Evening Star Newspaper, April 21, 1929, Page 53

‘A:l‘heater,' Screen and Music Part 4—20 Pages LAURA LA PLANTE 5 nd JOSEPH SCHILDKRAUT: " AMUSEMENT SECTIO AR ¢ Sundwy Star. WASHINGTON. D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 21, 1929 HeLen WALLACE- /\la'hbnal MILTONSILLS - and DOROTHY MACKAILL- Attractions in Washington Playhouses This Week IN LOCAL THEATERS THIS WEEK. NATIONAL—“What Every Woman Knows,” Barrie comedy. Tomorrow evening. BELASCO—“The Little Show,” with Clifton Webb and Fred Allen. Tomorrow evening. POLI'S—Helen Hayes, in “Coquette,” drama. Tomorrow evening. WARDMAN PARK—"“The Little Minister,” (Juvenile Theater.) Friday and Saturday, matinees and evenings. STRAND—"“Radium Queens,” burlesque. evening. NATIONAL PLAYERS—“What Every ¢ Woman Knows.” ‘Tomorrow night the National Theater Players will revive J. M. Barrie's come- dy, “What Every Woman Knows. This piay, in which Maude Adams starred years ago, has been seen on the pro- fessional stage in Washington only twice—once with the original cast and again as a revival of Helen Hayes, the noted Washington girl, who played to packed houses here three seasons ago. “What Every Woman Knows” is the quaint story of Maggie Wylie's love for John Shand, a big, blustering Scotch- man who, starting at the very bottom of the ladder, works to the very top pinnacle of succees, but always with the aid of his sweetheart and wife, Mag- gle Wylie. The charm of the play is in the development of John Shand's char- acter, spurred on by Maggie’s ambition and ability, but without his knowledge. ‘Women theatergoers ever since the Bar- rie play has been on the boards have delighted in its revelations, secrets they naturally know from their own experi- ences. The gentle jibe at mankind in general taken by the whimsical makes for delightful comedy. It is said, and with some authority, that the playright used his own mother as a model for the character of Maggie Wylie and took al- most any husband as the mark for his satirical jests. . WARDMAN l’ARf«—""The Little Minis- Sir James Barrie's charming play, “The Little Minister,” will be seen in ‘Washington for the first time in many years when it is produced by the Junior Theater at Wardman Park Fri- This afternoon and children and young people, which has been enthusiastically sponsored by many parents, grandparents and others inter- ested in the welfare of children. Shirley Horton will take the part of Babbie and oter members of the cast will be Kurt Nothnagel, Gordon Kil- bourne, Clifford Adams, Kent Smith, Henry Fonda, Mildred Natwick, George Pinger, Melvin Fox, Merle Randall, Kay Conway and Leslie Kent. STRAND—“Radium Queens.” there is “nothing new under the sun” are challenged by the management to attend a performance of “Radium Queens,” at the Strand Theater this week, that such a notion may be dis- pelled. It is said the performance given by Teresina and her competent com- pany of comedians, singers and dancers will furnish convincing proof that no one need go further. Novelty is prom- ised in everything said or done on the stage by this company, especially in the generous abundance of laugh provok- ers, and even more in the manner in which the trained chorus puts over its evolutions. The climax of novelty is reached near the close of the show, :hen Teresina appears in her radium ance. Among the principal funmakers, singers and dancers are Gaby Fields, | Ina Thomas, Marie Collins, Bill McCoy, Sidney Fields and Ralph Smith. Bert Rose has the leading comedy. part. JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER—This Evening. day and Saturday of this week, with |P] matinee and evening performances each day. George Vivian plays the title role of Gavin Dishart. ‘The play, it will be remembered, was bought by Charles Frohman for Maude Adams and for a long while he would allow no one else to play her part. Finally the play was released to the Ben Greet Company and George Vivian ROBIN HOOD PLAYERS—"“The Road Back.” Joseph Carlton’s “The Road Back,” y a comedy-drama in three acts, will be presented the Robin curren ‘ Those “accustomed to hearing that = Earle NEW PICTURES, A Word or Two About the Latest Hollywood Products. MARY PICKFORD'S newest effort, “Coquette,” seems to have created quite an impression on Broadway, where it was given the first showing. And Mary is no longer a little girl with curls; she is the real motion picture heroine. The picture has dialogue, and was directed by Sam Taylor. Dr. Paul Pejos, who directed the new picture “Broadway,” was once a bac- teriologist in his native Hungary. Now he ranks among the leading directors out - Hollywood way. Marilyn Miller, who recently signed a Pirst National contract, will have the leading role in the screen version of “Sally.” Naturally, the picture will have plenty of singing and dialogue, What is to be the fate of the new Gloria Swanson picture, “Queen Kelly”? According to all reports from the West Coast, Erich von Stroheim, the direc- tor, is meeting another bit of hard luck, as certain portions of the complet- ed film failed to pass the censors and it was found impossible to cut the pic- ture. s Dessert Song,” starring John Boles and Carlotta King in dancing and Los 1¢ Others in the cast are Louise Fazenda, Johnny Arthur, Edwin Martindale and Myrna Loy. Vilma Banky's first sound picture, “This Is Heaven,” is sald to be a sat- istactory result. James Hall does most of the talking. “Alibl,” produced by United Artists, is termed a “triumph for Roland West.” It is a crook picture, with plenty of sound—shots, screams and police sirens. Emil Jannings, the German actor, is crossing the Atlantic for a vacation in his home land. The Paramount organization holds his contract, and denial is made of the report that the star will not return to the United States. Thornton Freeland Honored. HIiomD s e, ted to full- r ol the United Artists stu ‘Thornton’ land, former aide to Roland West To Revive Interest. [PAUL PANZER, who was the TAGE and SCREEN Seere from "Jhe Cfin\/‘ M URDERCASE" Me*ropo'i‘l‘an INA "JHOMAS S+rand S Lo Mp’tor,-- Aviation and Radio News and PAUL PAGE - | Director LEON BRUSILOFF Fox N 'O777 * BroaDwWAY MELODY Colum THE BEDRAGGLED MUSE Or Music With the Motion Picture. BY FREDERICK OECHSNER. ROM the distressing clamor of those mechanical pianos which used to lend their esthetic counterpart to the early motion pictures, to the present domi- nance of grand-scale harmony in movie palaces, the appropriate relation of music to the moving picture has been debated in theory and in practice. With the deluge of music that the sound film has brought, new impetus, new excite- ment, is given the discussion. A good many ecritics, such as Dr. George Goehler of Germany, have re- peatedly attacked the use of music in conjunction with moving pictures, say- ing that & good picture was a complete artistic form dn itself, needing no as-, sistance from music. Such is the policy | of many theaters in Russia, where the movie is “absolutized,” with silence as |again. the ideal of achievement. Nevertheless. since Western audiences continued to demand music with their movies, the “co-energizing” of film ac- tion and musical accompaniment grew through successive phases from the me- chanical piano to the piano soloist (who introduced the system of playing selec- tions which augmented the emotional effect of different scenes and sequences in the film) to the trio and quartet, to ll:u small g;:rl:utu and then to the rge sympl lc _groups. The talking picture brought, too, its own mesh of problems in relation to the combination of movie action and, the keep the attention of the audience riveted. Thus music was made a hand- maiden subservient to:the movie more than had ever been the case before. Producers ordered, and still order, music according to the measure of the lapse, a minute’s or two minutes’ worth at a time. Such a “potpourri of stolen melo- dies” l;:.d never heetn wl;ne%l’edmh,:m’: Ma ve been outrage: b Tou sacrilege, but the talkies have signed Hollywood contracts. In this re- lation the theme song looms large. For those who do not already know it, the theme song of a picture is a composi- tion written particularly for the pro- duction which features it, and it is often sung by the star. In some in- stances the title of the theme song is the title of the picture itself, as in “Weary River,” or, again, “The Broad- way Melody.” 1t is interesting to examine the vari- ous devices designed to push these theme songs into public favor. The outstanding fact is the extent to which “the picture plugs the song and the song plugs the picture,” people who hear the song wanting to see the picture, those who see the picture wanting to hear, play, sing and dance to the melody . Many movie companies have merged with or bought large interests in song publishing houses, radio chains | “The and phonograph companies. The latest cat of the two major phonograph hous. list no less than 35 and 25 theme songs, respectively, as having been recorded on discs thus far. As far as the popularizing of musical hits is concerned, we have had for some time past radio and phonograph and sheet music reproduction of musical comedy successes, but such propaganda has never had nearly the elements of giantism which mark the talking pic- ture phase. A thousand times more people see and hear a successful pic- ture, with its .attendant theme song, than could ever see a Broadway musical wx‘rur's viewpoint, the mat- ceases to be so much & phenomenon as a menace. In the rush of production which marks the present state of the talkies it is absoluf unavoidable that scores and scores of thrust on the public. 13 Honored With An “Open House.” AVID PINSKI, noted dramatist and author, will be the guest of honor at an “oj house,” to which the public is invited, at the Jewish Community Center, 16th and Q streets, Jonight, when the center will present & one-act Yahy by Mr. Pinski, “For- gotten Souls,” and the author will e eadings rogn seme.of His laye some o ays, including “The Treasure.” e ‘The Little Theater of the local Jew- ish Community Center achieved a na- tional reputation in Jewish circles by its production of “The Dybbuk” last year, which it repeated several times in Washington and other cities. Mr. Pinski is col to Wi espe- cially to pe: ly view the local dra- matic presentation of the play “For- gotten Souls,” acco! to Louis E. spelllert.e° chnmun‘ of the educational long ,” adapted by Prof. George F. Baker of Yale for his course in the drama; *] D““Ig;:cnd His ous other plays and stories. Born in Russia, the author came to this coun- try in 1899. Previous to that time he lived for several years in Germany and made an intensive study of German literature, It was in this country, how- ever, that he made his best records. " & e mmi Center tonight. Fd it Dad's Birthday Gift. Cowmmm'? the present high cost of cement, there are not 21-year-old youths who una p:sle:{ Dad with a swimming pool as a birth- day remembrance. Russell Gleason is one of the excep- tions. The pool is bei built on the new Gleason estate ‘Lng Beverly umus and is to be entirely paid for by checks ;‘mgk‘x'young Gleason has received since eme songs will be | 5 - "The Screen “Twin Beds.” o WIN » stage ~farce comedy, hh‘ih:m into ‘musical screeft ith Fox From. ' JEN Davs “THAT.SHOOK THE \WORLD - ON THE NEW Little Theater YORK STAGE A‘Review of Theatrical Affairs Along the White Way By Percy Hammond. S ane of the more earnest mis- sionaries of the theater, John Drinkwater has been a willing crusader in its behalf. His de- votion to the cause has been knightly, manifesting itself in numerous helpful ways. No modern improvement in the drama has occurred without his assistance. All the whilom artistic activities of the British stage have had the advantage of his advocacy as soap- boxer, playwright, producer or eritic. But in his new comedy, “Bird in ‘Hand,” Mr. Drinkwater shows symptoms of discouragement. After several years as an apostle he finds that it is a “Jonely thing to be a champion.” De- serted by such pals as Lady Gregory, Gordon Craig, the Granville-Barkers, the Fays, Miss Harriman, William Poel, Iden Payne, Yeats and Lord Dunsany, he decides reluctantly to abandon the meager theater of intelligence and to join the fatter playhouses of emotion. Or to straddle the two, with one leg on the side of art and the other on the side of entertainment. It is my suspicion that Mr. Drink- water began “Bird in Hand” with the intention of making it a dramatic tract. ‘To contrast the mildewed sex conver- sions of the passing generation with the fresh and salubrious habits of today’s boys aad girls, Thomas Greenleaf, a mldr-'a[ed English innkeeper, s an Qg ned bigot in his views of the contacts between the genders. When Joan, his pretty daughter, goes auto- mobiling with Gerald, her superior in station, he writhes. in doubt. He is further agonized by the fact that the companionship of his lowly daughter with the son of an aristocrat is an abrasion of the rules of caste. * kK X R. DRINKWATER, in his charming book entitled “The Art of Theater- going” (Houghton-Mifflin), writes sadly of the ups and downs of the drama’s boy scouts: After years of fire- kindling he finds himself fearing that “relatively few people want an intelli- gent theater.” His hope that the stage “as a whole might be reformed has not been realized. Its crusades have not occupied the promised land. Their dream was in any case fantastic,” and his 25 years’ attempt to make it an art worthy of the name has been practically futile. His = purposes thus blighted, = Mr. Drinkwater turns “Bird in Hand” into a prosperous medley of precious ambi- tions and ‘cheap results. Dimly in the foreground his aim may be discerned cluttered over with the tawdry com- merce of what he calls “the theater of entertainment.” To make his sermon t] tance, Mr. Blanguet, the timid sardine salesman, covers his night- shirt with a morning cutaway, you know character- his rich royalties from a florid melo- drama of the type that he despised. May he be fed, like Mr. Archer, by the hand that he has bitten. % e THE first nighters were in a dilemma Monday evening as to which of two shrines they should worship at. Miss Barrymore was to play a serious comedy of Balkan life written by one of Buda- pest’s brightest women-of-the-world, L. I. Harctuy, who is to Hungary what Miss Dorothy Parker, Miss Ruth Hale, Mrs. Alice Duer Miller, Miss Zoe Akin or Miss Rachel Crothers is to the ‘Western Hemisphere. Beckoning them to another cathedral was the Theater Guild’s offering of “The Camel Through a Needle's Eye” at the Martin Beck. | All the major dramatic critics went to see Miss Barrymore, leaving their under- lings to praise or to lambast the guild's entertainment. So it seemed did most of the playgoing upper set, although the guild show was not without a full-dress audience. Those of us who attended the cere- monies at the Ethel Barrymore theater were thrilled even more than we ex- pected to be by the star's radiant imper- sonation of a lovely, fascinating, humor- ous, gay and melancholy lady engaged in a troublous romance. The awkward manner in which her story was written, however, divested it of much of its interest, and “The Love Duel” was therefore more or less of a blank, excepting the fine mesmerics of Miss Bal ore. k Since it is bad form to refer to Miss Barrymore's beauty and charm, I re- frain reluctantly from doing it again. But I call your attention to just & minute of her hours of subtly obvious acting. It is a little scene upon the telephone, and in it, although I struggle not to say so, that is all there is and there isn't any more. In that and numerous other interludes she proves herself the merriest and the gravest of the actors. Throughout a shambling and inconsequential play she kept the best of the drama lovers until its tardy close just before midnight, which is to0o late an hour for the ending of any} comedy to be happy. “The Love Duel” is Miss Barrymore at her best and the drama at something similar to its worst, Identity Still Hidden. S S. VAN DINE, the mysterious au« * thor of detective stories, who thus far has shielded his identity behind his nom de plume, was persuaded by Para- mount officials to appear before & mo= tion picture camera. Van Dine is seen on the screen for the first time in “The Canary Murder Case,” his famed mystery story. At first, loath to give the world an opportunity to discover his identity, the author, whose name has necome & by« word in the world of detective storieg during the last three years, finally con« be |Sented to step In front of the camersy will | Beach _Summer lens. ‘The exact manner in which the au« , thor appears when $he picture is shown on the screen will not be revealed; that is for the fan to work out. Popular Beach. MA!.!‘BOU Beach is one of most favored spots along the California Coast for picture folk. Innumerable Summer_ coltages dot the stretch of beach. Vilma Banky, Alfred Santel Louise Fazenda, Marie ' Prevost an Ronald Coleman all reside within a stone's throw of each other. Parther down toward Santa Monica residents include Marion Davies, Norma Talmadge, Mary Hck!vrd.D‘hE James Gleasons and