Evening Star Newspaper, June 2, 1929, Page 57

Théater, Screen and Music AMUSEMENT SECTION he Sundwy Star, Motor, Aviation and Radio News -— Part 4—16 Pages WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY SUECAROL | and NICK STUART- MORNING, JUNE 2, \GE and, SCRFEN X Fox ,‘ v KING- Nations VERANDE $#ge) - Pslace - RAMON NOVARRO - Attractions in Washington Playhouses This Week NATIONAL PLAYERS — “Smilin" Through. From the large repertory of the Na- tional Theater Players the manage- ment has selected for this week one of its greatest attractions, “Smilin’ ‘Through,” the National Players open- ing in it tomorrow evening. “Smilin’ Through” will be recalled as the play which brought real stardom to Jane Cowl. Not only is it intimately associ- ated with the career of this sterling American actress, but it is a perfect type of comedy, and with its beautiful love story, told in an unusual way, it has become one of the classics of the stage. Into the fabric that goes to make “Smilin’ Through” has been woven an old-fashioned love story, one of those exquisite nineteenth century romances that not only had its obstacles, but in- with & love affair of the modern day, wherein the two interested parties are likewise beset with difficulties. In the the love itself that endured, the young folk of today find the incentive to g0 ahead, even in the face of tragedy—and yet find happiness. The re-enactment of the tragedy on the stage in a setting of magnificent beauty is one of the thrilling moments in “Smilin’ Through.” Much work has been done in the studios of the National Players to fur- nish an attractive background for “Smilin’ Through.” New sets have been constructed under the direction of Charles Squires, and Addison Pitt, the director, who has thoroughly rehearsed his cast, believes that Edith King, in the role made famous by Jane Cowl, will reach new dramatic heights. Roger Pryor, leading man, has the role op- posite. Charles Hampden, Mrs. Hib- troduces the note of tragedy. This romance is brought into direct contrast bard and other favorite players will also find roles to match their talents. Gordqn Craig Coming 'MILIE SARTER, & New York con- cert and lecture manager, nounces that she has arranged W Gordon Craig, who has been called “the world’s outstanding genius in the thea- ter,” to come to the United States next season for a lecture tour to be followed by theatrical productions in New York and possibly Chicago. After several months negotiations Miss Sarter says she has received a cable from Mr. Craig thorizing her to go ahead with plans for both a lecture tour and an exhibi- tion, for the first time in America, of Craig’s latest woodcuts, etchings, draw- ings and designs. Mr, Craig’s name, but little known | outside theatrical circles in th coun- try a year ago, become familiar in’ the past seven months by reason of his connection with George C. Tylpr:a unique production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” which made an_ extended tour of the larger cities of the United States and Canada, and which is to come again next season. It was from the ‘“designment” by Gordon Craig that this “Macbeth” was evolved as something entirely new in Shakespearean production. Gordon Craig is the son of the re- ered actress, the late Dame Ellen erry. In 1889 he went on the stage pud acted in Sir Henry Irving’s com- any for about eight® years, playing any Shakespearean roles mclud!l_\g Hamlet, Romeo, Mercutio, Petruchio, nd Macbeth. He gave up acting in 896 to turn his attention to a study of tage management venturing in the arly nineties to show his work and roducing Alfred de Musset'’s “On ne| adine pas avec 'amour.” After further dy he followed this with seven im- 0 t productions in quick succession, signing, supervising and executing ery scene and costume and acting as age manager. “Much Ado About Nothing was Jraig’s last production in England. He hen turned his attention to the con- ent where, especially in Germany, eatrical people were altering their| vle and making it more decorative hapting much of Craig's technique. His kit to Germany resulted in his pro- ction of a German version of Otway's enice Preserved,” and other produc- Eleanors Duse's “Electra” came next, followed by Ibsen’s “Rosmersholm” also for the Italian tragedienne. Ne- gotiations by Germany were again opened and he undertook the produc- tion of “Oresteia” and Hoffmanstal's version of the “Oedipus” of Sophocles which later was shown at Covent Gar- den in London. In 1908, he founded that sumptuous theatrical journal, The Mask, now in its fifteenth volume. To this journal he has contributed abundantly designs and writings devoting much time to re- search in order to give it the best in | designs, many of which were never be- fore published ‘and in some cases un- known hitherto even to theater scholars. In 1910, Craig was invited by the Di- rectors of the Moscow Art Theater to visit Russia where he produced Ham- let. Besides his European productions and his designment for the American “Macbeth,” Mr. Craig has written and published many books and other writ- ings in which the tendency and spirit of his work are brought to light and his idea elaborated, among them The Art of the Theater, which has been published in English, German, Russian and Dutch. He has been devoting much of his time in serious research and other thea- ter work which he does for love of theater itself. 1926 he produced | “The Pretenders” for Adam and | Johan Poulsen at the State Theater, Copenhagen, to celebrate their twenty fifth anniversary on the Danish stage. Artists and writers of all nations have rendered homage to the genlus of Ed- ward Gordon Craig. .Eleanora Duse, Isadora Duncan, Yvette Guilbert and j others have proclaimed his supremacy. The distinctive style of modern settings | which he originated has been emulated by Reinhardt, Stanislavski, Jessner, | Gemier, Copeau and Poulsen. | R ST S | After Two Years— ¢JJELL'S ANGELS,” after two years in the making, will have its pre- miere showing at the George M. Cohan Theater, New York City, in Octobe: Howard Hughes has definitely a nounced that he has leased the Broad- way showhcuse for the initial showing of his aerial extravaganza, - love affair of many years ago, however, | Happy Endingl Ended? RE American motion picture audi- ences beginning to look at screen plays through European eyes? A recent poll of American theaters shows that 70 per cent of the daily movie audiences are tiring of happy endings—the close-up of the hero and heroine in fond embrace as the film fades out—and demand logica! conclu- sions for present-day film plays. As one producer said: “The public has been educated to expect a satisfac- tory ending to a film play, but the day when a happy ending is positively nec- essary to satisfy an American audience is gone.” Talkie Bridge Games. I! you trump your partner’s ace or bid into a minor sult when he or she had bid a major, the result is just the same under microphone and in front of the cameras as in real life. Billie Dove learned this again at the First National Studios this week, where a series of real bridge games was staged for the talking screen for the first time. The games are a part of a motion picture in which Miss Dove is starring. They were necessary in order to bring an accusation of cheating against Walter Pidgeon, on the part of her jealous husband, played by Montagu e. Mary, Doug and the Bard. M ARY PICKFORD and Douglas Fair- banks, after a New York visit, are preparing _ their all-talking picture version of “The Taming of the Shrew,” the comedy that will bring together in their first joint film Hollywood's most famous couple. Now the question of author’s billing on posters is being discussed. Usually, when an author discovers his name has not appeared in proper percentage in the advertisements he .promptly tele~ phones the film producer. But the au- | thor of “The Taming of the Shrew | has not been seen around Stratford-on. Avon for three centuries. | that he is Francis Bacon, anyway. Extras in "Evange]ine." ¢S VANGELINE,” starring Dolores Del Rio, will exceed any other film play made in six months in the number of people employed in its making, its producer claims. Checking the lists of supernumeraries employed in_ the film the report shows that in eight weeks at Point Lobos, Calif., where the director reproduced the entire village of Grand Pre, for 14 consecutive days more than 900 extras were employed each day. There were four days when more than 1,000 peas- ant types and 250 red-coated soldiers (k?xm the barracks at Monterey) were used. In the studios, where intimate in- teriors have been made, on nine of the 33 days of studio work, more than 300 men were daily employed, and on four days to this total from 75 to 150 women were added. ‘The Philadelphia sequence which Mr. Carewe has just completed has required about 50 men with beards each day. i Because he could not find 20 girls with long hair at Carmel, Calif., Mr. Carewe sent to Hollywood for a score of long- haired girls for his medium shots. At Laguna Beach, 500 townsfolk and 100 extras from Hollywood were em- ployed in addition to & crew of 70 men who assisted Capt. Willlam Collins in the handling of the two huge English Irigates of the period. And there is a whispering campaign | NE of the wits-of “A Night in Venice” is.an outspoken fellow, given to jests of an unseemly character. ‘When his funny tongue is set to wagging it dis- regards the laws of propriety and makes remarks that would incarnadine the cheeks of any hardened gondolier. Re- vue-goers enjoy candor, believing it to be a refreshing relief from the polite in- hibitions that tether their daily lives. They find relaxation in abandoned hu- mor and welcome the outcast and for- bidden jokes to their librettos. They wish the extravaganzas to be free and loose, untrammeled by the gear that harnesses their other favorite art forms. Appreciating this need for laxity, the New York policemen are temperate in their strictures, and permit the revue comedians to say and do things for which, were they not actors, they would be severely scolded or sent to the chair. It is, one supposes, a statesman’s com- promise made in the interest of the public weal. As such it is to be winked at by the law's steel-blue eyes, in which it is gratifying to see a twinkle of hu- man sympathy. But in the matter of “A Night in Venice” privilege is abused. Given a magnum of liberty, it takes a hogshead and turns a jolly banquet into a sty. Two of its jokes startled even me, one of the most benumbed of the first-nighters. While a large majority of those present at the premiere of “A Night in Venice” reveled in its laugh- able indignities, the dramatic critic, for instance, tried to crawl under her seat, she was so ashamed, and was prevented |from doing so by Russell Crouse, her | husband, who is one of the most under- standing humorists. Several nice and paying patrons left “A Night in Venice” in'a huff on Monday night, objecting that the orgy they had bought seats for had been interfered with by intrusions of gutter debaucherie. The managers who are sponsors for “A Night in Venice” are in a dilemma. Catering conscientiously to those who are fond of dissipation, they ponder how far they can go in their errand to please. What, they ask themselves in conference, will satisfy our customers, the calloused, the ingenues, the. tired, the ennuied and the alert? ‘Though the managers do not ask me to help them to unravel their tangle, I volunteer to aid them with advice. If I were in their places, I should have two editions of “A Night in Venice"—one of them dirty, the other comparatively clean. I should advertise in the news- papers that the performance on Tues- days and Fridays are addressed to those who like just a little smut, while on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the audiences can wallow in the swill barrels. The adoption of such a policy would be tactful and diplo- matic. All of us might be delighted by the stolid humor of Ted Healy, the agile dancing of Chester Hale's girls, some leftover music by Vincent Youmans, and a general heigh-heigh atmosphere more jovial than usu: ‘When, if ever, take a wife or a daughter to see “A Night in Venice,” I shall hope that its comedians will be merciful and not y one and all—the wicked, the innocent, | N 1929. DOLORES COSTELLO- /\Aefr‘opoh'hsn HELENE KearNey: .f ~ PEGGYLITILE & ON THE BROADWAY STAGE A Review of Theatrical Affairs Along the White Way By Percy Hammond. spew epigrams more indigenous to the gutter than_the mountain brooks and rills of the Broadway drama. * kX X Tl-m Pulitzer Prize has been bestowed upon the low-brow of “Street Scene,” a grand show and the most moving of the past season’s theatrical devices. An effective assemblage of sure-fire tricks, alternately reeking with honesty and hoakum, it belongs to the category of the better and more photographic cir- cuses. Mr. Pulitzer's committee did well in its pinning of the blue riband upon the weak and palpitating chest of “Street Scence.” It would be valuable, however, as a guide to drama lovers if the Pulitzer judges would make public the causes for their decision; to an- nounce their reasons for a show's Pulit- zer canonization and to point out the several faults and virtues that make it the saint of the 2029 B'way season. Mr. Pulitzer's committee turns the thumb up or down to meet the crises, but never does 1t tell us why it does so. It pooh- poohs the last will and testament of its founder, as is its modern right. He is dead and he does not know that the Pulitzer standards are befhg lowered in the dust of today’s show business. Still, I believe that his committee, a group of distinguished and more or less intel- ligent show-goers, should be made to put, as the saying goes, their cards upon the table. Why, we may ask them, do you choose “Street Scene” as this year’s final answer to the query “Is the drama an art or a side show?” Their reply is always yes-yes, and this reviewer regrets that they are not game enough to men- tion in their virtuous decrees the fact that “Street Scene,” while a thoughtful, virile, kodak representation of life upon the tragic New York sidewalks, is but a superchromo, picturing in way strokes the sexual ups and downs of those who reside in the East Side tene- ments. Let us dismiss the plays of the past fortnight as so much nonsense and turn our attention to croquet or the cultivation of dramatic art in the little theaters of Oil City, Pa.; Humansville, Mo. Y Manchester, England, or Utica, )AUL REYES SPINDOLA, motion picture commissioner of Mexico, has been officially assigned by his gov- ernment to study American fllm meth- ods in Hollywood and then to return to gexlco and advise about production of ims. Senor Spindola, 8 member of the de- irtment of federal education of the exican government, selected Herbert Brenon as the director whose methods he preferred to study. He is, therefore, serving as second assistant director to Mr. Brenon on & current production. It is_the desire of his government, Senor Spindola said, that he make a articular study of talking pictures and technique of their production. He is working on the sound stages of Upited Arfista stydio 10 Hollywood, Movies Regulate Air Traffic. | TRA!’FIC signals have invaded the| realm of the aviator. In order to prevent the drone of air- plane motors from interfering with the production of talking pictures, captive balloons are now flown by motion pie- ture studios to signal pilots of aircraft to avoid flying any nearer the studios than is absolutely necessary. An agree- ment by which such balloon signals are officially recognized has been made be- tween the Association of Motion Picture Producers and the Aircraft Operators Association. ‘The need of this was emphasized in Colleen Moore's first talking and sing- ing picture, “Smiling Irish Eyes,” 80 per cent of which is being photographed in outdoor settings. Although passing airplanes hindered recording somewhat early in the production, after flying two 15-foot balloons from the First Na- tional Studio, air traffic was diverted to_the entire satisfaction of Producer John McCormick. st M S Too Much Realism. ILLIAM COLLIER, JR., well known screen actor, threw Edna Murphy, blond actress wife of Mervyn Leroy, motion picture director, out of an apart- ment house, handling her so roughly that a doctor was summoned to treat her bruises. But it’s not a Hollywood domestic scandal, just another case of too much Tealism 't the making of a motion pic- ture. Collier is playing the husband of Miss Murphy in “Lummox,” and the story calls for a family fight. Brenon demands that his players “live their parts,” and when the director instructed Collier to handle Miss Mur- phy as he would handle her in real life the actor went into action. Fortunately, the scene did not have to be retaken, and Collier is glad that Leroy and Miss Murphy are his friends in private life and realize that he really didn't mean to be so rough. Persistence Wins. AN IMMIGRANT BOY scarcely 15 years ago, in the person of Nick Stuart, is an outstanding example of what ambition, persistence and ability can do for a young man. By his efforts he has carved out a career in pictures which in his current produc. tion, “Girls Gone Wild,” finds him co- featured with the vivacious Sue Carol. Less than three years ago, Nick was & messenger boy on the Fox lot in Hollywood, running errands for actors and directors. Previously he had delivered repairs on a revolver at the studio for Tom Mix, had pestered the casting director s0 much that he finally gave him six days’ work as an extra. Then the job ended and he secured one as an office boy for Lew BSeller, then Fox Films’ casting director. After a long apprenticeship as call boy, script boy and general roustabout, Stuart was finally given an opportunity at a real part in “Cradle Snatchers.” Success in that role brought the lead- ing masculine role in David Butler's picture, “The High School Hero,” and then followed the juvenile lead in “The River Pirate,” in which Victor McLaglen | and Lois Moran were featured, 4 CHESTER MORRIs: and ELEANOR GRIFFITH- 7~ _MAURICE CHEVALIER- Earle Photoplays Columbia WILHELM DIETERLE- LitHe Jheater This Week SCREEN ATTRACTIONS OF THE WEEK. EARLE—“Innocents of Paris.” COLUMBIA—“Alibi.” This afte! This afternoon and evening. rnoon and evening. METROPOLITAN—“Noah’s Ark.” This afternoon and evening. FOX—“Girls Gone Wild.” This PALACE—"“The Pagan.” This a! RIALTO—"“The Last Warning.” LITTLE THEATER—“The Weavers.” ning. EARLE—“Innocents of Paris.” Maurice Chevaller, “the French idol,” whom the New York critics proclaimed “Will Rogers, Charlie Chaplin and Al | Jolson, all under one straw hat,” will be the bright particular star of the screen this week at the Earle Theater in “Innocents of Paris,” & talking, singing, dancing picture. It is rather difficult to describe the intangible quality of Chevalier's mimic art, for he is a genius with something akin to the divine spark that made Bernhardt immortal, except that it shines in him in the diversions of song and pantomime. “Innocents of Paris” his screen of- fering, deals with the rise of a push- cart peddler, who gets his chance and more than makes good on the stage Its scenes are lald in Paris, and a fur- ther description must be left to the pic- ture itself, which, after all, is but the medium through which the wit, humor, melodic and pantomimic talents of the great Chevalier are presented to Wash- ington at their fullest heights, probably, for the first time. COLUMBIA—"“Alibi.” “Alibi,” the talking hit now being shown at $2 prices in New York, is the featured attraction at Loew's Co- lumbia this week at regular Loew prices. The leading feminine role in this Roland West production is played by a Washington girl, Eleanor Griffith, who is surrounded by an “all-star” cast. “Alibi” is the story of a policeman’s daughter, who believes that if given a chance most crooks would reform. She demonstrates her belief in her theory by marrying an ex-convict, although ~her father had wanted her to 'marry a detective, who was very much in love with her. A man is killed one night and the gang- ster husband is suspected. His alibi is that he was at the theater. His wife, thinking that the police are framing her husband, substantiates the alibi. Later, a dope addict, who drove the cab from which the murder was com- mitted, confesses that the gangster was the murderer, having shot the police- man in the back. To complicate mat- ters still further the gangster kills a young detective engaged in the case, cornering him at his apartment. Later the police get him and by a unique ruse makes him convict himself. Gordon & Squires provide comedy in & Metro Movietone act and Sunshine Sammy and his gang do some fancy stepping in another sound film. The Fox Movietone News, the M-G-M News, short subjects and the Columbia Or- chestra, under Claude Burrows, com- plete the program. METROPOLITAN—“Noah's Ark.” “Noah's Ark,” the spectacular picture, about which many stories have ap- peared in recent months, is this week's afternoon and evening. fternoon and evening. This afternoon and evening. This afternoon and eve- with the same sound effects augmenting the Vitaphone score as in New York, but at Metropolitan prices. ‘The story is not Biblical, but from the pen of Darryl Francis Zanuck, and it was directed by Michael Curtiz, being more than three years in production, and is presented as the finest and most ambitious picture that Warner Bros. have yet made. Its original settings oc- | cupied 38 acres, and thousands of peo= ple were employed in the flood scenes, as well as in the events which occur in the sequences depicting modern times, The cast includes Dolores Costello, the star, with George O'Brien, and Noah Beery, Louise Fazenda, Guinn Williams, Paul McAllister, Nigel de | Brulier, Anders Randolf, Armand Kaliz, Myran Loy, William V. Mong, Malcolm Waite, Noble Johnson, Otto Hoffman and Joe Bonomo. While “Noah's Ark” is not a Biblical story, nevertheless there is a certain amount of symbolism in it, showing how the heart of man has changed but little through the 50 centuries_which have intervened between the Biblical flood and the Great War. The story be- gins just at the outbreak of the war, when the victims of a train wreck, on reaching Paris, find the conflict is an. | Then they are carried into the tumult | of the nations. A bomb hits a building where they have taken refuge, and they are thrown into the cellar. There & chaplain begins to tell them of Noah and the Flood and they are carried back to prehistoric times. Warner Brothers used Vitaphone in making “Noah's Ark,” and while there are passages of speech and symphonic accompaniment, the greatest Vitaphone achievement is in the effects during the flood, and the scenes preceding it. FOX—“Girls Gone Wild.” Novels have been written and motion pictures produced concerning the mod- ern flapper and her doings. None, how- ever, it is claimed, quite reaches out and gives the flapper an equal break with those that criticize her as does the Willlam Fox production, “Girls Gone Wild,” at the local Fox Theater this week. For in it, the management an- nounces, the flapper will be presented with her “wild parties,” her boy friends and what not, but preaching no lesson, because the purpose of the motion pic- ture is to entertain. However, it may serve as a,guide for the flappers of ‘Washington, if there be any, as to what not to do as well as what to do. In the cast are Sue Carol, who ap- peared last week in the “Fox Movie- tone Follies of 1929”; Nick 'Stuart and | Edmund Breese, the well known actor; Hedda Hopper, William Russel and Roy D’Arcy. The picture has a Movietone accom- paniment by S. L. Rothatel (Roxy). On the stage John Irving Fisher, master of ceremonies, entering upon attraction at Crandall's Metropolitan Theater. It came direct from its New York Tun at $2 prices, and is presented his tenth week, will celebrate with & special series of erisms” and an- ther his_piano _specialties. _Co- {Continued on Second Page) N