The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 14, 1927, Page 11

ew ee oor On the Screen ee eT ee wm oe eo eer oor CHANG Here is a pieture of the primitive struggle for existence in Northern Siam, more thrilling than any pic- ture of adventure. Not as fine a work as “Grass,” it is intensely dramatic and surely worth seeing. No trained actors take part in it. The story is a birds-eye view of the struggle of a Siamese family to main- tain existence in the jungle. The struggle for food, the dangers of wild animals, their superstitions and the intimate family life are beautifully, vividly portrayed and worth the ten best books ever written on the sub- ject. Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoed- sack, the same men who produced “Grass,” are responsible for this film. The work is the result of nearly two years of life with the natives, a study of their means of livelihood and its dramatic presentation. It was a courageous, dangerotis task no doubt. A scene of a tiger hunt at which a native in escaping falls before an at- tacking tiger is breath-taking. Treed, the native, faces a tiger who succeeds in climbing within reach. The camera records this so closely that the head of the tiger rushes full into the screen in all its beautiful viciousness. There is a splendidly portrayed at- tack of an elephant herd on a village which it demolishes into shreds. The daring photographers have not only succeeded in picturing this from many angles but have actually brought the colossal immensity of these tons of moving beasts to our vision in un- usual photographs taken from a pit over which the elephant stampede moved. You sec the fast moving mammoths rushing overhead and seemingly thru the screen into the audience. Unusually realistic action is achieved by the projection of these &cenes in double the usual size of the balance of the picture. It .is surely as dramatic a thing as has ever been presented in motion pictures. The film has more than dramatic interest. There is also a generous share of comedy contributed by a na- tural born comedian—a white monkey. | Pet of the family, this ancestor of ours goes thru all the trials of the native family, sharing their dangers and comforts. When the home is de- molished by an elephant and the fam- ily escapes into the jungle to face the dangers of wild animals, the mon- key pursued by a leopard and assist- ed by the clever sub-titles of Achmed Abdullah, the novelist) is as gooff"a bit of nervous comedy as fou have ever worriedly laughed over. After seeing the picture I’m sure some en- me me tion with Liféin Jungles a hon — —— terprising comedy producer will go clear to Siam to sign the monk. There is comedy and drama to the picture. So much so that both over- shadow and overcolor the interest- ing facts of the struggle for exist- ence. Since “Grass,” splendid tho it was, did not prove a paying proposi- a tabloid-reading, jaded, thrill-seeking public, the producers of the picture were forced in a measure to play up the dramatic end to “give the public what it wants’—and the profits the producer insists on. The enthusiastic, proof conclusive that this surely is a good box-office bet. Whatever faults “Chang” may have, it is truly splen- did entertainment, ees The producers request the patrons not to divulge the meaning of the word “Chang.” This title is derived from a character and incident in the picture. Inasmuch as the producers went to a great deal of effort to build up this sequence as a dramatic sur- prise, and in justice to them and to - all those who come to see the picture” —we are letting the producers get away with it, for we feel it is worth paying six-bits (on week days) to find the answer at the Rivoli Theatre in New York—and wherever else it may be showing.—W. C. i ee ee | Grand Street. ment of the or two. Follies of 1927.” by Max Ewing. Bratt, Roche. by Alvine Bernstein. May reaching the official Washington. making. crowded theatre “was ing imported. tures. erous theatres are Playhouse Production | Opens Thursday | | With the opening of “The Grand Street Follies” next Thursday night, the Neighborhood Playhouse will bid farewell to their little theatre on The present produc- | tion may play but two weeks, after which it may be moved to an uptown house, but not under the manage- Neighborhood group. That organization will end its career for the present—maybe for a year | And so on Thursday evening, the | Neighborhogd Playhouse | will be seen in “The Grand Street | The lyrics for this fifth production of the Follies Series | are by Agnes Morgan, and the music | In the cast are; Al- | bert Carroll, Dorothy Sands, Paula Trueman, Lily Lubell, Blanche Tal- mud, Mare Loebell, Otto Hulicfus, George Heller, Sadie Sussman, George Noble and John F. The setting and costumes are Movies an Organic Part Of the Russian People The Union of Socialist Soviet Re- publies is very active in the develop- ment of its film industry, and striv- ing hard to bring the production to the highest point according to advice channels in Special articles are ap- pearing in the magazines of the vari- ous countries of Europe, praising the rapid strides made in the Union in the development of film According to the news gathered from abroad, very few films are be- And the Soviet film makers are concentrating on build- ing their own mechanical apparatus for taking and projecting the pic- This has been brought about by the Soviet Regime because of its conception of the Cinema “as an organic part of the-life of the people, instead of being as in Western Eu- rope and America merely an amuse- ment program. Moving pictures are a necessity and not a luxury.” Every hamlet in the vast territory of the country now goes to see pictures made in U.S.S.R. Not only in the large centres like Moscow and Lenin- grad, but in the smaller cities, num- in operation. Where no theaters exist the films are shown in tents or in the open. Pewee Vins DUDLEY DIGGS Company Gives a masterly performance as | the conservative middle-class hus- band in “Mr. Pim Passes By,” Milne’s delightful comedy at the Gar- rick theatre. | } aa ee ee eee ‘|==—=Screen Notes==| The Western premiere of Ceeil B. De Mille’s, “The King of Kings” will take place May 18th at Grauman’s new Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Special benefit performances for the relief of the Mississippi River flood sufferers will be given tonight at the Warner and Colony Theatres. John Barrymore in “When A Man Loves,” with Dolores Costello is at the former and Syd Chaplin in “The Missing Link,” at the latter house, The special showings begin at mié night. Soviet A first showing of the new film “Jrish Hearts,” featuring May Me- Avoy will take place at the Moss’ Broadway theatre beginning Monday. Melville Crosmar is the author. . Beginning today the Cameo theatre will revive “The Dark Angel.” Vil- ma Banky and Ronald Colman play the principal roles. Another Russian picture “The Legend of the Bear’s Wedding,” the story of a nobleman afflicted with bearphobia, due to prenatural causes, is due here at the end of this month. The film adaptation of this legend, made by Amkino, the producers of “Potemkin,” will have its American. premiere at the opening of the Fifty- fifth Street Cinema, a new little play- house. THE NEW OPEN SHOP DRIVE (Continued from page 3) up their complaints, group insurance and sick bene- fit schemes, bonus and profit-sharing schemes and many other forms of subtle bribery to divert them from real unionism. The workers for lack of any- thing better, and in face of the inactivity of the A. F. of L., took what they could get. Thus, instead of the growth of unionism during this prosperity period, the bosses gave the workers company unions, while Woll & Company were busy in banking, in- surance and fighting the reds. Is it not a tragedy to have a labor movement of three million living thru a prosperity period and the only notable effort of organizing the unorganized was Passaic, and that was started in spite of the A. F. of L, bureaucracy and was fought by thera in true strike-breaking style. To organize the unor- ganized at this time would however more than ever jeopardize most seriously the imperialistic program to which the A. F. of L. leadership is committed. The orientation of the A. F, of L. leadership is not on the basis of the great masses of workers skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled, working in industries unfavorably situated, affected by imperialist pros- perity, but on the basis of those favorably affected. The prosperity of the building and printing trades was due to the enormous surplus the bosses had ~ which they preferred to hand out to the workers in- stead of risking the struggle. In these trades ilass- collaboration can be made to look like a success to politically backward workers. It is quite some time sinee the A. F. of L. erientation has moved from the, miners’ union, its original base, to the building trades. The unions unfavorably affected by the imperialistic drive against organized labor are thus allowed to dwindle into mere shadows. Tt is not to be expected, however, that strongly organized building trades employers will not take due advantage of the next chance they will get in the oncoming open shop drive, There is too much STUDY IN REVENGE Do a Chink an injury and he’ll kill himself at your door when the sun sets. . . Harm an Indian _,,, and he'll camp on your trail and poison the springs you drink from—- (Or tomahawk you two hours before sunrise!) But make an enemy of a Capitalist, and he'll ruin your credit at the bank— Blacklist. you, fire you, —Or make you join the “Company Union!” Take your pick. —LEBARBE. — 7 potential radicalism for them even amongst the masses in the building industry. How much of the A. F, of L, will be left after the oncoming is hard to calculate. ‘The A. F. of L. bureaucracy by its past indications continues to move to the right and will seek to protect its own interests and invest- ments despoiling the union treasuries. How to save as much as possible from the present labor and gradually reconstitute it on a basis. that follows the evolution of capitalism, this is the problem. ‘There is a great future of progress and mass influence in the offing. For our party the basis-of which lies in the main in the masses of unorganized workers and the proper utilization of all our influs ence inside the existing icbor organizations and the investment of all our strength for that purpose. How to do it is the problem!