Evening Star Newspaper, August 1, 1926, Page 61

The e GISH’ = Co]umlna News and Comment "D By Wil Landumgt. OG DAYS" and day dreams. And with them “The Greater Movie Season.” While the two-week vacationist dreams of wealth and the hapless cur chases the phantom liberty, as the dog-catcher chases him, the Movie is telling the world what it has in store for him. Behind it all is a relentless Nemesis. The vaca- tionist loses his wealth with his waking and the dog-catcher catches the dog. But what of the Movie? 1f all thestories of what is to he’zhal have drifted in since this cold and cheerless Summer began even approximate the truth, strange happenings are ahead. We are due, so “they say,” a season of synchronized shadow romances, with the hoarse cry of the melodrama as she is spoke. There are to be presentations and prologues such as never before, and, with the commingling of the camera product and vaudeville, entertainment in the theater will put “The Bat” to shame with its surprises and thrills of novelty. The Winter of our discontent will melt into a salubrious succession of Springs, such as even the “Afrabian Nights” missed in their rarest imagination, and William A. Brady’s prediction of an annihilated speaking theater will take its place, deservedly, with end-of- the-world prophecies ‘which have failed to come true. And yet there is that relentless Nemesis. What will it do to our movie hopes, our cinemato- graphic expectations? s : * % Kk x in order to get our bearings, it would be wisé to make sure just exactly when this Greater Moyie Season is to break—that is to say, when it will begin, not when it will start to wobble. One group of our picture palaces pulled the string some weeks back, but that now seems to have been a false alarm, for what followed wasn't at all what we had been led to anticipate. At the present writing it seems that w‘ha( did happen was a muffled unloading of some of the leftovers that didn't thrill, or surprise, or enchant, or do any of the strange things we had been ex- ecting. ariety” seemed like the boom of the real new scason gun, but it lacked what the cub reporter calls “a follow up.” “Variety” in many respects is a novel, a really great picture. It intrdduces the “German in- fluence.” an influence that at this distance from Armistice day, and, as Irving Berlin would say, with the world at peace, etc., may be viewed and considered on its merits with a possible view to its adoption by the Ameri- 1 movie man. :RHAF * % %k X / : E. there is a great deal in “Variety” that can be appreciated only by those who are familiar with that vague, intangible thing they call screen techniqu But there is much that has escaped the rigid control of the technician and gotten loose i the world to bewilder the casual screen fan. There is a something that smacks strongly of the art of the old theater transplanted to the screen. The movie makers in this coun- try knew of ariety” long before they exhibited the picture, and ghex very promptly grabbed the man who made it. They also saw “Passion and as promptly grabbed Pola Negri and Ernst Lubitsch.. One cannot help coupling the two incidents in building expectations of what is to happen. Speculation under the circumstances is apt to be interesting. American studios are strongly organized, and their outer bulwarks: pre- sent a formidable aspect to alien ideas. We have been taJd that American ictures have conquered the world. Has it been the pictures, or the fine talian hands that have guided their business exploitation? = One gets tkeptical at times in spite of well grounded patriotic faith. * K kX AT the rising of the sun on this bright May morning, as it were, of the new season one’s heart is light with hope. The merry Maypole is in position. with-its fluttering streamers, and all are ready for the show to begin. Trot out your new and better pictures. Tell us why they are new and how they are better. This foolish old world needs to'be told before it can recognize truth. Have you really the interesting new stories you promise? Are you rcally making the shadows to talk and sing like,the ordinary tiresome human being? Have you perfected color photography as much as you say, so that what we see hereafter is going to look like what our eyes long have become accustomed to in ordinary life? Have vou really devoted closer and “more intelligent direction to the players, so that now they can live through and not merely act a story? Are your pictures—all of them. or even the majority—really so much better than your super-specials of old that you are honestly justified in “road showing” them at regu'ar theater prices? Or are they the same old thing simply served up with a new vaudeville and musical sauce? The forthcoming Greater Movie Season will answer the questions. And the same old re- lentless Nemesis will be sitting on the roadside as the procession goes by, with a few tricks up its sleeve, if the advance promises fail to materialize. Mr. Brady’s prophecy, concerning the speaking stage allows the weakling yet five years to live, ind science is doing wonders in galvanizing corpses. MUCH has been said and written in and out of the movie world about the possibilities of the motion picture i respect to education, to the closer acquaintance of mankind, leading to the universal brotherhood; to the similarity of human hearts and castoms, no matter what their race or nationality, and to the dissemination of principles of right and morals recognized by all men. The possibilities seem endless. But what have been the performances to realize these possibilities? ‘America justly may boast of splendid historical pictures, even if Eutope doesn’t like “The Big Parade,’ one of the finest conceptions ever put upon the screen. But have our pi ture makers done as much as they really should do to achieve the possibili- ties pointed out to them? It is recognized that the screen, like the stage, is primarily designed for entertainment. Is it too soon to expect its writers to find the secret of entertaining with themes and matters that are worth while? Entertainment is that which excites a_pleasing interest. Cannot these big possibilities be developed in that form? * ok ok ok THE truth seems to be that our studio organizations—and that includes screen writers—have busied themselves more with the exploitation of feminine figures, mawkish sertimentalism and wardrobes thah with the really excellent things of life Tt isn’t a fauit, but rather a misfortune, for during a long period the genus highbrow would not deign to countenance the Movie, and it had to subsist on the beautiful but dumb clientele, which, even today, i chief support. The frivolous little flapper—and she is in a big majority in all movie audiences—likes pretty clothes; she likes beau- tiful leading men and leading women as clever as she thinks herself; she likes woozy romance, and the more ‘daring it is the better she likes it, be- cause she is out to learn all she can, whether she understands it or not. The time, however, is ripe to lead her into paths she has not known for her own good and for the peace of parents who haven’t the time—there are so very many of these. * k k% YT is time for the big men of influence to start something in the right direction, not in the way of sermonizing, not in the way of uplift, as usually un ood, but on lines of common sense that, while riot lessening the entertainment value.of their pictures. will still make them a good in- fluence with an appeal to normal’intelligence. Let the home and the school and the church look to the morals and the Movie look to'the enter- tainment, but.in such.a-way-as noteto destrqy-the influgnce of tha. WASHINGTON, D. C, VINTERD STERLING~ Palace i & CHEC fiOIfl/ i ELLA CINDERS Melropoh’caw Metropolitan Changes. CRA.\'DALL'S METROPOLITAN THEATER, since its recent clos- ing, has undergone a complete meta- | morphosis. The lobby now is a study in brown Circassian wainut, instead of a ginger- breaded plaster affair, with a central lighting fixture that is a gem of artistic beauty and with the same candle power as formerly provided by the scattered drop and side lights. The theater 1s handsomely carpeted in a black and gold design that merely decorates the top of a knap that feels to the step no less than 6 inches deep. The stage has been placed upon an elevator that marks the only de- parture of its kind in the capital, ex- cepting only the orchestra pit and organ console of Crandall's Tivoll Theater at Fourteenth and Park road. The side tabs, or auxiliary stages, have been converted into deep French windows and the triple-color lighting system newly installed is utilized here to most excellent advantage. ‘The multiple-color lighting has heen carried to aV parts of the house and with the new fixtures Rreatly enhances the beauty of the auditorium and proscenium. The house also has been completely reseated and many minor changes have been made. . In keeping with the increased beauty of the the- ater a corresponding amplification of the bills to be presented is promised, and every week a new “added attrac- | tion" will be presented. . FECTA Stage Vet Looks Backward. EORGE FAWCETT, veteran screen and stage star,'turned from the stage to the screen because he fore- saw the marvelous development of motion pictures. “I was thinking of the change in the attitude of the world in general toward motion pictures,” sald Fawcett recently. “Why, it was only a com- paratively few years ago that legiti- mate stage actors, even 'those who were out of an engagement, refused to step before the camera. “Today 1 see the screen claiming the greatest stars from the legitimate stage, and 1 can't help but think back on the days when the business first started. Then $5 a day was a ‘big salary for the players. But the pictures were awful, I must admit. Now look at them! National 3 undlay SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 1, Lois MORAN 1 Taveli W C.FIELDS Ceutral BILL SADLER Strand- Current Attractions. At the Theaters This Week. NATIONAL—#Lightnin’,” comedy. Tomorrow evening. KEITH'S—Joseph Santley's Noted Revue, vaudeville. This afternoon and'evening. EARLE—James J. Jeffries and Tom Sharkey, vaudeville. This after- noon and evening. STRAND—“Primrose Four,” vaudeville. This aftérnoon and evening. NATIONAL PLAYERS—“Lightnin’ “Lightnif’ " Bill Jones, the char- acter who drove a swarm of bees across the prairie without losing a bee, will stalk the National stage this week in the experienced hands of Percy Winter, who has played the role over 1,000 times. Mr. Winter was understudy to the late Frank Bacon, who wrote the play and starred in it for nearly three years on Broadway. KFollowing Bacon's death in Chicago, Mr. Winter took over the part in the first of five companies that were touring. Producers, critics and playgoers are quite convinced there never has been. a ‘play like “Lightnin’” It is exceptionally ~ well-plotted as a drama, though its forte is character- diawing, the character in question being a luckless and picturesque old Civil War veteran, whose penchant for remaining half-soused most of the time and telling harmless lies all of the time, gets him into trouble, and almost wrecks the domestic hap- piness he has cherished for 50 years. The story is laid on the boundary line between Nevada and California. Here Lightnin’ and his wife run a hotel-refuge for divorce:seekers, the structure being so situated that half of it is in Nevada and the other half in California. The boundary line, painted on the floor of the lobby, plays a significant part in another development of the story. The courtroom scene, Wherein Ma others, and, at the same time, to help in the journey of humanity toward respectable, intelligent normalcy. * * % HE Movie is ready now to enter a career for the grown-ups of the coun- try, and that doesn’t mean what are called “the sophisticated.” It does mean that intelligence, refinement and healthy humanity of the maturer sort should be entertained in a way and ‘with means. that are appropriate to the purpose. In the pursuit of this form of entertainment the Movie will be able to realize and to materialize some of its wonderful possibilities in the realms of beauty and of truth, where our American theater a'so might find pleasant occupation and a is fast ebbing away.. Both the flapper and the philosopher may pleasure without the need of a censor. * ok IN renewal of life that Mr. Brady says * % CIDENTALLY, it may now be stated with authority that the look’er'ony i in Viehna has returned to the Austrian capital and to his old occypation | gon -qm in action as the headline at- tgen find | Jones, wearled of Bill's shiftlessness and furtive drinking, is plaintiff in the divorce=~appeal, is oné of the strongest ever devised for the stage; alternately funny and sad, and, final- ly downright. sorrowful, when OIld Bill, escaping from the Soldiers’ Home, appears in his faded blue uniform and acts as his own lawyer. Adelaide Hibbard will do the Mother Jones role. In addition to the regular matinees on Wednesday and Saturday, there will be an extra matinee Friday, at which the midweek price of 50 cents for all seats will prevail. KEITH'S—Joseph Santley’s Noted vue. % B. F. Keith's Theater announces for this week the best and biggest revue in the history of the circuit. Joseph Santley, the well known musical com- edy star, between engagements, has produced and will bring to Keith’s to- day his finest effort, the “London, Paris and New York Revue.” The Iyrics and music are by Cliff Hess, A Dbig company includes Bud and Jack Smith, Dorothy Mack, Charles Ross and the eight “Fifth Avenue Girl: The' settings- and costumes have been designed by Henry Drefuss. Another feature will be the song narration put over by Helen Trix and her sister Mattle, “Songs at the Piano.” John Miller and James Mack, “The Bing Boys,” will entertain with com- edy singing and dancing; Lorin Raker will demonstrate his ability as a com- edian and fun maker; “Diversion a la Carte,” presented by Jack Fulton and Peggy Parker, was written by Paul Gerard Smith; Bud and Jack Pearson will offer a fun bit called, “Don't Tell the Doctor’; the ‘“Modern Marion- ettes” will entertain, and La Fleur and Portia, equilibrists, will thrill, fea- turing their human top. and house | features will complete the bill. i | EARLE—James J. Jeffries and Tom Sharkey. Two of the greatest heavyweights of the ring, James J. Jeffries, former champion, end Tom Sharkey, who gave him his toughest arguments in e squared circle, will be seen in per- Sthar 1926. N PARIS axd NEW YORK RE TAIRBANKS Wardmaw Park. Sennen_ Seeks NCW Ones, MA(‘K SEN beauties, h: | for new ‘bathing girls. For 15 years Sennett bathing beau- | ties' have ‘been an international insti- | tution. Not eveén Flo Ziegfeld's bea ies of his fambus Foilies' chorus su pas Mr. Sennett's pulchritudinous sirens of the sea. Their faces and their figures have been their for- tunes, and the producer is anxious to enlist new girls, new types of beau- ty and new Ralent. There is a great difference in bath- ing girls, of today and those who fa: cinated in 1914 and 1915, when Gloria Swanson was the “belle of the beach- es,” and they have changed consider- ably since Mabel Normand, Phyllis Haver, Marie Prevost, Mary Thur- man, Harriett Hammond, Vera Stead- man and a dozen others famous to- day supported Charlie Murray, Ben Turpin, Billy Bevan and other come- dy stars of that day. Sennett comedies have always sparkled with youth, beauty and pep and the producer is now out to comb the market for athletic college girls, girls who can.swim, dance and who, above everything else, have person- ality, » TT, picker of screen ent out an SOS irls two gladiators who as far back as November, 1899, went 25 rounds at Coney Island, N. Y., with the decision on points only going to Jeffries, have now combined their talents and are appearing in a brief act that reveals many of their former secrets. The boilermaker and the ex-sailor demon: strate practically all the modes of training, assault and defense that made them leaders of their class among the heavies a quarter. century ago. Other vaudeville Jfeatures will be Roy Rogers and company in a versa- tile offering, “Show Me the Way to Go Home"; Alma Keller and Norma Layland, “that lyric duo,” in a cycle of engaging songs, /and Verna Ha- worth and a strong supporting cast of dancers in an interval of Terpsi- chorean innovations in which Miss Haworth’s individual partner, Fred Martin, plays an important part. The special picture for the week will be Universal's “The' Love Thief,” a comedy-romance, starring Norman Kerry, supported by Greta Nissen. The house features will include short camera subjects and Aléxander Arons, concert organist, who will play “Songs of the Hour,” arranged by himself. STRAND—“Primrose Four.” The first gun of the Fall theatrical season is fired today at the Strand Theater, Ninth and D streets north- west, with an opening bill of choice Loew’s vaudeville acts ang a feature photoplay. ! The Strand, it is anno , has been redecorated and renovaed from cellar to garret, and cool comfort is aseured its patrons by the installa- tion of fwo huge rotary ventilation fans, the power of which is sufficient to change the air in the theater every minute. The opening program is headed by Drury, Bill Sadler’and Norman Stan- ley, a quartet of well known mel dists in 1,000 Pounds of Harmony. Holding second place on the program is an elaborate song and dance en- semble, the “Speak E-Z-Revue,” pre- sented by a cast of eight capable artists, including the famous Sidell after the erratic flight to the Mussolini dominions recorded in-this column | traction of the Earle Theater bill this lsmeu. i LS S B R R the Primrose Four, Bob Gibner, Eddie’ ABROTT Tarle e TR TR Awbassrador ’Photoplays COLUMBIA—“Nell Gw METROPOLITAN: a Cinders. RIALTO—“So This Is Paris.” Thi PALACE—"The ow Off.” This TIVOLI—“Padlocked.” his aftern AMBASSADOR—"Elfa Cinders CENTRAL—"The Fate of a Flirt. WARDMAN PAR METROPOLITAN Ella Cinders.” ‘The reopening of Crandall's Metro- politan Theater, yesterday, after alteration, reseating and general beau- tification was signalized by the presentation of an _attractive bill, featuring Colleen Moore in the First National film version of the newspaper comedy strip, “Ella Cin- ders,” which is merely a reversal of “Cinderella,” recounting the adven- tures of a little drudge in the movies in Hollywood. The added attraction was furnished by Bernardo De Pace, the wizard of the mandolin,’ Metropolitan World Survey new tworeel comedy based on the Mabel Herbert Urner tic stories of n and Warren,” entitled, “The ¢ Picnic,” and an especially de- lightful musical program by the Metropolitan Symphony, under Daniel Breeskin, completed the bill, which will be presented today and all this week. {'Ella Cinders"” reveals the amusing tale of a small-town slavey who wins a movie contest and hies herself to Hollywood, only to learn that the promoters avere a bunch of crooks who have decamped with the easy money. Desperate, she tries all the customary devices for crashing the gates of the exclusive properties where motion pictures are made, final- ly achi ng success by the veriest flutke—which was just as good an en- tering wedge as any other. The sup- porting cast is headed by Lloyd Hughes and includes Mike Donlin, former ball player; Jed Prouty and others of note. The auxiliary features of the bill are declared to be more than on a par with the finest the Metropolitan has ever offered. COLUMBIA—“Nell Gwyn.” “Nell Gw: a British-made pro- duction starring Dorothy Gish at the head of an English cast, a romance of a Drury Lane orange girl who cap- tured the fickle fancy of England's merriest monarch, Charles II, will be given its initial presentation in ‘Washington at Loew’s Columbia The- ater this week, starting today. Miss Gish, the madcap, whimsical comedienne of “Hearts of the World,” is said to achieve the greatest char- acter enactment. of her career in the role of the Drury Lane orange girl. “Nell Gwyn,” with the exception of Miss Gish, is entirely British in cast, direction and locale. It was flimed by Herbert Wilcox from a story by Mar- Jorie Bowen, amid the actual scenes of Nell Gwyn’s triumph, and the cos- tumes, manners and morals of the late seventeenth century In England are said to have been brought to the |-screen with fidelity. The story discovers Nell, ragged, but happy, about to start for the the- ater, where she sells oranges. Count- ing the coins of her stocking-purse, she tells her mother she will soon have enough to buy silk stockings and slippers. Laughing at the good dame’s injunctions that “silk stock- ings ain't respectable, only court ladies wears 'em,” Nell fares forth to her fate. How she spends her sav- Ings paying for the supper to which the roval rogue invites her, and later holds her own in court intrigue amid a battle of hearts with the beautiful but unscrupulous Lady Castlemaine, emerging the victor, makes an ‘inter- esting, if daring, screen narrative. Juliette Compton_plays the role of with his compan;“ol comedians and songsters, in “At the Stage Door”; the beautiful Beasley Twins in-a violin and piano number, “Music Symphony and Charm.” and Louis Leo in a dar- ing mid-air exhibition, “Equilibristic Diversions.” ‘The photoplay is the thrilling melc- drama “Lost at Sea,” featuring Hunt. Iy Gordon, Jane Novak and Lowell lshrmnn. supported by @ cast of screen. favorites. , " Th “Thief of Bagdad.” Tomorrow evening. This Week At the Photoplay Houses This Week. " This afternoon and evening. This afternoon and evening. s afternoon and e afternoon and ev oon and evening. s afternoon and evening. This afternoon and evening. ! Lady Castlemaine, and Randle Ayr- ton the role of.Charles II. A ermaid comedy, “Who's My Wi the International news reel, a beautiful scenic and the musical pro- gram by the Columbia orchestra will be added attractions. RIALTO—"So This is Paris.” Monte Blue and Patsy Ruth Miller are featured in the new Ernst Lu- bitsch production, “So This is Paris,” which is this week's attraction at the Rialto Theater, opening this after. noon. an_adapts Reveillon, or The Midnig Mellhac and Halevy, writ- last part of the nineteenth century, but as alive as though done vesterday. Lubitsch, the wizard of shadowland, has made it into a photo- play, whimsical, light, yet tenderly touching the depth. Across the way from the apartment of the bored, flirtatious dancers, Lalle and Georgette—played by An. dre Beranger and Lilyan Tashman— is one of the windows of the flat of yount Dr. Giraud and his adored and adoring wife, Suzanne—Monte Blue and Patsy Ruth Miller. Lalle, prac. ticing the dance by his window, sees Suzanne, and makes flirtatious ges- tures which she resents to the point of sending her husband to thrash him. Dr. Giraud, working himself into & proper fury, rushes to the house across ‘the sjreet, and is met by the enticing Georgette, only to find she s an old flame. He forgets the prom. ised beating, the hysterical wife, and sees only the bewitching Georgette. In the meantime Lallo finds the cane which Giraud forgot, and, taking it as an excuse, calls upon Suzanne: Thus begins the typloal French tangle, which rises to heights of de- liclous farce which Lubitsch achieved with “The Marriage Circle” and “Kiss Me Again.’ “Miss Washington” will a; the 3, 7and 9 o'clock performances, i a revue arranged by Mischa Gutarson and in which the runners-up will also ake part. rincess Nacoo: also be featured. sutihy e International News, a Sport- light and the overture Tales Toom: e Vienne Woods™ will rodhony complete the PALACE—“The Show-Off.* George Kelly's successtul comedy of American middle class, “The Show~ Off,” has been brought to the screen by Paramount, with Ford Sterling in the title role. The picturization will be given its first presentations at Loew’s Palace Theater this week, starting this afternoon. Ford Sterling, long famous as one of the funniest comedians that ever graced Mack Sennett's pay roll, has lately developed into one of the most prominent figures in legitimate screen comedy in the role of Aubrey Piper, “the show-off.” His supporting cast includes Lois Wilson, Gregory Kelly,- Louise Brooks, Claire McDowell and others. Malcolm St. Clair is credited with the direction. “The Show-Off" is a character study, revealing a page from the career of Aubrey Piper, a $32.50-a-week Penn. sylvania Ralilroad clerk in Philadel- phla who poses as a big execytive, marries Amy Fisher to the disgust of her family, wins a Ford in an office raffle and within 24 hdurs runs down a traffic policeman and incurs a $1,000 fine that he cannot pay. Ultimately, however, by his unmitigated brass and “million-dollar front” he actually sells his brother:inlaw’'s patent paint for $100,000, plus a royalty, making all hands rich. Gregory Kelly, star of “Seventeen,” {s seen as the brotherjn-law paint in. ventor. Lois Wilson is the wife and Louise Brooks, the new Paramount ingenue, brother Joe's girl. A _Sennett laugh maker, t Al