Evening Star Newspaper, November 17, 1929, Page 69

Theater, Screen and Music Part 4—16 Pages Sce'ne (I':Om b The Sqphomore” Rislto Plays Alike, Yet So Different BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The gradual emergence from the attitude of curiosity toward experiment into substantial ac- ceptance as one of the institutions of the community, even though more or less transient, marked the engagement of the Theater Guild. The week’s play, put together in Vienna, was entitled “Caprice.” The organization took the benefit of cumulative interest and found an audience ready to be amused by superfine acting, regardless of the material, which brought con- trast to the swinging force of orig- inality or literary venture by its adoption of a plan for the week| of comfortable conventionality. The Guild will soon display an- other sample of its wares, entitled “Wings Over Europe.” * Xk ¥ X The title “Caprice” harks away back to the 80s, when a play so named was exploited by some sort of litigious entanglement in con- nection with another play called “May Blossom.” That “Caprice” was of the era when standards were highly sentimentalized and the keynote of the feminine heart was supposed to be sounded for all eternity by the language of the lady in “Vicar of Wakefield”: “When lovely woman stoops to folly, And finds too late that men be- tray—" * ¥ ¥ ¥ The present “Caprice” deals with the frequently worked-out theme of the woman who scorns matrimony and prefers a life of intimate affection with her son tc the lure of a domestic career in company with a man in whom she can feel no faith whatever. It is once more the story of the father who has not seen his son in many years, the story that is served up with one literary sauce or another on an average of about twice a month. This story has come tc| correspond to the hash so much| maligned in the boarding-house in times when new food conditions have not arrived to give hash a status among the luxuries of the menu. * Kk k k Alfred Lunt, an actor in high favor, has the role of a barrister with an irrepressible yearning for romantic triangles and with a heart which awakens but slowly to the paternal desire to embrace the opportunity to become acquainted wlrh his 16-year-old son; an op- portunity which,the mother, with o ulterior motibes of selfishness, places at his disposal. * % * ¥ It is just a little surprising to find Alfred Lund required to pow- der his hair and assume the sedate mannerisms of the barrister who is, when called on for professional duty, compelled to conceal the 1y far in aging Mr. Lunt, especially in representing him as a hypo- chondriac with an enormous ap- petite for bicarbonate of a, which assists in impressing a cer- tain whimsicality in the role, but has nothing to do with the plot. A gloomy wonderment arose as to whether Mr. Lunt, who was so naively charming in impersonat- ing boy poets, is to be merged into maturity which depends on little brusque _trickeries to -entertain. Actors should not grow old. Jo- seph Jefferson was the best Bob Acres on the stage so long as he chose to play the part, and that was far into the years. A remark- able exampie of youth as a type in the theater was Harry Woodruff, who played “Brown of Harvard” with a fresh, boyish athleticism and surprised the world that had observed him by the announce- ment of his age at the time of his final passing from the scene. * K K * If the stage has lost one juve- nile Lunt it has found another in Douglass Montgomery, as the 16- year-old poet (most mothers think their 16-year-old sons are poets) who, at his mother’s instance, in- trudes into a web of relationships and flounders with all a young et’s obstinate idealism. He is he one truly natural character in the play, although a reflection of many types of his theatric kind. It is in reality a play whose per- formance is made charming by the keen alertness of an admirable company to the technical devices which center interest on the char- acter itself apart from the story. It is Lynn Fontanne who has the best replenished bag of tricks, and she tosses her wares into view| with lavish temperament. * % X ¥ “Caprice” is an exceedingly or- derly little play. It starts anc ends with the same situation, leaving every part of the story neatly folded ug and in its origi- nal place as perhaps becomes good | theater housekeeping. | * ok kK | “Little Accident” again intro- duces the father, who finds him- | self under obligations to make the acquaintance of his own child, this | time a very little baby whose | mother, desirous of a career, has arranged to leave him with an in- stitution for adoption. The natu- ral love of parent for child asserts | itself and the play proceeds to a | gentle, sentimental conclusion after dallying with some abstruse | social theories reduced to terms of colloquial interpretation. * ok K The modern tendency has taken so strong an impetus that a play in order to be accounted legiti- mate drama must have a strictly illegitimate plol‘. % * In “Little Accident” it is the comedian, Thomas Mitchell, who carries the main burden-of an in- genious play with touches of com- edy which range all the way from the plaintive key of a bridegroom in conciliatory agitation to an ex- plosive comedy basso worthy of fact that he plays the piano for his private amusement and who is not averse to flirtations with his feminine clients. The manage- ment hes probably gone needless- DeWolf Hopper himself. The week revived an old and fa- miliar surprise that plays can go on being so much alike and yet sc AMUSEMENT SECTION he Sunday Star. WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBE R 17,, 1929, \Commanoer GEORGE M. DyoTT- S Humting Tigers I lndia National RicHARD Dix- HUGH | BUCKLER. - ' Miings OverLurope Vi *The Love Doctor=" Earle An Expert's Dictum. E stage will not be wiped out by talking pictures, but will borrow from the screen ideas, both mechanical and histrionic, that will enhance it as a medium of entertainment. ‘This is the opinion of James Whale. director of the stage play, “Journey's End,” who came to Hollywood to assist in the dialogue direction of “The Love Doctor,” starring Richard Dix. ‘Whale says there is no doubt but the talking pictures is the greatest dra- matic medium of all times because it combines the dramatic quality of the human voice with the unlimited pho- tographic possibilities of the camera. He states further that the talking picture is the most democratic form of entertainment, pointing out that the spectator seated in the last row of the house is able to enjoy all the advan- tages of the person seated in the stall or box seat at a legitimate theater, plus the thrill of watching a show from backstage. But, despite these advantages of the talking picture, Whale says that the stage will not allow itself to be elimi- nated. He believes that new theaters will be equipped with an amplifying system that will throw the voices of the players to all corners. In the fu- ture, he further opines, stage directors will instruct their players to play more “to the gallery.” "Borrowing the idea from talking pictures, gestures and ac- tions will be broader and therefore more easily understood by the masses. Whale believes that the legitimate road show is a thing of the past for the reason that audiences will not be satisfled to see plays with second-rate casts when the talking picture will bring them the best in histrionic talent. The stage will hereafter confine its ef- forts to the large cities, he believes, Go Western ,AYoung Woman. REV!VAL of the popular favor for the Western picture brings up the ques- tion, will as many feminine stars be- come famous through sound Westerns as in the days of silent films? Ken Maynard and Tom Mix, for ex- ample, are responsible for starting many a pretty girl toward fame. Dorothy Dawn, Mary Philbin, Vera Reynolds, Virginia Valili, Olive Borden, Laura La Plant, Marion Nixon all owe their start in pictures largely to the Western. “If 1 were a girl desiring to get into pictures, I certainly should try to break in through Westerns,” says Ken May- nard. “The fleld is not crowded, as most girls try for parts allowing them to wear pretty clothes instead of shirts and chaps. Most women entering pic- tures believe themselves beautiful and the remainder believe themselves great actresses, and some believe both. 1f they were not of this opinion, they would not try for picture work. Now it the truth must be told, a girl with common sense enough to say, ‘I'll work in Westerns to get a chance’ is apt to be more beautiful and smarter than the other girls, She proves her level head different. ! by this remaris’ v k2 - | Motor, Aviation | and Radio News Nancy CARROLL and SIDNEY SMITH-/n ‘Sweerre ” Palace MARY PICKFORD and DouGLAS FAIRBANKS - n > The Tanmng of e Shrew” (Columbia /n National g Weck 8 Nov-2s- (© MARGUERITE « HARTWELL- /r ; Cc‘a__//}fir/r/é?Capef.s ox (573ge) #. JOUN R10 113~ PKO. Kerthe Conway “TEARLE- DOLES- /» Art’s Awful Ordeal. T)-m Marquise de la Falaise de la Coudraye was given the old Rialto welcome one evening recently and it almost proved fatal. Specifically, a horse almost sideswiped the lady, an automobile almost bumped her into the horse, several thousands of fan magazine subscribers evidenced their adoration by trying to make a ham- burger sandwich out of their idol, and the fatiguing journey from the curb- stone to the lobby of the Rialto Thea- ter began to assume the proportions of the Rubicon hop and the trek from Moscow. It was at the New York opening of “The Trespasser.” A mighty Mick named Sweeney, sergeant of the Whalen cadet corps, did the plunging fo~ the offensive side, and in several dives at the line man- aged to clear enough space for the star to get out of her car. ‘The public swooped down on the tiny figure, the horse was nonchalanu but firm and the mighty Sweeney bellowed and thundered orders as his cavalcade swept through an opening that was hardly large enough for Albie Booth to swivel his hips through. One Mr. Young of the Tammany Youngs was very much in the van, and when the group landed inside the theater it was discovered that Mr. Young already was comfortably seated. He probably will get into the Prince of Wales' wedding by posing as the bes: man. Safely inside the theater, Miss Swan- son reacted to the terrifying strain ot crossing the crowded pavement, and her body sagged helplessly into’ arms that somehow managed to be as strong as they were willing. A brief pause, the lady recovered herself, she was escorted to her seat, she took a bow and she sat down. Then the show went on. Always, though your heart be breaking, boy of mine, and thougn the blue skies turn into gray, little pal, the show goes on. Stage and Screen Attractions This Week. NATIONAL—“Hunting the Tiger in India,” a talking photoplay. Opens this evening. BELASCO—“Death Takes a Holiday,” fantasy, with Philip Merivale. Opens tomorrow evening. POLI'S—Thurston, magician. Opens this evening. GAYETY—“Sliding” Billy Watson, burlesque. and evening. This afternoon COLUMBIA—“Taming of the Shrew,” with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford; talking picture. evening. This afternoon and EARLE — Richard Dix in “The Love Doctor,” talking picture. this afternoon and evening. METROUOLITAN—George Arliss in “Disraeli” (second week). FOX—Janet Gaynor and Char! les Farrell in “Sunny Side Up,” musical talkie. This afternoon and evening. RIALTO—“The Sophomore,” with Eddie This afternoon and evening. PALACE — Nancy Carroll in “ afternoon and evening. R-K-O KEITH'S—Bebe Daniels cal extravaganza. evening. LITTLE THEATER—"Moulin R noon and evening. (Second week.) Quillan; talking picture. ‘Sweetie,” talking picture. This in “Rio Rita,” talking and musi- This afternoon and ouge,” silent picture. This after- A New Functionary. 'ALKING pictures, having raided the legitimate and musical stages for authors, actors, song writers, dancers, scene builders and other experts, have | at last taken over an important tech- nician of whom the public has heard but little in connection with the theater and nothing at all in connection with screen entertainment—the director of musical numbers. As long as talking pictures which fea- tured musical numbers were based on stories of backstage life or were put out in the form of cinema revues, the di- rector of such numbers could remain in New York for all that producers of pic- | tures cared. He was not needed be- | cause the artists whom they used were all capable of rendering their songs ac- cording to their own ideas. When, how- ever, the time came to put motion pic- ture stars with no musical comedy or reviue experience before a microphone | and a camera to “deliver” a song, it at once became necessary to import a new func!innlrg;! One of the t directers of musical numbers to make the trip to Hollywood under contract was Seymour Felix, who for a long period was identified with | one of the most prominent producers of Broadway revues. Mr. Felix went to the Fox Studios for the purpose of handling the numbers in “Sunny Side All the “business” credited to him Not So Easy. DAY'S work in talking pictures is equivalent to doing six shows a day in vaudeville, according to Eddie Quillan, young Pathe comedian, who was a well known vaudeville per- former long e he faced the microphones as the featured member of the cast of “The Sophomores.” “By the time a talkie player has learned his lines, rehearsed a scene several times for the director, several more times for the sound engineer, and then made the ne ‘takes,” he's done more work than a small-time vaudeville actor on a holiday bill,” ac- cording to Eddie. But young Quillan doesn’t mind ft, even though there may be a number of famous stage stars doing their “‘six- a " in this manner who couldn't be suaded to and FREDDIE . ERED EVANS ENSEMBLE - tr “Theyre OF" Palace (Stage) BURKE FREDERICK- /7 Lvsderce” FOLLOWING *DISRAELI” AT METROPOLITAN Not a Blush By Percy liness of its plays. A able for our ears. quently. ‘Wonderful Night.” Of course, there is Mr. White's “Scandals” and Mr. Car- roll's “Sketch Book,” but nearly every one has seen them and they are now regarded as relics of our fleshly past. These are idle days for the drama's policemen. Not so long ago bpatrol wn?onn were almost as numerous as taxicabs in the theater district. There were riot calls at each performance of “What Price Glory” and what was | known as the Miss Mae West squad was | busy handcuffing her and sending her | to Jall. Shocked drama critics called for the National Guard and the more pious pulpits thundered objections against the stage as a hindrance on the pathway to heaven. So grave was the situation that the State's attorneys were forced to neglect their more dig- nified duties in order to discipline the bold, wayward and licentious drama. Now, we reformers may park our besoms and rest easily. The present drama’s inclination is to be pure if not undefiled. In place of such things ss “Cradle Snatchers,” we have “Ju Moon,” “It's & Wln Child" and “S! ly Dishonorable,” all of them though nice. They give us “B: Square,” ‘“‘Many Waters” and “The Criminal Code,” and so we can venture into Broadway's showshop without fear of contamination. ‘What, you may inquire, has induced the managers to exchange their cloven hoofs for haloes? What influence has put clothes upon the naked chorus girls and hanished vulgar abnormali- ties from the scene of entertainment? ive more than two per- ormances daily in vaudeville. It may be that the producers, discover- ing their wicked products to be stale » v S the season progresses it be- comes remarkable for the clean- Scarcely & blush is to be had in Broad- way and the censors find their occupation gone. The new music shows are lamblike in their innocence, both as to clothing and conduct, and the dramas tell us little or nothing unsuit- Naughty theater- goers wishing to be made naughtier now have to attend the cinemas, which, I am told, still pursue their brazen ways. Rile jokes are to be heard infre- There isn't an indecent ex- posure in such new entertainments as “Sweet Adeline,” “Bitter Sweet” or “A on Broadway Hammond. and unprofitable, have become polite. Show business, they tell me, has been bad. Empty theaters appall our 1m- presarios, and so they are tempted to come clean. - They say, in the words of Antony and Cleopatra, “Our desolation doth begin to make a better life.” “Bitter Sweet,” they tell me, is wreck- ing all the box office records of musical comedy. Though it has no clown to ex- hilarate its romantic proceedings, no ruddy jokes to laugh at and no nudity to look upon, it is New York's most popular _exhibition, not excepting Grant's Tomb, the "Aquarium or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Last Sate urday night's audience paid $8,171 for the privilege of enjoying Noel Coward's words and music and Miss Evelyn Laye's marvelous feats of beauty, charm, vocalism and histrionica. Miss Laye, I think, is Great Britain's richest gift to the U. S. A, the land of the stars and stripes, as a London critic has recently called it. I described her in a hurried midnight report as * this side of. heaven,’ called me down, so far, for paraphras- | ing Justin Huntley Macarthy's dedica~ tion in the noblest of all the romantic shows, “If I Were King."» Miss Laye is perfection in “Bitter Sweet,” and so is Mr. Coward, except for his introduc- tion of a quintet of nasty boys, whoss effeminate impersonation cannot b2 described in a home paper. Many Marriages. | 'THE title of “the screen’s most ma. - | ried man” goes to Huntly Gordo: Never since his entrance in motion pi~- tures has he been in a film play 'n which he was not either cast as a mar- |ried man or else was led to the alter i “The Marriage Playground n “The riage " wita M"ty B;}:n nn:! wfi by’bh: lives up to reputation ing » thrice mmt:i‘ man, twice to his present wife, Lilyan Tashman, and once to his ex-wife, Kay Prancis. Being married three times in one career, however, means little in the matrimonial destiny of Gordon, since he married eight times in “Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife,” with Gloria Swanson in the role of wife No. 8.