The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 24, 1928, Page 4

Page Four THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 1926 The Workers Party and the 1928 Election Drive’ By JAMES P. CANNON. is lie -The consideration of a number of : new factors in the objective situat ion | \ Seige definite and Concrete | @ave great importance to the recent |!Teparations to put up candidates | meeting of the Central E under the banner of the Communist | Gonimitteo of the Party. And, in ad- It is my personal opinion that dition to that, the of the ap- o do this should be made proaching n: n campaign now without further waiting. wave a special to the Socialists Mislead Workers. Plenum. The socia party will.attempt to 1928 will undoubtedly be a year of | Fa: lf off in the forthcoming great political agitation, and interest | s the Labor Party. It will ip the-@lections will, pene e dee pture the discontented work- spty’the masses. The public inve: ers with radical talk in order to di- ans of the enormou fi -| vert them from the path of struggle. dals’ and of the c ‘It must be ri 1 again and again Now featuring the l that the p is one of | @te reflect profc harder tim lass col- deep in the econom sions. of America. The d ruption they reveal line is to continue Labor Party ecutive sig ne election arew mus expect Remaeees ae | | | | while | RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN FILMS---A COMPARISON By ROBERT WOLF, HERE is an old story about some-| 4 | betrayal. by his mother, and then} body who constructed a mechanical man on an enormous scale, tificial eyes, hands, feet, and fingers, but there was no way of endowing it} with life, and so it would never act |like a human being As a live human ‘baby would be to} ‘such a monster, the Russian film in- dustry is to the American. I remem-} ber a studio I knew in America—a} vast new beautiful building, the last word in efficiency, privacy, system, and hauteur—hundreds of rooms, con- {taining everything that money would, buy, the best brand of brains, of tech-| nical equipment, pictures on the walls} Jof Adolph Zukor and Jesse Lasky |with a reverence that here in Russia would be shown only to pictures of | Lenin—the ce hummed with activ- Priate setting for te ae from the socialist party as a fall of the Coolid, whole to loit thes: ntiments, but jity and energy—but nobody knew myth and th {jas the issues grow per and the |What it was all about—not an idea in the vital i d t ‘ particu- |the entire building. In its dozen which wil be to the fore in the presi- expect th ue " pseudc lo-left social- | senaice faultless synthetic films dential election. to be extremely | reeled off on faultle: sly prepared Mary hitherto inert workers, forward.- These gelatin—full of ingenuity, full of in- he dream of will tu rudely awakened from permanent pros ‘ity, the situation can be con- | attgation to politics thi of their de- Patty will be al iscious fighters cumstance to gre antage and/a seriously ham- can increase its and | y moves of the socialist gtrength to a ccnsic ht and “left”. it is fully alive to the si not defeated. The socialist party grasps the oportuni it comes |a thoroughly reactic nd co pt |: forward with all nd er k a t wing,” which | ergies as a political pa n the fu “cover” for the blackest | and complete sense of the word. It committed against the} by the pat y, must be ex- h particular in- must appear before the wor party which has something to @ program to offer regarding i and every problem vitally affecting | their lives, particularly those prob- | lems and issues which will be placed | on the agenda of the election cam- transigence. Test for Workers’ Party. The elections of 1928 will be a bat- tle field on which the political capa- | cities of our party and its ability to| paign. properly defend the interests of the serail. |properly defend the t x haba Stres a sell the |Werkers will be put to a genuine t the sessions of t num the It w t insofar | 1 meet this t eoming election c ment in the deba’ «three questions were given par- aevlar consideration, and the discus- sions at the Party membership mect- ings following the Plenum show that these questions are also engaging the ettention of the party members. These questions are: (1) Will we support a Labor Paxty Ticket in the 1928 presidential «Action? (2) On what basis wil we decide whether to |; enter candidates of our own party? 42) What will be the policy of the Ss udices and icies_ toward and ence which have far ham- activities in election cam- The revolutionary party, however small in numbers, must not hesitate or |be afraid to unfold its own banner in the election fight. It is no crime and |no disgrace for the Party to be small at the present stage of development in America. It is a disgrace only_te | evade the struggle on that account, ee or to conceal its revolutionary aims |’ telligence—all dead, all perfect, and without one reason (save the box of- fice) to exist. Cooperative Art. There are a dozen reasons why the fim should be the most. successful form of art in Russia, and why the n film should be the finest achievement among films, but I did not expect this development so soon. Whatever may be true of painting, | poetry or fiction, the movie can not| wait on‘ individue al inspiration. Here | is a type of art deliberately and co- operatively conceived. with ar-| 7 a * | series of scenes on the floating ice- | father a strikebreaker, the father’s death, the son’s arrest, his accidental prison scenes, an escape, a marvellous blocks of the’ river, and a charge in which the Cossaeks ride down mother and son with their red flag into death but not defeat. There are no very startling tricks of new technique. in this fi but, for sheer motion pic- ture q' ity——for” "excellence of direc- tion, for good solid camera work, for acting, and above all for complete absence of bluff-and hokum it is the best straight film drama I have ever seen, The sub-titles are not too many or too important—with a little more effort they could have been cut cut altogether, and the film reduced to the pure cinema of a Chaplin picture or “The Last Laugh.” The action lacks the nervous speed of an Amer¢ ican movie—this I think is, partly be- cause of the simplification of inci- dent, and partly because the gestures of the actors themselves are more de- iberate than ours—but it develops j with a logic and an inevitability that we practically never attain. Memor- able and beautiful scenes are those with the men racing-along the super- imposed gangways of a prison, the grinding river of ice, a maniac im- pact of horses, and finally—one of the most skilful treatments of a dif- ficult theme I have ever beheld—the | dissolving march of the Kremlin walls with their triumphant flag of today. | This conclusion, which with® any dif- |ferent handling might have had all! Only an in-| tense collective emotion can supply it | with an adequate impulse and there | are not many such motives in the world today. It is significant that the best American films are those of haplin, which are written, directed d acted by one man. Communist ones, but for the spirit which transforms a whole group of people into a creative producing’ unit something more is needed than an in- | centive to do hackwork for the wages | of a commercial movie magnate, and | that something. more no country but the Soviet Union can today supply. Represents Ruling Class. There is another peculiarity of the movies—they must to a, unique de- gree reflect’ the ideology of the rul- ing class. Poems of protest, novels Individual | lartists of this sort are always pos- | ible, in capitalist _gountries as well | socialist party and our toward it? The Plenum gave an answer to iese questions with which all Party comrades should become familiar. “47%o-enswer the first question it is meeessary first to refer to our gen- The Plenum again reiterated the already established party policy that a Labor or a United Labor Ticket, which is the same thing in less de-| eral policy of the question. Party, ‘doped form, must have a firm basi: * mass support in the unions. not prescribe definite numbers an tainly do not think the * “hould wai its formation for vial” sanction of the rul “+, have ist sympathizers. y Imperative. ard the formation a 2 s a decisive step for- ass development of th wrkers, and < for this aim.' It goe ying that our Party would 2 in the formation attitude We} Labor iz s, but in order to possess a_ substantial ler than the present it is one of |« points of our party pol- of such | in the elections. One of |Party is that the 1928 elections will jmark the turning pcirt where it leaves behind all prejudices and tra- | ditions which ignore or minimize the importance of election campaigns as \a field of class struggle, and where it political party which defends the in- jterests of the workers aggressively nnd intelligently in the election cam- | paigns as in all other fields of action in the class struggle. i |\“CZAR IVAN THE TERRIBLE” HELD OVER FOR THIRD WEEK. “Czar Ivan the Terrible” held over for Cameo Theatre. The Sovkino film jis doir ig big business. The picture r to be sented with the ric program. This 1 short film offering Last of the Czars ich traces historically the line of hs that ruled Russia. L. M. rtrays the Czar in the sereen offering and the | the best hopes for the | establishes its position firmly as a is being | a third week at the} of criticism, are perfectly possibl even in a hostile environment—they But a movie of rebellion is not conceivable. It represents too great a capital investment. The cine- ma has got to conform to the respect- ed standards of its time. Art—all good art since the history of art began—has had an esSentially honest basis—in times of healthy so- cial growth it has been optimistic, positive, patriotic—in times of social decay it has been filled with pes- simism and revolt. What will happen to the American movie which must express the ideals of Eddie Guest and the Shriners, when even the ruling classes no longer really believe in these ideals any more? Obviously it will be the fake it has become. Russian Films Among Best. I have only seen five Russian mov- ies—Potemkin, The Mother, a new comedy not yet released called The Trial of Citizen Semebody or ‘other (I have forgotten the name), The End every day. » lof St. Petersburg, and Moscow in Oc- tober. All of them were pervaded by a breath of sincerity I do not remem- ber to have seen in any other films except Moana and Grass. Two of | the triteness of an American happy ending, combines realism and phan- tasy in just the right proportions, by means of a double exposure in which two panoramas moving in opposite directions finally coincide and solidify into the scene which closes the film The Mother will certainly sooner or later be shown to western audi- ences, and it will be met with a burst of enthusiasm such as few pictures have ever received. PHILHARMONIC. The eighty-sixth season of the Phil- harmonic: Society closes on April 1 at the Metropolitan Opera House. Be- u = |fore that final concert. four more are are brought out by minor publishers | scheduled, one tomorruw afternoon at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Thursday and Friday afternoon at Carnegie Hall, and a Students Concert | 1, next Saturday evéning at Carnegie Hall, The program tomorrow afternoon includes the “Barber of Seville”, Over- ture, the “Pastora,” Symphony, Men- delssohn’s Noeturne and Scherzo, the | Funeral Music from “Gotterdamme- rung,” and the “Tannhauser” Over- ture. The program for Thursday, Friday, and next Sunday will include Schola Cantorum chorus, and the following numbers: the Pastoral Prelude to Part II of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Mon- teverdi’s Sonata soprano “Sancta Ma- ria,” for chorus and orchestra, in the edition of Bernardino Molinari, the Prelude to Part I of Cesar Franck’s “Redemption,” and the last Beethov- | en’s Ninth Symphony. A Beethoven-Wagner program is scheduled for the final Students Con- cert. L. M. LEONIDOFF of the Moscow Art Theatre gives a masterly and brilkiant portrayal of the mad Czar in the newest Sovkino pro- duction “Czar Ivan the Terrible,” now in its third week at the Cameo The- atre. Mr. Toscanini sails Wednesday, April 4, for Scala, Italy, where he is artistic director. NEW YORK SYMPHONY. Senor Arbos will continue his guest conductorship of the New York Sym- phony Orchestra this week with Hei- fetz appearing as assisting artist at the concert next Friday evening in Carnegié Hall and Sunday afternoon April 1, in Mecca Auditorium, This Sunday’s program in Mecca Auditorium will include: Branden- butg Concerte in G-major, Johann Se- jbastian Bach; Sinfonietta in D-major,_| E. Halfter-Escriche; La Fete Dieu a Seville, Triana, J. Albeniz; Ballet Pantomine “El Amour Brujo,” M. De- Falla; Symphonic Poem “Don Juan,” Richard Strauss. Senor Arbos’ final program for Fri- day evening and Sunday afternoon, which closes the season of the Sym- will be largely of a Spanish nature. Heifetz will play Brahm’s Concerto in D. The program follows: Symphony in G-major, Haydn; Symphonic Episode “La Veil- lee d’ Armes dé Done Quichotte,” O. Espla; Intermezzo from “Goyescas,” E. Granades; Navarra, I. Albeniz; Alborado del Gracioso, Ravel. phony Society, = —=Music Note== The final concert of the season by the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra, Georges Zaslawsky, conductor, will take place at Carnegie Hall, Friday evening, April 13. NA Be CUNVAU) _ GUILD THEATRE REPUBLIC THEATRE GUILD PRODUCTIONS: EUGENE 0’NEILL’S STRANGE INTERLUDE JOHN GOLDEN TH®A. Dinner Intermission at 7:30. BEGINNING MONDAY, MARCH 26 BERNARD SHAW’S COMEDY The Doctor’s Dilemma WEST 52nd ST. Evenings 8:30, Mats. Thurs, and Sat. Week of April 2: “MARCO MILLIONS” Week of April 9: “VOLPANE” PORGY A FOLK PLAY BY DUBOSE AND DOROTHY HEYWARD THBA., West 42nd St. Matinees Wed. & Sat, Ce 58th St., E. of B'way. Evenings only at 5:30 sharp. 2:30, 's. 8 2:40 KEITH. ALBEE Enacted by the MOSCOW ART “Perfect motion picture.”—-EVENIN CAMEO The remarkable Russian screen masterpiece—A Sovkino Production Czar Ivan the Terrible headed by LEONIDOFF. HIGH PRAISE FROM THE PRESS “‘Ivan the Terrible’ outstanding production. in the movies.”—-CARMON, DAILY WORKER. “Greater than Potemkin.’ —G'ERHARD, EVE. V “A worthy picture.”"—-HALL, TIMES. ie sar SSS eee ee EE ESE SESS 42nd St. 3 1d BIG & Bway | WEEK BY PUBLIC DEMAND PLAYERS Sueh acting rarely seen 'G TELEGRAM. ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ é ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ‘ ‘ é ¢ ¢ ¢ Q ¢ ¢ ¢ é Q Q r) Q é ¢ ‘ ¢ e ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ COR MYSTERY! THEATRE, West 48th Street. Matinees Wednesday and Saturday, at 2:30. me WRECKER THRILLS! Evenings 8:30. SHIVERS! “MOST THOROUGHLY ENTERTAINING SHOCKER THAT HAS - PLODED OVER THE FOOTLIGHTS IN MANY MONTHS.”--N.Y. World ‘tre, 41 St. W. of B’way WINTHR' 30. Mts. Wed.&Sat.2:96 IDE, ADEES eenonts LAST WEEK Booth, W. 45: “The Trial of Mary Dugan” eta ee a ee Me By Bayard Vetller, JOHN CALSWoRTHY'S 1 with Ann Harding-Rex Cherryman weetin, reso. rrarsort ar 21th WEEK aFTS. Rae Thurs,,i'ri.,Sa 2 RB 25-24-25 EVELYN 3 NESBIT (in person) Brown & Whitaker—Other Acts “THE PATENT LEATHER KID” with Richard Barthelmess, fheatre, West 44th Street. HUDSON Evs. 8:30. Mats. Wed.& Sat. JRACUM Bway, 46 St. Eve. Mats, Wed.&Sat. 3.; Richard Wilens, pianist-composer, will give the following program at lhis recital next’ Saturday night in Town Hall: Sonata, Op. 59 (Celtic), |MacDowell; Etudes Symphoniques, Op. 13, Schumann; a group by Debus- sy; Poem, Intermezzo, Study in Sixths, Richard Wilens; Passion (from “Im- pressions,” Op. 9), Danse Orientale, Pantscho Wladigeroff. REGINNING MOND. AY The ea cha Thriller of Them Alt THE NEW COHAN FARCE —_— Galli-Curci will give another rei this Sunday evening at Carnegie Hall, | WHISPERING FRIENDS ae LECTURES AND FORUMS 4 THE PEOPLE'S INSTITUTE them were among the half dozen or | so best films I have ever seen, those | half dozen being Variety, The Last | Laugh, the Gold Rush, A Dog’s Life, | Grass, perhaps The Kid, Ballet Me- | canique, and The Beggar on Horse- | AT COOPER UNION | Muh Muhlenberg Branch Library (8th ST. and ASTOR PLACE) (209 WEST 23rd STREET) - At 8 o'Clock At 8:30 o'Clock. The most fated about the worl PEAC ‘BROWN w Art Players help portray r character roles. The musical m at the Gameo is also Russian including popular folk ymbolic medley. wor party and vote for its candi tes in the electio while, at the | ne time, putting forward and popu |? izing our own independent plat-|th | | | HES | <8 AT EVERY PERFORMANCE. and “ied DORGTH cifa DWAN m and criticizing the reform MONDAY, MARCH 26th SUNDAY, MARCH 25th ments and proposals in the United | bor Party, and decisively refutins y idea that the Labor Party ve the labor problem. The question whet #4” a Labor Pz 8 elections natu first. place on th ha party before the electic ger,” in which Al starring will be the screen at the Roxy Theatre this #im tern depends on other factors | he x“ ides our party. Our attitude alone on Chaney, starring in “The Big agtde tha cuestion, “There ts.|Ciy*., Om" to the Capitol next this \Saturday; with Betty Compson, Marceline Day and James Murray featured in the cast. afiderable sentiment in the ranks of the workers for a Labor Party and this sentiment is growing il vontinue to grow under the pa «f increasingly worsening conditions. ‘But the prospect of a Labor Party on a fairly broad basis being formed in time for the 1928 elections is very ro- mote, ard the probability of our Party ° its own candidates conse- ly is growing much greater. But als prospect does not alter our main Emil Ludwig, author of “Napoleon,” “Bismarck,” and other widely read biographies, signed a contract with Paramount Famous Lasky Qorpora- tion to write a biography which will be produced as a film. The subject of Ludwig’s first film biography was not announced, but it is said to be a figure famous in world history. | Méther among the first. {two out of sev —————— The New Plays ‘HEDDA GABLER,” by Henrik Ibsen, will be presented at the Civic - Repertory Theatre Monday night with Eva Le Gallienne heading the east. Other players include; Paul Leyssac, Sayre Crawley, Josephine Hutchinson, Donald Cameron, Alma Kruger, and Leona Roberts. DIVORCE A LA CARTE,” a play by Samuel Ruskin Golding, will open at the Biltmore Theatre Monday evening. The cast include Hale Hamilton and Regina, Wallace, Dianthana Pattison, Geoffrey Har- wood, and Kathleen Lowry. THE SCARLET FOX,” by Willard Mack, will come to the Theatre © Masque Tuesday night. Mr. Mack plays an important role. Others in the cast include: Marie Chambers, Joseph Bromiey Beatrice Banvard (Mrs, Mack) and Louise Carter. . { “THE BEGGAR'S OPERA,” by John Gay, will be revived at the 48th Street Theatre Wednesday. The cast is headed by Sylvia Nelis, Alfred Heather, Lena Maitland, Charles Magrath, George Baker, and Celia Turrill. back—certainly Potemkin and The If my judg- ment has any relation to the realities, for a film industry that has been functioning about four years, Now for the particular merit of the Russian films. In the first place they have something to say, and they say it without being shamefaced or equi- vocal about it. All good art is propa- ganda art—propaganda for the art- ist’s peculiar view of life—it is bad only when it expresses somebody else’s propaganda, not thoroughly as- similated or generated by the artist himself. When the sentences ° ring false—when we appear to be listen- ing to the echoes of someone else’s stump speech rather than to the art- ist’s own natural and fluent voice, it is because there is a conflict in the artist’s personality——he is not really saying what he feels. But if we shall have to wait for great Communist poetry—and perhaps we shall—until we have a generation that has grown up under Communism, and exhales it as naturally as the air it breathes, it is precisely in the film, so much more consciously and collectively produced, that the art of the new society should find its first completely successful ex- pression. That it has is beyond question— everybody that has seen Potemkin knows that it is one of the few really great films ever made—the disagree- ment can only be whether you should place it first, or permit one or two others perhaps to rank beside it. “The Mother,” a Sincere Work. The Mother, taken from Gorki’s novel, is not yet known to western audiences as Potemkin is. It is a simply and unpretentiously screened drama of a brutalized father and o revolutionary son, of strike, in which the son is one of the leaders and the o en or ten is nat bad} Music and Concerts N.Y. Symphony MECCA AUDITORIU (Sun,) Afternoo: ‘Tomorrow 3100 Box Office Open at 11 A. M. Tomorrow TELEPHONE CIRCLE 2659 Guest Gonauetor Senor K. F. Arbos Conductor Madrid Symphony Orchestra BACH, Brandenburg Concerto; HALF T BR-ESCRICHE, Sinfonietta (first time in America); ALBENIZ, La fete Dieu a Sevillevand’ Triana; DE FALLA, El Amor Brujo;STRAUSS, Don uan, Closing Concerts of the Season Carnegie Hall, Fri. Evg., Mar? 30, at 8:30 Mecea Auditorium, Sun, Aft., Apr. 1, at 3 Soloist HELFET Z HAYDN, Symphony in G_= minor; BRAHMS, Concerto in D for Violin; KKAPLA, Symphonic Episode; = “La Veilleo d’'Armes de Don Quichotte’; GRANADOS, Intermezzo from “Goyes- cas"; ALBENIZ, “Navarra”; RAVEL, “Alborada del Gracioso,” Tickets at Carnegie Hall Box Of- fice, Mecca tickets at Symphony Of- fice, Steinway Hall, 11% W, 57th St. GEORGE ENGLUS, Mgr (Steinway Piano) 4sth ST. THEATRE, Tomorrow (Sun.) Evening, at 8:45 NEW PROGRAM OF DANCES Robenne: Assisted by ANATOLE VILTZAK and PIERRE VLADIMIROFF Concert Mgt. Dan’l Mayer, Ine, (Steinway Piano.) OWN HALL MARCH 81, NiQhIN DUSHKIN Tickets at Box Office (Steinway Piano) i PHILHARMONIC TOSCANINI, conauctor. 1 CARNEGIE HALL March 29, at 8:30 March 30, at 2:30 METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE April 1, at 3:00 Scholn Cantorum of New York BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 9 BACH, MONTEVERDI CESAR FRANCK Carnegie Hall, Sat, Ev., Mar. 31, 8:30 (Students) Arthur Judson, Mer. (Steinway) Carnegie I Hall, ea ore Mar. 26, 8130 STROKOFF Violinist Emanuel Bay at Piano (Steinway) TOWN HALL, ROH. eed Mar. 31, 8:30 WILENS PLSNIST-COMPOSER, (Steinway) VARNHGI HALL, Tues. Eve, Apr. 10 First American kcal : BLINDER Auspices American Society ‘for Cultural Relations with Russia Tickets NOW at Box Office, $1 to $3, Tax Free. Famoun_ ussian Violinint Solomon Pimsleur, composer and pianist, making his debut at Steinway Hall this Sunday afternoon, will pre- sent a program of Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Shubert, Brahms, Liszt and Pimsleur. MR. HORACE BRIDGES “Some Saperstitions of ‘Advanced’ Peopie.” | TUESDAY, MARCH 27th | PROF, ROY CLARK HANAWAY “Mexican Policies Since 1017.” PRIDAY, MARCH 30th \ Mr. EVERETT DEAN MARTIN The Psychology of the American Public—*Phe Psychology of Amer- ican Nationalism.” ADMISSION FREE. Open Foram Digguasion. DR. MARK VAN DOREN = wae lke Poets—“Hardy,” WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28th DR. IRVINE H. PAGE “The Significance of Membran Cellular Functions.” Sei THURSDAY, MARCH 29th DR. E. G. SPAULDING Fundamental Philosophical lems—“is Evolut A Progress?” SATURDAY, MARCH 3ist DR. HORACE M. KALLEN Fate and Freedom—“Th lemma of Indeterminisms.” 1s | TOMORROW NIGHT 8 o'clock BERT MILLER Will speak on “Industrialization of the South” The extent and significance of this important development in American economy will be analyzed by the New York District Organiza- tion Secretary of the’Workers (Com- munist) Party. At the WORKERS SCHOOL FORUM: 108 EAST 14th STRERT Admission 26c, NEXT SUNDAY —-Roger Baldwin will speak on “Liberty in’ the Soviet Union.” trees. TTF 7O72-72-—.-" EAST SIDE OPEN FORUM At the Church of All Nations ® Second Avenue (near Houston) , SUNDAY, MARCH 25th 7:30 P. M. Ceeil Headrick will speak on “AI” Smith, editor of $:30 BP. M. V. F. Calverton, “Modern Quarteriy,” will speak on “Phe Ni jew Morality in Soviet Russia” SCOTT NEARING NORMAN THOMAS Subject: , Communism vs. Social- ism in America. FRIDAY EVENING | | March 30, at 8:15 Community Church 34th St. & Park Ave, Bad Sei 4 odes ub oe 50, a few at $2. ‘BUY YOUR TICKETS EARLY! 5 a a tty Anna Robenne, assisted by Anatole Viltzak and Pierre Vladimiroff, will give her third dance recital, at tho th Street Theatre, this Sunday eve-