Evening Star Newspaper, February 3, 1929, Page 57

BY W. H. OW that the pulpits of the land are beginning to fix the blame for meretricious N plays and pictures upon the public which patronizes them, instead of upon those who make| them, it is time to take an account of stock and to shape our ends accordingly. For if the charge be true, it will mean that the profes- sional reformer and uplifter will have to change his point of attack and turn to the homes of America for reform, instead of besieging the Legislatures and Congress, and the censor, who has proved an old man of the sea io the movie and who is struggling desperately to get astride of the shoulders of the playwright as well, should look for another job. Also it directs attention very directly to the prop- osition, often flouted, that laws alone cannot make the unruly pious, no matter how severe they may be. Of course, this new phase of the question in nowise excuses the picture and the play makers from blame. It simply focuses the attention where it belongs and where long ago it was suggested in this column the real cause of bad plays and pictures would be found. * %k %k % On the whole, the world at large seems to face a very trying pre- dicament. It wants peace, if it has to fight for it; and, by the same token, it demands plays and pictures that are free from blem- ish, even if it has to put their makers out of business. But eminent divines—not one, but many—are contending that it is the people who patronize picture and play atrocities who them- selves should be reckoned with if any progress is to be made to- ward a really decent stage and screen. And those people con- stitute a very large factor indeed in the body politic. * ok % % Those who are without fault in| the matter must admit that| humanity at its best, despite its| many virtues, is mighty weak after all, and this may furnish a clue‘ as to why people want to see wicked plays and photoplays, and why, when the wily press agent of either tempts with suggestive hint, or bare faced bid, the people in great crowds rush to the theaters where they are offered and pour their money into the ravenous box offices without stint. And yet they do, unquestionably, and one need not confine his evidence to the testimony of the theater manager to establish the fact. The young folks might be excused on the score of the natural curiosity of youth, but this will not serve their elders as an excuse, and the elders are quite as much at fault as the youngsters. Yet people are no worse today than they were 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years ago. Young folks are perhaps more frank and outspoken than they were in grandma’s time, but intrinsically they are just as honest, just as| chaste, just as good as young peo- ple ever were. Times changed, and they have helped very 1arfiely in changing them. Some will suggest that they want to see naughty things simply to avoid them; others, more severe, are inclined to accuse them of just being perverted, and declare they are hurtling to the demnition bow- wows. But why hop on the youn; people? The older folks are just as curious, and certainly it is they who provide the yolm%]folks with the money to indulge their morbid taste. The more one thinks of it the more bewildering the situa- tion becomes. The vital question whether you have sprung from a man or a monkey fades into in- significance before it. Doesn’t the remedy lie in trying to assume a virtue even if we have it not? * % X % The sage advisers who want youth to follow the paths of right- eousness as they see them must first set the example; especially must they exercise their influence upon the youth within their own homes. There is no divine right which justifies “adults” in indulg- ing in dissipation of any kind simply because they are adults and denying to youth the same privilege because they have not vet reached the age deemed ade- quate for such sophistication. One cannot play fast and loose with the virtues. It has to be one thing or another, and if those who desire to see our mode of living, our News and Comment | remain, even though there c?-ne have | LANDVOIGT. morals, bettered are really sincere about it, they themselves must set ]the pace. They must assume a Jvmue even if they have it not. * X X ¥ | There is no doubt under the blue | skies above us that the “genius” | behind movie making has never concerned itself with good morals or good manners. It has aimed | solely at box office returns, and, { knowing the apparent weakness of 'humanity. it has appealed for |them to™ the baser side of hu- | manity, rather than with clean, | intellectual entertainment. There | ‘has been some outward improve- | ment in methods, it is true, but the spirit is still where it has been| |from the beginning of feature | pictures. And now the theater| | has become infected also. If both are to be bettered, it is the general public that patronizes them which must take the first step. If our | morals and our culture are as sin- i cere as we pretend—and it is most | earnestly to be hoped that they are—their dominancy in everyday |life calls for a higher duty more | widely discharged than that of the | censor or the legislator. ‘The peo- | ple of this day and generation can | make its morals, its manners and | every phase of its life whatever ithey sincerely wish them to be. | But not by intrusting the task to the censor, or even to the legisla- tor. There is only one way to do | right and we must do it ourselves, | not leave it to some other and im- | | perfect instrument to do it for us. The surest way to Kill pernicious iplays and pictures is not to | patronize them, and this holds) | good both with the young people |and with their elders. Producers; will not invest their money in en- tertainment of any kind that does not pay. It is money they are after, not the uplift of humanity. | It doesn’t need even the policeman to stop their wrongdoing, if the public itself vetoes it with the irresistible weapon, non-patron- age. SRR Sound and dialogue pictures are | still with us, and they are likely to | rumors from the studios that y duction is likely to be curtailec! for the 1929-30 season. There are stanch defenders of the “talkie,” who insist that with the simplifi- cation and perfection of the me- chanical equipment both for mak- ing and for showing sound pic- tures on the screen, they will ulti- mately annihilate the silent pic- |ture. " On the other hand, there are just as stanch champions of the silent picture whose zeal is| prophesying that the vogue for a sounding screen will soon die out. ‘Washington has had fair opportu- nity to form its own opinion. We have had “Interference,” then “On Trial,” and now the Fox produc- tion, “In Old Arizona,” whose novel claim is that it was made entirely outdoors, not in the sound studios. If patronage may be ac- cepted for a verdict, Washington has given its approval to them all and most enthusiastically to “In Old Arizona.” Still, behind it all comes the plaintive suggestion from the producing world that it is imperative that sound and dia- logue pictures, which are much more expensive to make than the silent drama, will have to “gross better”—which means that they will have to bring larger money returns in the theater box-offices, or “something will have to hap- pen” What that “something” may be is not mentioned. Here again the importance of the “money return” looms promi- nently. If the smaller theaters cannot afford to install the me- chanical equipment necessary to showing sound pictures, they can- not buy them; and the smaller movie theater is a most important factor in the movie money-making world. Producers are expending money lavishly in erecting the- aters with greater seating capacity to balance the loss of the smaller theater purchases. They also are literally moving heaven and earth to cheapen the cost of the me- chanical equipment for showing pictures. What the outcome will be ultimately must be left to spec- | ulation. It is fairly safe to predict that neither the sound nor the| silent J»icture is likely to be anni- hilated until something better arrives to take the place of both, for there is no more popular en- tertainment in the world today | than that provided by “the silver screen,” silent or sound. Laemmle’s New Idea : NEW idea in the making of photo- plays is announced by Carl Laemmle, president of the Universal Pictures Corporation. From now on crowd psychology will be applied to the selection, preparation and production of Universal Pictures. Dr. Willlam M. Marston, noted psychologist, author and university lecturer, is the man selected to apply it. ‘While we have always made pic- tures with the box office as an im- portant determining factor, and by box office T mean drawing power and au- dience popularity, ys Mr. Laemmle, explaining his new departure in screen technique, “we have not always been right in our estimate of the public’s probable reaction to our stories, inci- dents, titles and other picture elements. “As a matter of fact, I think we have heen more in the habit of judging pic- tures on the say-so of a selected group of individuals. Fortunately, their judgment of what the public wants is usually right. It is a judgment built up by long experience in picture mak- ing and selling. . “However, 1 believe that the motion picture industry has always neglected 10 take one fact into consideration, and that is the fact that when people gather together in the auditorium of a the- ater, they cease to be individuals and take on a mental attitude which prompts them to act and react as one body. “Now science long has recognized that a crowd or a mob reacts differently than an individual. It responds to ideas or to a stimulus that the indi- viduals making up the crowd probably would ignore, if alone. This tendency has been dubbed “crowd psychology.” In its more dramatic or violent forms, 4 is called ‘mob psychology.” *Tt occurred to me that in the plan- ning of pictures, it might be better to focus our attention on the probable crowd psychology reaction of certain scenes, ideas and incidents, rather than on their merit of appeal to individuals. In other words, we had neced of an ex- Ppert on crowd psychology to direct us for pic- audience ' man, president of the motion picture along lines which would make tures with the maximum stimulating value. “Therefore, I investigated and found | Clubs, that the man I wanted in this ca- |the censorship of dialogue pacity was Dr. Willlam M. Marston. Accordingly I induced him to give up his other work, including courses of lecturers on psychology at Columbia and New York Universities, and to join the Universal organization. ~He has just arrived at Universal City, Calif., where our pictures are made, and is now bending his efforts toward the se- lection of stories, treatments and screen presentations that his training and knowledge tell him will delight audi- ences. “I think this is the first time that a practical psychologist has ' ever been called into the motion picture industry, especially for such far-reaching and fundamental purposes. Dr. Marston is very enthusiastic over the possibilities of his new field of endeavor and has | some interesting ideas on the subject.” Dr. Marston's title with Universal is | director of the public service bureau. Fleet Maneuvers. A MOTLEY fleet of sea-going hacks was assembled for the filming of “Scarlet Seas,” the new First National | feature staring Richard Barthelmess. | The Barthelmess company was at Cata- | lina Island off the California Coast shooting the sea sequences of the South | Seas narrative and a score of strang> | | vessels were gathered by John Francs, | Dillon, the director. | The flagsnip of the fleet was lh!“ Southern Cross, a rather weather-worn, but graceful crafi formerly the yacht of Leopold, late King of Belgium. Ac- cordaing to rank and distinction the others are: An old tramp steamer (which was wrecked for the climax of the pic- | ture), a flat barge (used for cameras land 'technical work), three powreful speed boats (one of which acted as a regular taxi-boat between location and San Pedro, the nearest port to Los Angeles and Hollywood) and 14 sam- ens, & curious nodescript craft made gy the natives of the South Seas. “Scarlet Seas” introduces a new | Barthelmess leading lady in the person ' of Betty Compson. S oOut in Cleveland, Mrs. E. L. Gross- division of the Federated Women's' THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. FEBRUARY 3, 1929—PART % Song Hit Specialist. Vmcm J. COLLING, musical di- rector of the Charles Emerson Cook production at the Belasco, is esti- mated to have been responsible for the | success of some 200 song hits during his | assoclation of 20 weeks with the com- | pany. He is described as “the good- | looking red-haired, freckle-faced chap in | the tuxedo” whom audiences at the Be- | lasco have seen directing the orchestra. In addition to his directorial activities | Mr. Colling rehearses the vocal numbers of the company’s principals and chorus. He is sald to work 13 hours a day; for diversion he sits at the piano and composes original pieces of his own.| Something like the plodding postman | who could think of no more exhilarating | fashion of spending his weekly holiday than in going for a long walk. | Colling is still under 30. but he has| had a wide and interesting musical background. A number of years ago, when he first went to musical producers | seeking a directorship, he was invari-| ably rejected as too young. He resorted | to the time-honored subtcrfuge of grow- ing a mustache and achieved the re quired dignity. At 22 he was the con-| ductor of a 20-piece symphony orches- tra which toured the country with the film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Before that he had directed music for “The Birth of a Nation” and| was, for a number of seasons, the musical director of “No, No, Nannette,” | and Fannie Brice's vaudeville tours. For | several years he worked with Irving | Berlin in New York. Mr. Colling has written some 60 origi- nal numbers for vaudeville acts now touring the country. Inadvertent Reunion. IN the casting of their newest all- talking Vitaphone production, “The Little Wildcat,” the Warner Bros. have inadvertently brought about a very in- teresting reunion. For the role of the irascible, testy but lovable old Civil War veteran they engaged George Faw- cett, and for his battling pal Robert Edeson was placed under contract. This appearance of the pair marks | the first occasion they have played to- | gether on stage or screen since that memorable event in September of 1897, when Charles Frohman produced that exquisite forerunner of all J. M. Barrie | successes, “The Little Minister,” and in- troduced to her enormous and devoted | following as a “star” Miss Maude | Adams. This event occurred at the | Empire Theater, with Mr. Edeson as | Gavin Dishart, the title role of the Bar- rie play, and Mr. Fawcett as the hard- ened but likable old Bow Dow. The latter was a typical George Fawcett role, a tippling, cantankerous Scot, displaying alternate tenderness where his boy, Micah Dow, was con- cerned, and stubbornness where his habits came in conflict with the strict rulings of the church elders. Tiny But Prolific. GERTRUDE SHORT, a tiny but pro- lific screen comedienne, has been signed by Columbia to supply the farci- cal note in “Trial Marriage” in its revelation of the dilemmas of temporary unions. Certrude started to contribute Jaughs at the age of 5, it is said, as a child actress for Morosco, and later added to the merriment of other shows for three years. She made her screen debut in 1908, and counts among her best vehicles “Beggar on Horseback,” “Tillie the Toiler” and “The Show. In “Trial Marriage” she plays the wisecracking friend of the much-married heroine. In “Forbidden Tales” Conrad Veidt, who plays the star role “Forbidden Tales” at the Little in Theater. NEW LEADING LADY MARY NI Star of Manager Cochran’s National Theater Players, who open their season | EWTON, February 18. Invokes the Radio. SINCE the announcement in The Star last Sunday that Manager Steve Cochran’s new stock season for the National Theater Players would open Monday, February 18, long before the yellow jonquil shoots its tiny leaves above the frozen ground of Winter, the news of the fact has been spread to the four corners of the earth by the “raddio” as Gov. Alfred E. Smith is wont to call that modern method of broadcasting. 5 “News travels of its own accord, once set loose,” sald Manager Cochran dur- ing the closing hours of last week. “but while even Comdr. Byrd at the South Pole and the fur-clad Eskimos of the frozen North have been handed The Star announcement, there are still many in Washington who are holding out until the last minute to make their reservations for the coming season. “Of course,” he continued, “it may be possible to secure seats for any per- formance during the season, even on the night of the performance, but if our enthusiastic patrons of previous seasons wish to secure in advance, for every performance, the seats they oc- | cupicd last season, they simply must | telephone, write, or notify the National | box office not later than Saturday, | February 9, for on the following Mon- | day all seats will be placed on general | sale. “During the season, seats always will | be on sale one week in advance. But it is important to remember that seat reservations for the season will be held only until the day preceding the per- formance for which they are issued. This is a new kink and should not be forgotten, because it is imperative. “The box office will be open daily from 9 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. and, for public convenience, calls will be re- ceived over the telephone at Main 501 and Main 835. “The reason for this special an- nouncement is due to the fact that our office is being besieged with applica- tions from new season reservationists, but we do want to accommodate our old friends, if they will let us.” Manager Cochran says also that the new company is being rapidly molded into form and that due notice of the new roster of players will be announced as early as it is safe to do so. Old Stories Survive. 00D screen plots, like good stories or plays, do not age, but are cer- tain to win the same commendation from audiences of the futur: as those of today, in the opinion of Jack Con- way, director of “Alias Jimmy Valen- tine.” Sustained popularity of striking or unusual dramatic themes is proved by efforts of picture companies to make successive versions of the same story, Conway declared. He pointed to “Ca- mille,” adame X" and “Anna Ka- renine” as stock illustrations. “Alias Jimmy Valentine,” which is Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s first film con- taining dialogue, has been done on the screen before and was successful as a play and novel, but this is its intro- duction to the medium of Movietone. In the added realism thus obtained and in many other respects, according to | West Coast pre-viewers, the new film i¢ a very distinct entity. William Haines, whose forte, as all picture fans are aware, has been a se- ries of light comedy dramas, has a different type of role in “Alias Jimmy Vaientine.” In donning before the camera (and within the new sound- proof stages) the mantle worn by H. B. | Warner in 1910, when that celebrated tradition, Haines "renounces—for the nonce, at least—the athletic hero part. Leila Hyams has the chief feminine role, the part played at the old Wal- lack's Theater in 1910 by Laurette Taylor. Jack Conway, who made ‘t‘whfle the City Sleeps,” is the direc- or. g Asiatic popularity. A CABLEGRAM to Dolores Del Rio, United Artists star, from E. Kauf- man, editor of “Roubej,” & weekly il lustrated magazine published in Harbin, is the most popular screen artist in Asia. This conclusion results from an Asiatic survey made by “Roubej” in December. e Greta Garbo, now in Sweden, Is | scheduled to return to Hollywood on or | about the 1st of March. Photoplays gt Washington Theaters This Week actor made Jimmy Valentine a stage | Manchuria, informs the star that she ' Americanizing Vilma. WH!N Vilma Banky, star of Samuel Goldwyn's United Artists picture, “The Awakening” arrived these United States, she was, although quite charming enough to delight hard-boiled | New York, about as much as American as Mussolini. Now that the “Hun- | garian Rhapsody,” as the world knows her, has arrived at the height of in- dividual stardom, she has also arrived at a complete naturalization in the land of her adoption. To begin with she has married an American in Rod La Roque, the hus- band with whom she forms one of Hollywood’s favorite pictures of happy | married life. In spite of his Gallic name, La Rocque was born in Chicago— | so that the honor of the final conquest | |of the young woman whose possible | romances were the gossip of all Los | Angeles for two years after her arrival, | belongs to the United States and not to any of the multitudinous foreign nations whose sons flock to the motion picture capital of the world. | Miss Banky's quaint version of Eng- | lish, as much as her striking blonde beauty, formed the subject of much comment in this country when Samuel Goldwyn rushed her over to this side of the Atlantic to play opposite Ronald Colman in “The Dark Angel.” Now, by id‘,nt of much earnest reading and sky practice with Americans of all accents and ancestries, she has succeeded in being able to express herself in English. There is still a ghost of an accent, but it succeeds only in being charming. —_—— o “ Movie "Two-a-Day. | DOLORES COSTELLO recently did in ‘I motion pictures what vaudeville | calls a “two-a-day.” Though still en- | gaged in her starring role in “Noah's Ark,” the star began another portrayal in her latest stellar vehicle, “The m- deeming Sin,” with Conrad Nagel in | the leading supporting role. This gave | the lady the distinction of being the | first talking picture star to appear in two audible films at the same time. | “The Redeeming Sin” is a Vitaphone | special, in which talking sequences fig- ure prominently. Miss Costello’s role is that of a dancing girl in the apache haunts of Paris. Pioneer in “Talkies." ACK MULHALL, First National star, who has just signed a new contract at an advanced salary, calling for a serles of First National Vitaphone pfe- tures, although still a young man, is a ploneer of talking pictures, for he worked in some of the early Edison efforts 10 years ago, when still in his | teens. He'is thought to have a mar- | velous voice for the Vitaphone. Popular Short Reels. 'OLUMBIA has never been identified exclusively with short-subject pro- duction, but its short-film product is said to be unique in its fleld. “Screen Snapshots,” a two-reeler, which it has produced and distributed | for many years, is popularly known as the fan magazine of the screen. It is composed of intimate scenes of the stars at work and at play. “Radio- grams,” recently acquired, is a reel, offering the cream of cracks” from the pen of Ralph Spence, one of America’s high-priced humorists. ‘The new series of Columbia talking shorts, it is said, wil' include in its | casts many prominent s.age and vaude- ville names. In “Oh Boy” | Vincent J. Colling, musical director of Cooks’ Savoy Musicomedians in “Oh Boy,” at the Belasco Theater. May McAvov and Conrad N Dumbarton “caigh n the' Fop.” Estelle Tavlor and ‘Lady Raffles.” dy. FEBRUARY. Sund B fill thxy Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday ichard Barthelmess In Richard Barthelmess in Richard Barthelmess i Marion Nixon | S T = > b Z T T chardBarthelmess 1a Marion Nixon in Marion_tiixon T g a Ambamd r !Cfll}l':'w iSeas, ‘Scarlet Seas.’ “Scarlet Sea: “Jazz Mad." gz Mad earie & Brien De,:r‘lrel 1’("%"7".‘? in Vews e News 'Nevs. News. “Sunrise. “Brotherly Love " medy. ey - Jerry Drev comedy. __Jerry Drew comedy. __“Collegians.” No.6 Comedy.’ 8o f Colleen Moore in Ci re in Lew Cndy 1 ari d % Apollo e dgin Gilbert in | John Gibest i Bynthetic. Sin." “Synthetic Sin." “A“Single Man.” eoree TN Mllioncbenar Gotlar Taoman of Affa Woman of Affal Bobby Vernon Bobby Vernon 0ddity reel. “Jazz Mad." Our Gang comeds. Ehwell_sertoon. rrg];!gll Bfi,;r}ofl_n, »Jrulr(nr:lyx comedy. “Collegians.” N Jerry Drew_comedy. Serial. & = % - lara Bow _in ¢ o] jol Ta: tha i a1 ) Ave. Grand “Tbree aieek Ends.” “Three ek Ends.’ S : n - ;':kmm’“ AR et Tte ™ T Hineymon i3 Jack 3 ‘Submarine.” “‘Submarine.” Oddity reel. Vari eel. ack_Duffy_comedy. i gidy. el s!(gl» n. _ Krazy Kal oon. __Max Davidson comedy. Jerry Drew comedy. Colleen Moore in joseph_Schildkrant in Anfonis o | in Mel. Cameo Dark. “Synthetio Sin "k Ship Comes Tn."" ™Al Legions 2 Goration. Vieiiver Fitate Mt. Rainier, Md. Comedy. Topics. Comedy. Comedy. Will Re reel. Comedy. Night. Ranger 1 T | 1 %, Fox varietles. Comedy: . News. ‘Spo “Pury of the Wild.” o . oore Gladys Brocl I and H. B. er an . war: B Carolina Lawrence Gray Lawrence Gray Toute 1 CF O Cniidolon Senildkratt snml" Bhea™ - aha Lojs Wion Tom Mix in | “ o . «oyle 5 " £ i el i L L uoh Rep <A fnip Gomes In." _"The Countty Doctor.” ‘Man Made Woman. ‘The Covered Wason.” s o in TH ¢ RIn Tin Tin The Clara_Pow in T I % Jar Central Million-Dolar Collar.” Milion-Dollar Collar." “Three Week Ends.” “Thres ‘rvfex Ea.." o e Wondte " e Womts © GerecoBoen la WS, ristie comedy. ristie comedy. i L ko, ' Ble Boy comeds. Bie Bos comeds. _ Variery reelo Todics. _Variety feel Roics. __Cames comeds. Come omedy. Krazy Kat cartoon. P w in Clara Bow _in Cody Karl Dene and Pola_Negri in J_Farrell MacDor “Hoy Che'y Cha. ‘Three Necek Ends.” “Three Week Ends.” “A _Single Man."” Georse K. Atthur in “The Woraan, From “in “Riley the co':':"'d qlnml-rl‘-E;l’: 1V|!‘§me‘|‘|h?" Jack Duffy comedy. News. Oddity reel “‘Brotherly Love.” Moscow."" Varlety reel. Billy Dooley comedy. k DURY comedy. _Jeck DAY tomeds. __Sennets comedy. News. Gomedy. __Charles Ghase comedy. __J. ATthuf comedy. __ Svortlieht reel. Seriai. . £ Boyd, am “Boyd, ancy Carroll and Cod Cr: Circle Jacaycline Lozan ‘and Jacaycline Logan ‘and Richard Arlen e B Nor o mea " Atleen Prinels’ and T a i ale in n Disputed.” lsputed.” Marceli . e “bower.” “Manhattan Cocktail.” Comedy omeay. MR Single Man." o omen o i ey in— Pola Negri in Lew Cody in Dorothy Mackalll and _ Adolphe Menjou in George Lowi ie ) Colony Wegt of, Janeibar “Tne Womian From “A Single Man “Lowel Shrmen fn “His ”m—n«(y::et Lite™ porothy Gu'lllisv’{r"d e Sirus Rid urel-Hardy s ““Convoy.” ews. Cartoon. “Honeymocn Flat vids g = om-d: et edy. __ Arthur_Lake comedy. flegians.” No. 5. Comedy. Netiony teats Setaly George Peban and Mika_Aldrich in “The Loves of Ri- d Comedy. w in Charles Rogers and Mary Brian in *Some One to Love. Comedy.. Colleen Moore and Lawrence Gray in “Oh. Kay. rdo Cortez and rmel Myers in “Prowlers of the Sea” Co 8yd Chaplin and uth Hiatt in “The Missing Link." News. Bally Phipps in 3 Photoplays This Week | EARLE—‘“Scarlet Seas.” FOX—“The Little Wildcat.” ning. evening. evening. PALACE—“The Awakening.” Vilma Banky in her first starring pic- ture, “The Awakening.” is the screen attraction at Loew’s Palace this week. In this latest United Artists’ syn- chronized picture Miss Banky is sup- ported by Walter Byron and Louis Wolheim. The story concerns the acknowledged beauty and idol of a village, whose love is sought by Von Hagen, a cavalry officer, who is in the village with his troops. He is on the verge of success when he discovers that he really does love the girl. In the meantime, the people of the village, having seen Marie enter the quarters of the officer, assume that she has done wrong and drive her from the village, Von Hagen has made the discovery of his real love too late as the girl cannot be found. During the war in the midst of a heavy bom- bardment, however, he meets the girl, who is in a convent, about to become a nun. She refuses to listen to his pleading to go with him, but when he is brought back wounded, she decides she does love him, and with the aid of Louis Wolheim, whose hand she has spurned, her lover is saved and they are left in their happiness. On the stage Wesley Eddy and the Palace Syncopators are presented in Boris Petroff’s Loew-Publix production, “Barcelona,” featuring Jack North with his ukulele, Billy Gilbert and his violin, Joe and Jane McKenna, dancers; Renee and Evelyn, tangoists; Borge Moller, accordionist, and the Dorothy Berke Dancers. Added attractions include the M-G-M News, the Fox Movietone News, the Palace Orchestra, Charles Gaige at the organ and selected short subjects. FOX—“The Little Wildcat.” Two_sisters love the same man in | “The Little Wildcat,” the one a Cin- | derella, the other the wildcat, in the | story of the Warner Brothers Vitaphone talking picture, shown at the Fox The- | ater this week. It is true comedy in | every sense and depicted by a talented cast, including George Fawcett and Robert Edeson, upon whom falls the | burden of the story, together with Doris | Dawson, Audrey Ferris, James Murray !and several other Warner stars. ‘The picture is said to be strictly mod- {ern and to move in a fast tempo, with novel dialogue sequences that enhance rather than retard the action. On_the stage the Fox Vanities will be offered, presenting a flash of gay color, laughter, song and dance by stars such as little Sunshine Sammy of “Our Gang” comedies and his two brothers; Chaz Chase, an eccentric comedian; the Lathrop Brothers, dancing marvels; Hines and Leonard, two youthful girls: revues; Frankel, O'Dair and Davis and a trio of dancers from Roxy's Gang. Last, but not least, will be a new im. semble Dancers. Leon Brusiloff is making a special arrangement of the betier known Tschaikowsky melodies as the overture and the program will be completed with | the Fox Movietone News. EARLE—"Scarlet Seas.” | Richard Barthelmess is the star of the | program at the Earle Theater this week. 2st as the man who strolled into th rater of madness and death, and ~merged with an inner renaissance; the girl is Betty Compson. “Scarlet Seas,” | the feature picture, was written as an | original screen stery by Scott darling. | The bulk of the picture was filmed at sea. There is said to be a thought in “Scarlet Seas,” a thought that deals | with the regeneration of a man’s soul. | The story concerns Steve Donkin, who {roamed the Seven Seas and took what he wanted where he found it. When he shanghaied a girl and took her to sea | with him; when the ship burned and the two were left alone and adrift in a liteboat. Then death stared them in the face and hunger tested his faith in life and himself; a rescue (the strangest ever screened) was effected and how he finally found himself. These are the high lights of “Scarlet Seas.” ]COLUM’BIA—"AIIH Jimmy Valentine.” ! entine” is the screen attraction at : Loew's Columbia this week. The pic- ture, produced by Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer, was adapted from the famous IN PHOTOPLAY THEATERS THIS WEEK This afternoon and evening. This afternoon and evening. PALACE—“The Awakening.” This afternoon and evening. COLUMBIA—"“Alias Jimmy Valentine.” This afternoon and eve- METROPOLITAN—“The Redeeming Sin.” LITTLE THEATER—“Forbidden Tales.” Elray and Cooper, from the Broadway | portation, The Fox Boys and Girls’ En- | ; William Haines in “Alias Jimmy Val- | This afternoon and This afternoon and play of the same name that thrilled America in its day. It also contains dialogue and you hear Willlam Haines speak for the first time in the moving pictures. Leila Hyams, “Hollywood's most beautiful blond,” plays the leading feminine role, and Karl Dane and Tully Marshall have excellent characteriza- tions, as fellow crooks of Willlam Haines. The story concerns the cleverness of Jimmy Valentine as a cracksman—how he robs an express office and establishcs an alibi. Lionel Barrymore as the de- tective is unable to pin the job on Jim- my, who then decides to go straight. He goes to a small town, where he is employed in the bank and wins promo- tion as well as the heart of the daughter of the bank president. One day his sweetheart's small sister is locked in the bank’s vault. No one can open it but Jimmy. To open it, however, would re- veal to Doyle, who is still on his track, that he is a cracksman. He decides to save the child’s life and opens the safe. Doyle is convinced that the young man is really going straight and does not ar- rest him. The final fadeout shows everybody happy. An interesting addition to the feature picture will be a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer synchronized, with sound and dialogue, presenation of the flight of the Graf Zeppelin from Germany to the United States. The picture is in three reels and is said to be a thrilling record of the flight as reported by Lady Drum- mond Hayes, the only woman passenger aboard the craft. The Fox Movietone News, the M-G-M News and the Co- lumbia Orchestra will round out the program. Paris is and will always be the city of romance and mystery. It is not only the French authors who have found in its cathedrals and cobbled streets, its avenues and shadowy courts, its under- ground pmfes and its gray, silent river the locale for immortal stories— but writers of practically every coun- try have turned to it at one time or another _for colorful notably Dickens, in his “Tale of Two Citles.” The Parisian underworld is the scene of “The Redeeming Sin,” Warner Bros.” latest Vitaphone special, and this week's feature at Crandall's Metropolitan. In it Dolores Costello is starred as Joan Villaire, a dancer in a Montmartre cafe, a glittering, tempestuous creature, as willing to tastic—and the passionate protector of a small brother Petite, who, without Joan’s knowledge, is being trained by Mitzi, an Apache girl, in the art of :lillevin?. Letteur, a thief, dominates | Joan’s life, in so far as it can be domi- nated. He it is who accidentally shoots etite. A young doctor, who has come to practice among the poor, is called in and the course of Joan's life is changed. The doctor, w-fhlcl by the | jealous Letteur and his followers—after | the death of Petite—is wounded and !tossed into the sewers of Paris, from | which, however, he is finally rescued. LITTLE THEATER—“Forbidden Tales.” | THE American premier of a new ks mystery film, “Forbidden Tales," will be given at the Little Theater tcday: the showing will continue through this week. Conral Veidt, the star of “Caligari” and “The Man Who Laughs,” heads the cast in “Forbidden ‘Tales,” which was produced in Ger- wany by Richard Oswald, who made “Lucrecia Borgia.” “Forbidden Tales” is described as being entirely unlike anything yet seen on the screen, as it is not one complete drama, but & collection of them. Four of the most mysterious of the short stories of such authors as Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson have been brought together in this film. Ac- cording to the Motion Picture Guild, this is the first time that such an “anthology” has been produced on the screen. Conrad Veidt, Reinhold Schun- zel and Anita Berber occupy the lead- ing roles in all the four tales. Accompanying the feature picture on the new program at the Little Theater | there will be a travelogue, “Wild Beasts of Berneo,” and a comedy, “Knee Deep in Love,” in which only the hands and feet of the players are shown. ___(Continued From Pirst Page) mous Alhambra Steppers and a com- pany of 70 all tol NEWMAN'S “Germany 1928, Today. at the National Theater. Mr. Newman brings a different Ger- many, not & cut and dried presentation of the country as it was, but a living picture of the evolution and progre: made in a new republic. in pre-war days made impossible a comprehensive or complete story. This year, with all obstacles removed, Mr. Newman shows for the first time many places which have never before been photographed by a travel lecture. Gorgeous palaces, priceless works of art, forbidden interiors, all, it is promis- ed, will be depicted with an intime that will bs a revelation even to those supposedly familiar with Germany. ‘This traveltalk is said to open a new chapter in an amazing tale which could not have been presented had Germany not changed materially. Many moun- tain resorts were found by Mr. New- man which were unknown even to him. He also includes everything of interest in citles such as Munich, Nuremburg, Dresden, Berlin, Cologne and other large centers, in addition to odd nooks and quaint corners in the Black Forest and elsewhere. WARDMAN PARK—‘“Little Women.” “Little Women,” Louisa Alcott’s fa- mous story, with its characters dear to every one's youth, will come to life again in the Junior Theater at Wardman Park this week end, in three T~ formances, on Friday afternoon at at a Saturday matinee at 2:30 and Sat- urday evening at 8:15 o’clock. Who has not loved and lived with Jo and little Amy, with Meg and Beth and Laurie, John Brook and Dr. Bhaer and Laurie's grandfather, to say noth- ing of Mother and Father March, in this idyl of American family life, as the young folks learn to grow up sud- denly because father has gone to the Civil War and mother has been sent for because he is {l1? The Junior Theater will bring three artists from New York this week to be- come a part of the organization for the Spring season of plays—Frank Arundel, who first came to this country in “Milestones” and an actor of broad ex- perience, who played in Geor:e - der’s company in London and also with Forbes Robertson and Beerbohm Tree, a Cambridge man, who served as one of the eight on the Cambridge crew in the Henley regattas; Elizabeth Valentine, well known as a member with the Sothern-Marlowe company, and Louis Cruger, for two years with the Theater Guild in Bernard Shaw’s “Saint Joan.” ‘To the staff, for scenic design, is is protesting vigorously against in motion . | pictures by the censorship board. " c von Siroheim in Eric von Strohrim 1i ATy 3 ‘the d Elite The Wedding March." *The Wedding March. pa “Flectwing." P ey Colles. Fox Rews, Fox News, “Dry_Martini." Bubsidiary reels. Comedy arioon. Cartnon. Comedy. Sport reel. z o d Jobyna Ralston and Rex and Barbara Kent and Ranger. the dog. in i Napoleon. “Napoleon.” QOwen Moore in Robert Frazier i k Perrin in le £ 0 ia.” Empire Snookums comedy. Snookums comedy. “Biolen Love." SNk Butterdies _ ociardians of the O onesgeme. ™ PR ey O Sehe Dani Comedy. Comedy. Wild."” Comedy. News. News. Serial. aniels | Bebe Ji ] Do ary | -1 \te B Y’ L UERDT RE TR SEr Rl K pee g T Bl Do e Ty e e in’cdrome atoMey or 1, je Arthur in n o omance of the ‘White Shadows in D Gang_come Gang comed: ‘Water Front. ‘Brotherly Love “The Night Watch. Underworld.” the South Seus. e _Golor_classic. Comedy. Comedy. _News. Come Comedy. _Sports reel. _ News. Comedy. ilton Sills and Marion Nixon and Adolphe Menjou in Lew Cody and Barbara Kent and J. Farrell MacDonald arl Dane anc Mome " e CRmEmE CHESSES WG BN, CEEISE Tl gL opmoiie i 3 “A Single Man.” “Lonesome." “Riley the Cop.” < it Colleen Moore in m R May Mc i Karl Dane and Madge Bellamy in George Pancroft in c 0 ime.” Womanwis . roe." 5 -‘ St ) A Leader Bcreen snapshots. L1 oo white Fants Wilie Comeds. Codqy. O Belserpyent It Somedier . - e Comedy. _Serial. _Paramount News. Cartoon. _ Color _classic. Comedies. _Snapshots. __ Paramount News. Serial. John Gilbert and “The Naughty Qriff Liliest Alma_Rubens_in A ““The Haunted House." Duchess.” Codker C¥The Cuicastr” erty “Masks of the Devil.” “Baby Cyclone.’ Comedy. Comedsy. at the Alamo.” Comedy. Color classic. Comedy. __Comedy. Novelt. oddity. Comedy. Serial. Paramount News. ) Barbara Kent and J, Farrell MacDonald Norma Talmadge in ' Patsy Ruth Miller and 3 ) N T “Napoleon.” “Napoleon.” Slenn “Trvon ' in “Riley the Cop.' “The Woman Dis Maicolm McGregorin R ieraians of the ew News. Comeds. News. Comedy. “Lonesome.” Variety reel. pute: - “Tropical Nights. Wild.” New: 5 e ‘Comedy. Aesop_Fal Mermaid_comedy. Comedy. _Serial. 15n Chaney_in Ton Chaney_in Tive Brooke in Ford Sterling Billle Dove in Charles Rogers in “Beau Sabreur. . “While the City “While the_City “Forgotten Faces.” in “American Beauty.” ‘“Some One to Love." 2 Princess Sleeps.” Sleens.” Come “Chicken a la King.” Vale vl Comedy. - R"sl'e"r’:'afm"' News, Comedy. _News. News. Sennett_comeds. ew: _News. Bally I in Jobyns Ralston and Alice_White in Corinne_Grifith Belle Bennett in Ken Maynard in Lew d “The Floating Col- Robert Frasier in «he. Show Girl" T “The Power of S he Convan of ot foin Savoy lege” Comedsy. “Black_Butterfly.” Cameo comedy. “Qutcast.” Silence.” * Comedy. A Slosle Man.” Hodge Podge. Sennett_comedy. News. Comedy. Variety reel. Snapshots. _Ser = Ghatles Murray | Jack Holt William Boyd 18 i Seco e Dark. “Fiying Romeos.” "Ayatancre.” ‘Power.” “Horseman of Plains.” Seco speine. ¢ News News. ews. L e ““Monte Blue in Janet Gavnor and Janet Gaynor and Audrey Ferris in Audrey Ferris ii - Rin-’ - M- e auest (o _ George O'Brien 1n_ George O'Brien in e of Bachelo Nare” of Bachelors: ion Dollar Gollat: Tivoli Comedy. Ne ‘Sunrise” (synchron.). “Sunrise” (synchron.). Com: (s7n,). Comedy. News. (syn.). Comedy. N Vitaphone reel ~___Comedy. Comedy. Vitaphone reel. Sportlicht, serial._ete. Richard Dix_in TFA's “Napoleon.” William Boyd Ricardo Cortez in Nancy Carroll 1n b, dos. “Moran of the Color classic. n . “Ladies of the Night “Mannattan Cocktail.” !ll'l.bln!moo'nn‘.fl Takoma Marines.” Comedy. “The Cop." Club.” Pathe News. Tom Mix in News. _Comeds. Tuxedo_romedy. Ben Turpn comedy. Cor “Hello. Cheyenne Clara_Bow_in Greta Garbo and Greta Garbo and Marion Nixon and Tl [T R A cDo; York TR Wt RURT RE . R Variety “A Wo - ¥ . e " erly & ; Ghrlstie comedr. faurs.” Cartoon. fairs,” Cartoons N Serish Cherian " » Newman's traveltalk, “Germany | will be presented this afternoon | tomorrow morning at 11:30 o'clock by ss Restrictions | Curregt Attractions. , Davis and Mason Hardy, with others, — | will complete the cast. “THINGS TALKED ABOUT"—To- morrow. The weekly review of “Things Talked Abcut” will be held at the Willard Hotel Mrs. Wolfe Smith and Mrs. Swalm Reed. Mrs. Smith will discuss tariff and taxes in relation to the budget and prohibition. Mrs. Reed's subject will be “Love and Marriage Under Russian So- viet and the Fascist Grand Council.” PLAYERS’ GUILD—“THE JONAR,” Tuesda; uesday. Front Line Post, Veterans of For- eign Wars, will present the Players’ Guild of St. Patrick’s Parish in “The Jonah,” a musical farce, at Carroll Hall Tuesday evening, the organization an- nounces. Proceeds of the performance will be devoted to needy veterans, their widows and orphans. “The Jonah” has previously been presented, under the general direction of Father Hurney, and was well re- ceived by public and reviewers. The play is from the pen of E. Dudley, and concerns the after” remorse of a down-trodden hus- band who has indulged in a forbidden evening of gayety. The action is built around his efforts to unravel the oc- casion’s consequences. There are many musical numbers. DR. BRUNO ROSELLI—Thursday.. The Community Institute of Wash- ington will present Dr. Bruno Roselli, distinguished speaker on Italian art, literature and archeology, in an illus- trated lecture on “Leptis Magna,” 30, | Thursday evening at 8:15 o'clock, in the auditorium of Central Community Center, Thirteenth and Clifton streets. This will be the seventh event in the Winter's series offered by the in- stitute. Tickets may be had at the Willard newsstand, the A. A. A., the Communi- ty I;smuvg office and the doors of the center. CURRENT HISTORY—Friday. Miss Clara W. McQuown will gfi: her weekly review of important pul questions Priday morning at 11 o'clock in the ballroom of the Washington Club, 1010 Seventeenth street north- west. She will take as her also discuss pending legisiatios nu»{‘u!mu‘t:;n of importance, mnmmd an orel . These talks are given every Friday morning and are open to the public. PR e Maria Corda, ths beautiful star in “Helen of Troy,” has mdebm pictures in four countries months. Now she is back lnmflo.l! m“. from the Yale Theater, where she was _ assistant er and . _She ith the also was wi ‘Theater in New York. Leslie Kent, Shirley Horton, o 3 . W Maxwell mzmglzm The Hungarian actress’ last ‘picture in Europe was “A Woman " adapted from the novel biyntg‘. iz Wide "Pictures bhas backgrounds— . ight as to trip the light fan- )