the economic field, must become a conscious power. I predict the day when there will be snot one, but a hundred workers’ theaters in America, The theater Greta Nissen, Scandinavian beauty, In a new film, “The Popular Sin,” now showing at The Oriental, where Paul Ash, jazz king, presides. A DOZEN IN BRIEF Breaking Chains—A Russian made movie masterpiece to be shown at the Douglas Park Auditorium Fri- day, December 3. The Black Pirate—Fairbanks, the gymnastic pirate. Eagle of the Sea—Piracy not so gymnastic. Don Juan — Barrymore bares his Passion. It's bearable. With the Vitaphone (McVicker’s). The Strong Man—A fairly good comic. The Better ’Ole—Syd Chaplin makes warfare a laughing matter. With the second Vitaphone performance (Woods, Dec. 2). Variety—One of the best ever made. London—Should have stayed there. Subway Sadie—The kid's clever (Ti- voll ) Men of Steel—Molasses. Slums of Berlin—Slumeullion. Passaic Strike—A striking picture. Don't miss it. must become the vital power that it ‘is in Russia. For the theater is the greatest power in which to express the emotions of the workers. What has the worker to gain from the present commercial or art theater? In one he sees a false presentation of life: the poor mechanic finally reaches success and marries the boss’ daughter. The other theater is too cerebral, highbrow, as he calls it. And he calls it so justly. What has the worker to do with one suffering from an exagger- ated weltschmertz? ‘The other thea- ters that are left to him are the vaudeville and burlesque sliows which act like an opiate upon him. Yes! I say the workers of America have need of a workers’ theater, The workers of America need hundreds of workers’ theaters, But this is only a start. A small but very significant start in the forming the country over of American proletcult theaters. May this theater, The Workers Drama League, be supported by those for whom it was conceived. —Max Geitman, Note; The first production of the Workers Drama League will be “The Biggest Boob in the World.” A play by a young German Communist, Karl Wittfogell. The play has been trans- lated into Hnglish by Upton Sinclair. It will be shown on the evenings of Dec, 4, 8 and 10 at the Church of All Nations, 9 Second Ave., N, Y. ARTICLE If By WILLIAM BOUCK Now let us take a glance farmers’ efforts to organize, First he was herded into an organ ization by officers of the agricultural department in Washington. This af- terward grew, and was called the Grange. Its co-operative efforts avail- ed for several years. Then under the exploiting policy of this country these farmers fell victims to their own ig- norance, viz., that a producer could live and prosper under a system which pyramided all his vast surplus which his poor marketing conditions gave to the other fellow upon his shoulders, as dividends and rent and interest which he had to pay. the other fellow for taking it away from him. Then came other organizations, all with the same holy belief in the sanc- tity of American explojting methods, and they with the Grange have passed into that state which means no re- turn. Then in the early 80’s of the last century an organization, more virile and more aggressive, came about on the western plains called the Farmers Alliance, which afterward merged in- to the Populist party. It had a pro- gram and an aggressive policy. It succeeded in electing numerous sena- tors and congressmen, cayried several states and governed them for several years, But instead of going on clearly to a workers’ government it became befogged with success and quick achievement and “fused” with the aristocratic democratic party in 1896— and lost what independent policy it had. It too became a memory. Not, however, until it had left as a legacy in several western states the | principle of direct legislation, which is the direct outgrowth of populist teachings, and has in one way and another got into the constitutions of many of our states. Passed away! Yes, it did not see the condition, or its cause clearly and made no great effort to fundamentally change the basic law of our country from a capitalist character to a co- operative commonwealth of which it talked a great deal. Yet the Peoples’ Party was a real | effort of American farmers to take con- trol of government for the producers. Then about 1914-15, the North Da- kota farmers led by A. C. Townley, Lemke and others came back with a new and aggressive force in the repub- lican party—for let it be known the Non-Partisan League was not an inde- pendent economic organization. It was an effort to capture the repub- at the Z| lican party by one faction—and did for the time succeed in doing so with the North Dakota republican party. Mr. Townley’s whole program was to keep away from being radical, from The Farmer--As He Is organizing a new party, from being anything but regular, dyed-in-the-wool capitalists, and his teaching was at the beginning: “Don’t try to scare _ {the farmers by organizing new parties. It can’t be done. Steal their party and make it do what we farmers want to be done.” Time and time again |their organizers reiterated that prin- ciple. Again here was an aggressive, new- ly built, up-todate party, teaching |farmers that they could gain their ends and still not disturb these divi- dends—rent-interest-surplus, pyramid- ed upon their backs and ever becom- ing heavier, And the Non-Partisan league wasted tons of ink and carloads of paper de- fending their loyalty and urging oth- ers to buy Liberty bonds and so forth, and again and again defended their loyalty to this present capitalist ré- gime. It must not be understood, however, that it was a mossy-foot organization. They DID start out with a state so- cialist program. They did get as far as erecting a state mill and elevator. They did force state hail insurance. They did establish a state bank, and several minor functions. ~ They did stay with the republican party. They did endorse Coolidge by their state campaign committee of the republi- can party which they controlled four to one, or state central committee properly speaking. They have this year degenerated into endorsing the whole state republican ticket, altho half of them are I. V. A.’s—old guard republicans. And this same republi- can administration which they elected two years ago is now sabotaging their mills and elevators at every turn. The governor whom they elected Says there is no cause for any dis- agreement between the farmers and the business interests. Everything is now harmonious, and any intelligent person knows what that means. The same administration has also curtailed the functions of their state bank until! it is now merely a farm-loan bank. Altho the purpose when established was to make it a general bank and establish branches in every county. Such is capitalism in the United States. You tell me, dear reader, if the pro- ducer can beat its game of surplus pyramiding upon the farmers’ backs? And the fundamental teaching of the Non-Partisan League was that a farmer could still be under that load and win. That was its fatal defect, and that’s why it’s where it is to-day, an asset to capitalist politicians, like Governor Sorlie. * * ¢ Another article by William Bouck will appear in next week’@ New Magazine, 2 ; THE TINY WORKER A Weekly. Editor, Margaret Johnson, Ashland, Wis. Johnny Red, Assistant Editor. Vol, 1. Saturday, November 27, 1926. . No. 7 BEY_WHATS A a He works and I hate the bira eck, He simply loves his He's solid above his neck, To Labor he’s a loss. “Aw, e’mon and bed, won't you, mother?” Rosie Red 2. asked He sn itches on others, He's ret a big Bab, He hates his broth ers, He’s a dirty... ? —_— for her—all That’s go0od,| and Johnny — welcome to "the TINY wo » Come the cat bgp saya aw cat is thin e. HEY TINY 1 REDS! We arn't telling “Now, that's the talists By MARGARET JOHNSON Ashland, Wis. “No, Rosie, I'll tell you a story in- stead,’ her mother answered, “Did you notice our homely doesrt look so nice because she hasn't time to wash her face? The beautiful cat makes the other cat get all the food everything. “The homely cat is so humble, she just works and works for the lazy cat capt and the workers. workers don’t know a yet—but Who hates the Red He has a head That's almost dead. He Rose! other FUNNYBIRD that's sent in by ALEC BOYD Tuscan, Arizona. DON'T MISS IT! A FUNNYBIRD is Peggy Jinks, She never reads and never thinks! sing before I go to cat the rats and mice WHO'S NEXT? Johnny Red is still waiting for a batch of good stuff from any group of young PIONEERS. is so fat-and the and hungry all the same way with the ‘The If they sénd in ex: what it is.| When they learn and organize—there | enough at one time But we have some-| will be a different story to tell.” we will print a thing serumptious — SPECIAL EDI- for next week. be ae pees, you'd better vay: bed. aon « yp Boy—you sure Johnny is sleeping already and prob- NX 4 2} like it, It's the] ably dreaming about bosses and other | FOR THEM, Are berries! pirates." you ready? OO LLL LL LLL LN ae