Evening Star Newspaper, December 30, 1928, Page 48

AMUS EMENTS Moving Picture Album BY ROBERT E. SHERWOOD. T is difficult to realize that only 12 short months ago the talkies were practically non-existent. _ There had been ope, “The Jazz Singer,” which had cleaned up in a big way, but that was considered a novelty that had succeeded because people will fay even to hear phonographic records ©of Al Jolson's songs. Only two of the big producers seem- ed to realize the immense significance of “The Jazz Singer's” triumph. Those smart and fortunate ones were Warner Brothers (who sponsored the film, and profited by it) and William Fox. All the other wise guys of Broadway and Hollywood boulevards were caught napping, despite the fact that they were told in this column. the week | “The Jazz Singer” opened that the Vitaphone had sounded the death knell of the silent drama. (It would seem that Mr. Zukor, Mr. Lasky, Mr. Goldwyn, Mr. Mayer, Mr. Schenck and | the others don't even read this column.) Since last January e have seen the first semi-talking pictures, “Tender- loin” and “The Lion and the Mouse,” | and the first all-talking pictures, “Lights of New York,” and “The e * all produced by the prosper- ous Warners We have seen Mr. Fox derive in- credible profits from his Movietone news reels, his short talkie dramas and comedies and his close-ups of George | Bernard Shaw, Mussolini and the King | of Spain. i We have seen the frantic efforts of | others to join the big parade by issu- ing phoney “sound pictures.” Para- mount put sound tracks, containing a s. on “The Patriot” and other naturally silent films. Metro-Goldwyn | added discordant noise to “White Shadows in the South Seas” “Our Dancing Daughters” and _others. Pathe did likewise with “The King of Universal with “Unecle Tom" First National with “Lilac and United Artists with “Tem- pest"—all of which had previously been released with no other accompaniment than that furnished by the regular theater orchestra or organist. Ak Just at present, many of the leading executives (notably Joseph M. Schenck) are saying loudly that the old silent film will never die—that the talkies are all very well in their own field, but that their field i necessarily limited— and that the public should go carefully and not be stampeded into theaters where the principal attraction is sound. Nevertheless, these same executives ere reorganizing their entire outfits with a_view to manufacturing nothing but talking pictures. Paramount, for instance, will produce no silent films whatever after January 1, with the ex- ception of “Westerns,” which are to be distributed to the lowlier theaters where the expensive Movietone apparatus can- not be installed. Already one Paramount all-talker, most of Miss Nichols' logue recorded. Universal is talking pictures “Broadway.” Metro-Goldwyn is preparing Trial of Mary Dugan.” Mary Pickford is making “Coquette,” and all the other United Artists’ stars, with the exception of Douglas Fair- banks, are also engaged on talkies. All of which indicates that if the public obeys the injunction not to stam- pede into the theaters where talkies: are being shown it will be forced to stay away from moving pictures en- tirely in_ 1929. Whether Joseph M. Schenck likes the talkies or not, they are going to be produced wholesale from now on, and, furthermore, he is going to be one of those who produce them. B Sk Due probably to the frantic experi- mentation that has followed the arrival of the Vitaphone, Movietone and Pho- tophone, the year just passed has not ylelded the usual quota of great pic- tures. In my estimation, the better and finer productions of 1928 were (in the order of their appearance) Charlie Chaplin's “The Circus"; “Sadie Thompson,” with Gloria Swanson; the superb Russian film, “The End of St. Petersburg Harold Lloyd's ‘“Speed: “The Man Who Laughs,” dirccted by Paul Leni: John Barrymore in “Tempest”; Thomas Meighan and others in “The Racket,” directed by Lewis Milestone; Emil Jan- nings in “The Patriot,” directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and Al Jolson's second smash hit, “The Singing Fool.” A spot in the film hall of fame should certainly be reserved for that terrific thriiler, “Killing the Killer,” which Lil- lian Gish has described (modestly) as he only example of high drama ever epresented on the screen. It was a short picture, sponsored by the German company, UFA, and showing in a hor- ribly realistic manner a death struggle between a cobra and a mongoose. * x % % Developments in the perforated cellu- loid industry in 1929 will be extremely interesting to watch, for the next 12 mopths will tell us whither the talkles are heading and whether they have any chance of getting there. It may be my duty next December to record the fact that the noise era on the screen is passing and that the reac- tion against squawking heroines and lisping heroes has set in. I doubt, however, that such will be the case. I believe that the squawks and the lisps will be cured and that the characters’ voices will be made to come from their mouths instead of from their hip pockets. I even go so far as to believe that not only will movies con- tinue to talk: they will actually have something exciting to say. (Copyright, 1928.) sponsoring _two super "Show Boat” “The German War Picture. ¢ REHIND THE GERMAN LINES” the UFA film picturing for the first time outstanding events of the World War as seen from the German standpoint, has proved to be an out- standing success during its three-week engagement at the Rialto Theater. New York critics and public alike have be- stowed high praise upon this gripping and authentic war picture which is to be released generally throughout the country by Paramount. “Behind the German Lines” is trian Crown Prince in Serbia up to the armistice. Stirring glimpses of the mobilization of troops in Germany, France, England, Russia and Austria are revealed; then follow in switt succession the invasion of Belgium, the fooding of the country to repel the onrushing enemy troops, the Russian fighting in East Prussia, the early days of trench warfare, the crucial battles of Ypres, the Marne, the Somme, and the arrival of the American troops. “Behind the German Lines” has been synchronized with a musical score, and a series of maps, photographed with rare skill, are said to give the spectator a replete with dramatic scenes, all actually filmed on the battlefields, showing the war from the assassination of the Aus- Cflmfltle picture of the strategy of the whole war. Leon Errol’s Career. EON ERROL, the highest priced knee-bender in the world, is one of the four stars of “Fioretta,” Earl Car- roll's new romantic Venetian musical comedy, and Errol probably has had the most colorful and varied career of any cotemporary actor on the English- speaking stage. He was born in Sydney, Australia, and was studying medicine at the Sydney University when the hand of fate in- tervened. The university players were sorely in need of an: original book and set of lyrics for their annual musical play. So tae romance runs. Errol | stepped into-the breach and turned out E an acceptable pl Later, when one | of the leading players became ill, Errol | again came to the fore, put on the grease paint and emerged as an actor. From that day on the world lost a future doctor and gained a great co- median. Errol's first professional appearance ,was with George Rignold, regarded as the world's greatest Henry the Fifth. Errol played with Rignold's Shake- perean company for two years when the Jure of a passing circus attracted him. He then became in turn a clown, an acrobat and finally an animal trainer. Between circus seasons he took dips into vaudeville, musical comedy and burlesque, until his ability as a co- median of rare genius was recognized in Australia and New Zealand. He then determined to go to America for further #ecognition. He landed in San Francisco, where Re joined a traveling stock opera com- pany. The earthquake drove him East, and he soon joined a burlesque troup. It was here that Charles Dillingham discovered him, paid $20,000 for his re- lease and then placed him in the “Follies” of 1910. His famous stagger fall soon earned for him an imperishable niche in the hall of comedy fame Besides appearing in all the “Follies” he helped Edward Royce stage “The Century Girl.” Later he staged and costarred with Raymond Hitchcock in a series of “Hitchy-Koos.” London beckoned at this juncture and Errol gailed for the British metropolis, where he appeared with George Robey and Shirley Kellogg in “Joy Bells,” which ran there for a year. Upon his return to America his most notable successes were with Marilyn Was Once a Ballet Girl. h ARIA CORDA, who portrays an Italian prima donna in Milton Sills’ First National Picture, “The Comedy of Life.” is said to be thoroughly at home in the operatic scenes of the picture, for Mille, Budapest, Hungery, was formerly in the | ballet at the Royal Opera House in her | native city, prior to entering motion picture work. She steps from the ballet into the prima donna role after some years, and will sing the familiar airs from the | opera “Alda” for the sound version of “The Comedy of Life.” Sills portrays an English explorer in this story of modern Venice. While in Africa on a hunting expedition. he sees the photograph of a beautiful woman, Jearns her address from the back of the picture and seeks her out when he goes to Venice. This leads to.romance and some intensely dramatic situatio DANCING. PROF_AND MRS L. A A 1127 10th st. n.w. Classes Mon., Pri., 8 to 11 p.m. with orchestra, Private léssons by ap: pointment.Fr. 8567. Established_1900. SMART ' BALLROOM ~DANCING TAUGHT by oung lady widely traveled: beginters gpecialized: children welcome. Address %nl 8-R, Star office 3te ME. STAFFORD ALL STYEES STAGE, BA Btudio, 1124 Conn._Aye. Phone w.ss GIRARDEAU G ons, single Fox orchy MBERTON. ,ROOM DANCING. N. 3333. 1 ACHER STUDIO, | Miller in “Sally” and as the star of “Louis the Fourteenth.” Recently he journeyed out to Hollywood and made several successful motion pictures and was lgst seen in Gene Buck's show, “Yours Truly.” Always a favorite with photoplay fan: New York Sold Out Prices, $1.50, $2.00, 3 , $5; ‘Hops, A ;1025 Class inst. Friday. 8 L “Interference,” has been released, and “Abje’'s Irish Rose.” which flopped in its original form, has been completely remade and is now being issued with immortal dia- and | Mrs. Greene’s Bureau, Droop’s, 1300 G St. THE SUNDAY STAR., WASHINGTO The Story Behind. The Play. BY J. J. GELLER. “M'liss.” LTHOUGH a native of Albany, where he was born. in 1839, Bret Harte was included in that famous | coterie of writers who caught the spirit | of the rough and ready West. His en- tire career may be divided into three | periods—his creative writings, his ef- forts spent in a futile attempt to write for the stage and his lengthy residence abroad. where he died in 1902. Harte made his first overland journey to San Francisco as a youth and found himself in the company of the original | Forty-niners. The search for the pre- cious yellow metal never engaged him. The first job that he fell heir to was in® the office of the Golden Era, a weekly periodical published in San Francisco.” Starting as an ordinary printer's devil, he advanced to com- positor, and finally climbed into the editorial department as a contributor. It was the colorful, glamorous and vivid life of the adventurous gold- seekers that gave Harte the material for his early literary career. One of his first contributions was a short sketch of a waif, “M'liss,” which depicted her roguish nature and the gradual trans- formation it undergoes through the in- fluence of a young schoolmaster. The climax saw M'liss and the school teach- ler turn their backs wistfully upon the Western country for the more polished centers of the East. The story was published in 1863 in the Golden Era and contained a wood cut for an illus- tration. Years later, when the author's reputation” had been established, he expanded the original story of M'liss and included it in his collected works, | but it never possessed the charm and | freshness of his original sketch. During the seventies the law allowed no protection to authors whose works were pirated fof the stage, and the rec- ords disclose that a great many stories were adapted without permission of their creators. In that decade two New York dramatists separately endeavored to present a version of the Bret Harte ‘story, featuring Kate Mayhew and Annie Pixley, respectively, and it in- volved both in litigation. The result was that the court held the former as the lawful owner of the play. Subse- quently the judge's decision was over- |ruled by an appellate court, who main- | tained "that the Pixley faction cculd | not be restrained from presenting its conception of Harte's Western idyll. By a strange coincidence both versions | were almost similar in treatment, but resembled Harte's story in name only. Within a few months of each other | both companies presented “M'liss,” Kate Mayhew in September 23, 1879, at Niblo’s Garden, and Annie Pixley on March 22, 1880, at the Standard The- ater, in New York City. Let it be re- corded that what was once a sketch of high literary quality became a pot- pourri of song and dance. Where Harte capped his sentimental climax, the play adaptors introduced & murder, a Iynching attempt and arson in the last act. Annie Pixley’'s “M’liss” proved more popular than that of her competitor. She made out of Harte's character a hoydenish, devil-may-care creature as untamed as the eountry about her. Blessed with a partiality for slang, she had a faculty for emerging unscathed from ludicrous situations. Even an old Western dance hall scene, so familiar with the devotees of the cowboy “movies” was introduced. When Harte learned what had be- come of his beloved “M'liss” he made arduous efforts to suppress the plays, but met with no success, In England, however, the law provided for justsuch cases, and he enjoined the producers from presenting their garbled interpre- tation of “M’liss.” The irony of it all was that Harte once made a faithful dramatic adaptation of his own story, but could contract with no one willing to risk its stage production. ‘“Mliss’” treatment of a song-and-dance affair met with the public’s approbation for many years. (Copyright, 1928 “Two hundred and three regular fel- lows engaged in all branches of the industry throughout the United States” gave generous co-operation to the effort of Film Daily, the movie Bradstreet, to raise & fund for the relief of the poor and needy in the industry at Christmas time. Jack Alicoate, chair- man, and his associates on the com- mittee published a boxed “thanks” which so stated. LOIS IN THE SOUND PICTURES LOIS WILSON. s, has prominent speaking parts in the Corda, who is a native of | Warner Bros. pictures “On Trial” and “Conquest.” SALE OF SEATS OPENS TOMORROW MORNING COMING! YEHUDI MENUHIN World Famous Boy Violin Genius Thousands Turned Away at Every Appearance. by Advance Orders. POLI’S, FRIDAY, JAN. 11, 4:30 $2.50, $3.00, $3.85. Main 6493 KATE Of Washington, who has been engaged Deck,” at the Belasco Theater D. ¢, DECEMBER 30, 1928—PART 2 Next Week's Photoplays PALAGE—Clara Bow in Eli- nor Glyn's “Three Week Ends.” FOX—Janet _ Gaynor, in “Sunrise,” Fox production, by F. W. Murnau. COLUMBIA — Paramount's all-talking film, “Inter- ference.” Dita Parlo Goes Back. DITA PARLO, the German actress who was brought to Hollywood for one picture following her sensational success in the Ufa production, “Home- coming,” has left the film colony en route for Berlin. She is to return to Paramount in the early Summer, how= ever, to do an all-talking picture. Pre- parations of this subject had already | been started and an early production | date decided upon, but a cable from | Uta, requesting Dita’s immediate re- | turn for an important starring vehicle, ! necessitated & postponement of the | picture which will mark her debut in | American-made films. | Miss Parlo will begin work in the Ber- | lin studios shortly after the first of the year, and will return to Hollywood as soon as Ufa's production schedule per- mits. o Warlike Savages as Extras. ATHERING thousands of motion picture “extras” in a country of warllke savages was one of the ex- periences of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, co-directors of “The Four Feathers,” which is now being made at the Paramount studio in Hollywood following a year of loca- tion work in the’African wilderness. British officials are said to have com- municated with the inhabitants of the Red Sea Hills through nativ> sheiks and the assembly of natives, fully armed as though for real warfare, followed. ‘The featured players in the interior scenes of A. E. W. Mason's noted ad- venture story include Richard Arlen, Fay Wray, Clive Brook, Willlam Powell, Noah Beery, Theodore von Eltz, George Fawcett, E. J. Ratcliffe and Noble Johnson. “Roll Their Own.” SMITH to sing the “mammy role” in “Hit the during the Week of January 6. NE of the greatest games of chance in the theaters is that of building spectacles for public approval. It is as uncertain as a horse race and leaves the hazard of guessing the number of miles an ocean liner will run in a day among the most trivial frivolities of life. And yet the spectacle producer, fgnoring the odds and taking all chances, will madly rush in, season after season, in the hope and the be- lief that sometime he is going to strike the popular ideal and, as the race gambler would say, “make a killing.” Recent statistics published about “Show Boat,” which is called “the greatest musical comedy success in the history of the theater,” set forth that in its tryout on the road, previous to its appearance in New York, it grossed in receipts of $226,780, and in a run of 52 weeks in the metropolis its box office receipts reached the stupendous sum of approximately $2,550,000. And yet, due to its weekly cost of operation, these wonderful receipts “have not yet quite paid in profits the cost of its original production,” said to be somewhere near $250,000. Many mammoth and costly Ziegfeld spectacles have rolled along since “Show Boat” first saw the light of day in Washington. And Ziegfeld is not the only producer who has been vir- tually gambling with spectacles. It must be the love of art that creates the urge. Now comes Earl Carroll, who has won fame in spectacle production with his annual “Vanities.” But this time Mr. Carroll is departing from his orig- inal hobby. Now he is branching out into Venetian musical comedy, with four outstanding artists of the musical comedy world billed as “stars” of the production; with a company of 150 players, including “56 of the world's most beautiful girls” and “a chorus whose salarfes range from $75 up to $350 a week.” And as if that were not enough, there is to be a large or- chestra of the symphonic type, under the direction of Hans Fredhoven, a noted German conductor. The salaries paid others, including the four stars, are not given, but the cost of the en- tire_production in the first instance is reat Violinist e Mes . e .nmn."." Closes Dec. 31 PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF NEW YORK Three Concerts, Jan. 8, Jan. 29, Mar. 5 NATIONAL THEATER elberg—Arturo , Conductors Tickets—$9.00, §7.00, $5.00, $3.50. T. Arthur’ Smith, 1330 G Homer L. Kitt's. st TN T ELASC . 5 Gala New Year's Production Holiday Mat. Tuesday (New Year's) Charles Emerson oks' Savey Musi. comedians in the International Jazz GEORGE GERSHWIN'S ROBERT CAPRON, EDDIE MOR- RIS, RENEE HAMILTON, THELMA PARKER, FR AN K GALLAGHER, ROSA_ SNOWDEN, ALL THE STARS AND THE IN- COMPARARLE SPECIAL! SUN., JAN. ok “HIT THE DECK” ‘Wallelujah" “Romance, Beauty, Music.” ¢RQOLLIN' their own” is the style in Holywood among film stars. But that doesn’t mean cigarettes. Dorothy Dwan is said to be responsible for the fad of rolling the brims of felt hats to suit her individual face. “Buy unblocked felts in all colors, very cheaply,” says this actress, noted for being well dressed. “Then cut the shape to sult your style. Wear the hat a while, and trim down the brim some more. Wear this hat, and then cut it down into a small, chic felt. Every one thinks you have a new bonnet, and you look smart all the time.” Dorothy has appeared in many out- of-door pictures, and the call for felt said to be more than a quarter of a million dollars. The outstanding features of this| spectacle, which apparently duplicates the cost of “Show Boat,” are heralded as ‘“romance, beauty and music, in a setting of comedy relief.” Is it a wonder that seats to see spec- tacles cost so much, or so little? ragh To Start "The Cocoanuts.” RODUCTION of “The Cocoanuts,” starring the four Marx brothers, as an all-talking moving picture, will begin hats made her become practical on the subject. She discovered the fact that one flat shape can be blocked at home into many appearances. So Hollywood “rolls her own"—hats, not cigarettes or stockings. . Curls Not Always Pretty. “No woman over 20 should wear her hair in curls, under a hat, while allowing it to grow out of the bobbed stage,” says Robert Armstron’, former stage star, now at Pathe Studio. “Ten years are added to a woman’s age, by allowing these kittenish curls to hang around the face. Many girls in Hollywood nearing—and even past 30—do this, and they look pitiable. Men like sleek, well dressed hair. “Just make a New Year resolution not to succumb to the allurements of curls a la bob and you will look better,” is Armstrong’s advice to the would-be- sixteen-year-old actress of filmdom. Maybe it fits some who are not ac- tresses. STRAND THEHOME OF REAL U E February 1, at Paramount’s Long Island stddio. The announcement was made_follow- ing a conference at the studio between the Marx brothers, George 8. Kaufman, | Irving Berlin, Morris Ryskind of the studio writing staff, and Monta Bell, | production executive. “The_Cocoanuts” will be produced on 8 lavish scale as a musical comedy, and is expected to be the first big musical production to reach the screen through the medium of the talking film. Irving Berlin, who wrote the music for | the original stage production, will write new songs for the fllm version. Kauf- man, the auth®r of the book of the stage show, will sit in as an adviser on the picture. Ryskind is co-author of the current Marx show, “Animal Crack- ers’” A director for the picture has not yet been announced. - dnd = A GREAT INCLUDING ISPECIAL NEW YEARS® SHOW ptl i Sl /N4 CHORUS NIGH T A 7T POLJS-Tomorrow s sz Direct From One Year’s Triumphant Run at the Plymouth Theater, N. Y. ARTHUR HOPKINS PRESENTS Hal Skelly In His Original Creation of “Skid” With a Brilliant Supporting Cast In the Comedy Success Entitled “BURLESQUE” A Romance of Stage Folk and Stage Life Behind the Scenes By George Manker Walters and Arthur Hopkins Settings by Cleon Throckmorton PRICES : 13300 Fure. iat toc to 45 sab. Mats 3¢ to ————————————————————————————————— Beg. Sun., Jan. 6; Mail Orders Now—Seats Wed. WITH AN EXCEPTIONAL BROADWAY CAST I%OSSIE DEVER NIGHT 50¢ $2.50. JIMMIE COOPER Presents ZEPPELIN THRILLER A NOVEL PLAY OF THE AIR “ NIGHTS, 50c to $2.50 THURS. MAT. 50c_to $1.50 SAT. MA' Produstion rRANK MERLIN ¥ —SEATS JaN. o B SUN. JA"- 1 3n,m, ORDERS NOWSat. Mat. - MARY NASH * Audacious Comedy—Brilliant Cast— VIOLET KEMBLE COOPER* New York's Biggest Hit HENRY STEPHENSON * Last Season! FERDINAND GOTTSCHALK * IN. MELVYN DOUGLAS * “THE COMMAND TO LOVE" | STREETS. w! AMUSEMENTS. Quest for Comedy. SCREEN comedy, seeking to evolve from the free-for-all chase and pie- throwing stages to the plot situation plane, is undergoing another revolu- tionary change, due to talking pictures. The change will mean a still higher level for the comedy. at laest, so says B. P. Schulberg, general manager of production at the Paramount studios. Talking films open up the realm of clever dialogue for the screen comedies, Schulberg explains. They also make possible deft characterizations, enabling subtler forms of humor to be portrayed by the inflections of voices. At the same time, they do not weaken the comedy situations or reduce the oppor- tunities for effective acting. They will, however, tend to curb exaggeration, he believes. Tracing the history of screen comedy, Schulberg points -out how this form of entertainment has evolved from the crudest of burlesque, up through various stages of hilarious slapstick, to logically developed humorous situations. It has been a constantly ascending progress which will reach its high point in the talking film, the producer declares. “Motion pictures were a novelty in their infancy,” the executive states. “Motion was the basis of that attrac- tion. People wanted to see pictures that actually moved. Consequently, when the comedy element was introduced in the films, the directors depended on constant and rapid movement. “Ali except the younger film followers remember the early chase comedies. A fat man walked down a street. He stepped on a banana peeling which a small boy had tossed in front of him. He sat down with usual thud, then jumped up and started after the boy. “Perhaps he crashed into a laundress, carrying a huge basket of clothing. Linen scattering everywhere, the laun- | dress joined the chase. A messenger boy on a bicycle rounded a corner just in time to get the full benefit of the fat man’s charge. He, too, took up the pursuit. A bill poster, industriously ap- plying his paste brush, was the next victim, Smeared with paste, he took up the hue and cry. And so it went, usually ending up in a grand free-for- all . . . a regular flurry of motion. “Next came the introduction of slap- stick and the tremendous vogue of soft pie. Pie throwing was the chief comedy situation for some time. Other situa- tions that were taken full advantage of in_the slap-stick days were: A waiter falling downstairs with a loaded tray of dishes or spilling gray on top of a bald man’s head; falling into water unexpectedly; losing some article of at- tire; stepping into an open manhole; throwing bombs back and forth in an effort to get rid of them: stepping on | a lady’s train and 4l sorts of kicks and blows. “The early screen comedies were just a series of incidents taking full advan- tage of these stock situations. Gradual- 1y these disconnected incidents lost their | In | power to hold audience’s .interest. this emergency the story comedy was born. Most of the basic situations used in _the one-reel slap-stick efforts were still used. Many of them will always | be good for laughs. Little by little, however, their crudities were foned down, and they were worked logically into stories. Plot interest became in- creasingly important, and the laugh situations had to be more deftly woven into the story fabric. “The vogue of comedy teams is an- other interesting phase in this form of | WALTERSART GALLERIES Baltimore. The “Poor Association” of Baltimore is suthorized to say the GALLERIES of Mr. WALTERS. RLES and CENTR! il ny 19, 4he, public: All WEDNESDAYS and SATURDAYS of JANUARY, FEBRUARY. MARCH and and also EASTER MONDAY and 22nd FEBRUARY. Between the hours of 11 and 4 o'clock. Tickets of fifty cents each, may be ordered through the office of the Family Welfare Association. Calvert and Lombard Streets. at any time. or purchased at Entrance of the Gaileries on days when_ Gal ope ol E | APRIL. screen entertainment. The teams en- joyed a tremendous popularity for a short period. Wallace Beery and Ray- mond Hatton started that vogue in ‘Behind the Front’ Soon there were numbers of comedy teams, bidding for and obtaining popularity. Recently the | popular clamor for these team comedies waned. “The film comedy in silent form has been raised to an art by such men as Harold Lloyd and Charles Chaplin My prediction is that it will become still a higher form of art, now that the screen has found its voice, Part of my enthusiasm is caused by what I have seen of our first all-taking, feature- length comedy, ‘The Dummy.” Here is something as far removed from the old chase comedy as day is from night Clever situations and sparkling dialogue bear not the slightest resemblance to the old exaggerated motion and pie throwing. A cast of characters por- trays a humorous story in which not one of the old stock situations is used. Yet the laughs are there in plenty. “It proves to me that we have come a long way in the development of mo- tlon plcture comedies” Current History Lectures CLARA W. McQUOWN Every Friday, 11 AM. The Washington Club, 17th & K LIBRARY OF CONGRESS January 8 at 8:30 P.M. Prague Teachers’ Chorus Metod Dolezil, Conductor Reserved Seats at T. Arthur Smith, 1330 G St., Beginning December 31 iach Ticket 25 cents This concert will be broadeast by Station NA, 2Z Public Questions, Home and Foreign Every Monday Morning at 10:50 Masonic Temple, 13th St. & N. Y. Av Admission, 65c and 75¢ SALE OF SEATS OPENS TOMORROW MORNING FOR THEGERMAN GRAND OPERA COMPAN Direct From Berlin PRESENTS RICHARD WAGNER'S DERRINGDES NIBELUNGEN “Das Rheingold,” Wed., Jan. 23 “Die Walkaere,” Mon., Feb. 4 “Siegfried,” Thars., Feb. 7 “Goetterdammerang,” Sat. Feb. 9 SPECIAL PERFORMANCE “TRISTAN UND ISOLDE,” Taes., Feb. § POLI'S THEATER n Tickets for the Ring, $20, $16, $12, $10, $8. Plus 10% Taz on $20 and $16 Tickets Prices—Single performances, $5, $4, §3. $2.50, §2.00. M e Gesears Com: cert Bureau, Droop’s, 1300 G N the gres NOTE—Owing _to | . | | Datrons are requested to take I vations romptly. ATION AL ONE WEEK ONLY ter in Washin vely American of first The only th ering excl foreign stars LAT THE MOST SENSATIONAL PRICE REDUCTI . d ‘?n.lll"l“n .‘IQHWAIEINO’I‘ON T"!rfl':"l“flofin. 3 3 i o Saturdsy Matinées: O Beltens. YORK SUCCESS WAS EVER Nights: Or Year's udien roduced. r in its second year. ONE 5" No mall er telepl press of two continents as the most Now playing to capacily au orders accepted for this e BEG. TONIGHT MATS. TUES. & SAT. (ONS AN ESTABLISHED NEW L, $1.00; Baleony 75¢; 24 Balcony, 50e. &rip of emotion during the entire bilarious gagement, All seats box office THURSDAY, JAN. 5rD, AT o A. M. IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE NEW YORK ENGAGEMENT. Book Staged by Dances Staged by EARL CARROLL’S Newest Musical Comedy COMPANY OF IS0 STARRING *LEON ERROL FANNIE BRICE * LIONEL ATWILL \ I a Superb Venetian Romanie FIORETTA musicer GEORGE BAGBY<+ G.ROMILLI YoF CAdapted bu Chariton cindreus Clifford Brooke LeRoy Prinz. FEATURING- DOROTHY KNAPP GEORGE HOUSTON THEO. KARLE < JAY BRENNEN mo COLUMBUS ~ LOCUST SSTERS Tunee DEMoNS - Giovannt GURRIER? Orchestra cAvrangements by Doenico Savino hmh?mmgwifrymm 2/ Lavish Sienes 56 Worlds Mest Beautiful Girls Chorus $1.49. 50, 60 Male Uoices Orchestra $3.00 & ifso