Evening Star Newspaper, March 9, 1930, Page 55

| Theater, Screen and Music Part 4—14 Pages LorETTA YOUNG - In"Loose Aukles AMUSEMENT SECTION he Sundwy Star. WASHINGTON, HYAMS -/, " The Earle Delightful Pages Turned in Playhouse Picture Book. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. N turning back the pages of the years, the theater reveals many touches of lightsome fancy associated with the name of Victor Herbert. His rhythms have inspired many Broadway poets to dexterities of phrase. At the moment of their utterance such rhymes seemed so natural that they are absorbed into recollection without even a “thank you” to the patient scribe who laboriously put his Pegasus through eccentric paces as direct- ed by the leader of the band. x ¥ % ¥ ‘The author of “Babes ‘Toy- land” is not now made - , & youth (his type is always young in spirit) who apol- ogized often for turning out so much material that affronted his own critical sense. He quoted the old English proverb, “Needs must when the devil drives.” * % % % ‘The touch of childhood inter- est is always fraught with sym- pathetic charm for playgoers of all ages. The tinsel and gauze of the Christmas spectacle has de- parted from the footlights; as if goblins, demons and fairies had decided to abandon one of their favorite trysting sports when the old flicker of oll or gas which left es of mysterious shadow was replaced by the sharp relent- less glow of the electric light. It is probably only a coincidence that the uncompromising modern illumination has stimulated a de- mand for realism in all branches of play productions; including the musical spectacle which, in its measurements of graceful human froponion. has become perhaps he most realistic of all forms of theater display. R The persistent assertion of ju- venile influence may yet lead to a revival of the ancient classic of which “Humpty-Dumpty” was the hero. The assumption seems to be that when he fell off the wall where the bills were posted, he crashed like the personified egg in the fable and could never be put together again. Yet there were “Humpty-Dumpty” interpre- ters—Tony Denier and half a dozen others—who were proud of their special talents and main- tained the pride of friendly rival- ry. The bismuth of complexion and the vermilion lines of face have been left to the circus clown. He has an honorable ancestry, descended from the Italian fam- ily of Sacramouche, with close re- lationship to the Pierrot of| France. But Pierrot is now left outside, tiently singing “au clair de la une,” to a fickle public that re- fuses to open the doors of the theater. * % ¥ ¥ It is to the intellectual credit of play patrons that Shakespeare, whose direct appeal was to the populace, in terms of melodrama and what in his day was doubtless called buffoonery, outlives the tricks and toys that were dangled before the eyes of the susceptible wroundiing | e * * It is in Shakespeare that the Immortality of great poetry as- serts itself in superiority to story- telling ingenuity. It is very ably contended that the plots are often quite mechanical affairs, not al- ways running with sufficient smoothness to satisfy the exact- ing standards in this peculiarly mechanistic era. But the Shake- spearean world is peo]zled with true humanity, with motives good or bad, but never indifferent, and they are companions never en- tirely to be lost, even though their careers at times me more or cause it is still asking whether Hamlet was actually bereft of reason or whether Portia, plead- ing the cause of the Merchant of Venice, was not at best a rather shabby lawyer. e ok The Stratford-on-Avon Players, with the customary long reper- tory, gave opportunity for com- paring American Shakespeare with English Shakespeare. Both are free from mannerisms of enunciation supposed to be in- herent in native speech on either side of the Atlantic. The Strat- ford Players read the lines in di- rect conversational style, reserv- ing robust declamations for the {:usges which are obviously in he nature of oration. The play- ers of this continent, on the other hand, are always influenced by a sense of the great dignity and im- portance of the work in hand, and reminiscent of times that de- veloped™ frank discussion as to whether in order to be an ideal Hamlet it was necessary to pos- sess a “graveyard voice.” The English attitude toward Shakespeare has' the frank though deferential familiarity of studious analysis. The American attitude is the more reverential. * ok kK The Theater Guild, supposed to have been speciall more or less in literary antiques, comes along with one of the striking novelties of the year, familiar only as it may have become so to stu- dents of Russian literature. Tur- genev’'s comedy, “A Month in the Country,” is to have its first pres- entation in the United States at the National Theater tomorrow. Nazimova, who is credited with having the most versatile counte- nance of the stage because no two of her photographs look alike, is to have a cast with her worthy of her distinguished reputation, and the play will have an advantage over the splendid art productions of the Moscow Theater in the fact that it is in familiar speech that permits an audience of this land to know Yrecuely when to laugh or, possibly, to shed a tear which elvegn comedy may sometimes claim, Powell and Risso Sw-p. EGAU. they say, swapped his birth- right for a mess of pottage, Caesar swapped his empire for a snake bite, Sir ‘Walter swapped his cloak for a queen’s smile and some of the American people, at least, are tempting fate with furni- ture varnish. ‘There have been happler swaps, how- ever, and one of them was when Johnny Risso swapped his tennis knowledge for lessons in acting from William Powell. Risso, now playing a supporting role in Poweil's first starrring picture, “Street of Chance,” made this agreement with the sleek and suave actor of Philo Vance fame several days after work on the picture had been started. Both con- sidered it a fair swap. iss0 is & phenomenon of the tennis court and Powell, as everyone knows, is one of the more clever exponents of cinema villainy. Appropriately enough, in this picture Risso plays the part of the {dolizing newsboy who ‘“takes a chance” and tries to save the life of the man who has befriended him. o Uncle Tom Miuing. Now comes a bit of news that will shock the muted sensibilities of the most venerable theater goers. It has just been reported by that group of stage moguls in New York who call themselves “Equity” that for the first time since 1853 there is not to be found one single production of “Uncle Tom's Cabin” throughout the entire land. It seems that ever since this play, drawn from ‘“the celebrated novel of Harriet Beecher Stowe,” began its peri- patetic career amidst the “op'ry houses’ of this country, it has been visible in at least one theater during the year. Now, alas, after evmblnfi"-hfl reglons of the swamplands and the metropoli- tan turrets of all available cities, is not a trace of it to be found any- where, classic always thered yet all that remains of it now is the }:a entn‘ngledAm a n;’flt{emenbl% *. imagination. A wo! ng pul does not value them tge feu be- ghost of Uncle Tom, which probabl: a itself hl{ one of these days will make on the The old ga buckets full of tears wherever it went, | my Girl S51d No ™ Columbia Scerne Frorr NAZIMOVA- In” HfMonth in 7he Country” Na—h’onal *NoT SO Dump™ Palace Keeping Tab on Burlesque. ] H HERK, president of the Mutual ers of all com- panies on the Mut: circuit,” repre- sented locally by the Gayety Theater, which states in 3 “As in the past, at this period I am hereby cautioning you against permit- ting your performances to deteriorate in any particular from the fixed high level established at the beginning of the sea- son. This applies as well to the upkeep of your production as to scenery, cos- tumes and all other details. “By steadfast observance of these mat- ters during the past seven months the Mutual organization has prospered and has pl its patrons, and we must maintain this position. To accomplish this the performances during the re- maining weeks of the season must be as carefully and effectively given as during the opening week.” The regular Mutual “wheel” season is scheduled to close Saturday, May 24, when approximately all of the shows will have played 40 weeks. it Leila Wins. LmA HYAMS, who plays the leading feminine role opposite William Haines in his most recent starring pic- ture, “The Girl Sald No,” was selected by Henry Clive, noted artist and fllus- trator, as “The Golden Girl,” the most beautiful blonde in Hollywood. Nearly eight months ago Clive went to the cinema capital with a commis- slon from Florence Ziegfeld to pick for him the most Rer!ec: blonde girl in that metropolis. The girl was to be offered a Follies contract. After carefully study- ing the faces and Physioznomies of 5,000 applicants, Clive's _artistically critical eyes fell upon the lovely Leila and without more ado the col it was declared closed. an Author Acting Now. READE‘RS of Donald Ogden Stew- art’s books will have an_ opportu- nity to see what this wag looks like in Marion Davies' latest picture, “Not So Dumb.” The author of “Perfect Be- havier, “Mr. and Mrs. Haddock Abroad” and “Aunt Polly's Story of Mankind” has a prominent part in this screen adaptation of the well known stage success, “Dulcy.” While “Not So Dumb” is Mr. Stew- art’s screen debut, it cannot be said that he is entirely without theatrical experience, inasmuch as he appeared last year in “Holiday” and at the pres- ent moment is well occupied in the cast i) of his own play, “Rebound. . . Buster's Face Slips. USTER KEATON is having troubles B with the talkles—at least that's what he says. The reglons of his face, that have been “frozen” since time im. memorial apparently, are causing him WOrTy. “Keeping a ‘frozen’ face while talking is ten times as difficult as it used to be in the good old days of silent action,” says the placid Buster. “In those days practice had trained me to keep a straight face while doing pantomime, but when I gle‘ke. of course, the naturai ex%rmlons it g0 with words were a habit. We never paid any attention to that—it wasn't in the picture, “But in talkies it's different. When I .pukulmalflndthatth‘:umuon on It’s the habit of a lifetime. 850, before speaking I have to stop and SR o P % Ln Sy m"m& over again.” - FRIGANZA- Palace (Jfa7e) Stage and Screen Attractions This Week NATIONAL—New York Theater Guild, “A Month in the Coun- try.” Opens tomorrow evening. GAYETY—“Step Lively Girls,” burlesque. evening. METROPOLITAN—“Street of Chance.” evening. This afternoon and This afternoon and PALACE—"“Not So Dumb.” This afternoon and evening. EARLE—“Loose Ankles.” This afternoon and evening. COLUMBIA—“The Girl S8aid No.” This afternoon and evening. R-K-O KEITH'S—“The Case of Sergeant Grischa.” noon and evening. This after- FOX—“Happy Days.” This afternoon and evening. Villainy As a Career. ITllfluvl!llinwhn‘eupddlnd paid and paid, according to Douglas Gilmore, one of the screen’s debonair menaces. Having made a career of villainy on the screen, of course, and having found it more profitable than being hero for beautiful leading ladies, Mr. Gilmore defends his course by offering in evi- dence a long-term Fox Film contract calling for an enviable salary. “The life of a leading man on the screen,” Gilmore says, “is too short to please 'me. Long after pulchritude has failed leading men and made them ac- cept second-rate parts, a in can still go on ying ‘heavy’ roles. Good looks are necessary to a villain, although at times they are an asset. A leading man plays straight roles and frequently finds himself sadly in need of good parts. A villain,” Gilmore con- tinues, “is really a character actor and has a greater varlety of roles into which he can fit.” This particular “villain” named Gil- more hails from Boston, Mass., and was educated at Notre Dame. When he fin- ished college he rebelled against his parents’ edict that he accept & job in the tool factory of which his father was president. He was not certain of just what he did want—but he was sure it did not include work in a tool factory. On a train one day he engaged in conversation with a friendly stranger. The man asked if he were an actor. Gilmore sald no. The train was pull- ing into New York and the stranger rose, but handed Gilmore a card. “When you want to become an actor come to see me,” the stranger said. Gllmore read the card, “John Gold- en.” The young the name of the New it was not until he found himself with- out funds in New York that he paid Mr. Golden a visit. He obtained a small part in “Lightnin’” with Frank Bacon, and decided the stage was his forte, remaining long enough to appeal lnw“wh\fe Cl%"'flmflfm Man."” “We Moderns,” to y such well known stars man recogn York producer, and | artists, oo Bl | va Hayes, Elsie Ferguson and Doris Keane on Broadway. Then the movies got him in 1926 and he appeared in several M.-G.-M. productions. Being a screen villain for Fox has been anything but a gentle life, he says. In “Married in Hollywood” he had a scene with Norma Terris in which the star slapped him, kicked his shins, pinched and kicked him until he fled from her room. In “Cameo Kirby” he was slapped in the face by a gauntlet in the strong hand of J. Harold Mur- ray. In “The Big Party” he received enough blows to make him realize that the career of a villain is a cruel one in more ways than one. And yet he prefers to villain, not- withstanding, for a villain's life is quite & paying one. Color and Music. 'HNICOLOR and music are in- separable in entertainment,” so de- clares Lawrence Tibbett, who woke up one morning not long ago to find him- self famous, and whose voice twice a day almost breaks the microphone in “The Rogue Song.” “To_divorce music from color is to commit a crime the art pleasing,” sald the well known baritone, “because music creates through the ear the same impressions of beauty that color conveys to the eye. There has not been a single opera stage setting that I can remember which has not been colorful. In the same way many modern stage managers use batteries of colored lights to accompany an or- chestral selection. & “In_some instances, of course, this color had to be subdued to fit not only the poverty-sticken condition of the , such as the garret in which Mimi dies in ‘La Boheme,’ but also to suggest the tragedy of her death. “By filming action in color,” Mr. Tibbett explained, “one is able to blend harmonies in hues, just as one blends them in musical tones, and then as- semble them in a perfect whole. It is regard that color has become so this valuable in the filming of music.’ “ D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 9, 1930. Motor, Aviation and Radio News w / @ [SheetolChin /V\e‘fmpol itan Scene from” "The (CASE of SERGEANT GEORGL’ E. WINTZ, whose stage of- ferings are many in number and importance and who has already been represented in Wi by the Mitzi revival for it Mr. Wints has announced heretofore unheard of in the vexunf performances during the entire tour of “Vanity Fair” Wwill be scaled at $2, with prices ranging from there on down to 50 cents. Mr. Wintz explains that in e g artists for the cast of “Vanity " he guaranteed a season of not less than 40 weeks and thereby was enabled to as- semble a company of high merit. It is his belief that if the tage is to be kept thoroughly alive, liberal price- cutting has to be done, so that those who have wandered away from “flesh and blood” presentations, due unques- tlonably to high prices, may be brought back to the legitimate theater. Mr. Wintz is of the opinions that produc- tions well cast and smartly produced, playing in theaters of adequate capacity, can be priced at these low figures, which are certainly within the reach of playgoers. ‘The experiment so far has, Mr. Wintz states, brought crowded houses to this and other attractions under his banner. Doesn’t Copy Dad. “Asmlctorlhlvemedlobe’ufl. as different from my father as possible,” says Douglas Fairbanks, jr., Wwho is co-featured with Loretta Young in “Loose Ankles.” “That doesn’t mean that I don't ad- mire my father very much,” young Fairbanks is careful to explain. “I ad- mire him immensely. ‘Fhu'l why I hlvedl:"‘l"uhy!hh":d -ddre!:; of being com- pare and why I made u mind, when I first began to lc'; fl Fxcturcs, that I would never, never try 0 imitate his style of acting. In fact, I would go far out of my way to avoid the Jappearance_of trying to imitate jon ay ‘L'Aiglon’ on the screen.” i —_—— Hays Optimistic. WXLL H. HAYS has sent out the fol- lowing ultimatum: “Today sound is new.” (This is belleved to be about the e'.:gfies!)‘u ""Ih'omorlr:w there wllltge something else, the enlarged 3 third dimension. kR “I do not think I am too visionary when I xredlct for tomorrow a motion picture flashed on the screen as large 1u thi: ordlnAryulun. the Murumx?-olvll- ng in perspective, speaking naf and in the p:lcvifl eolop:u of life. Thl{ day, in fact, is just around the corner.” Sumi— Thinks Highly of Her Play. “I SHALL always keep ‘The Kingdom of God' in my repertoire,” Ethel | Barrymore recently told William Stieg- ler of the Cincinnati Times-Star, “be- cause I regard it as the finest modern drama I have ever had. It is something more than a play, it is a crusade. What- ever other roles may come to me, I !J::]l continue to act ?Ilwr Gracia to and always will be there, regardless of anything else. Even if I had limitless means, what else would I do, or could I e conclusion, for what is usually known ressed all | has none of the GRISCHA- Reviews 0£ New NEW Shaw d’ “event” ane Polish last year in Warsaw, and later in English in London, and now comes to New York in the hands of the Guild Theater Co., will be so regarded by most of its audiences what~ ©E might s wel be granted that those as wel grant who are looklinc for a play in the ordi- progress of a story, for suspense, sur- prise, the dynamic give and take of e that marches to some active as drama, exp in visual terms— will not find it here. Those, on the contrary, who are content to listen for an evening to the political table talk the wittlest writer for the English- spe: stage—talk sometimes very good, sometimes not so good, the ave age come-and-go of a brilliant pla; wright chatting on the subject of de- mncru‘:( in a moment of comparative relaxation, will find themselves very comfortably entertained. “The Apple Cart” lacks the compact- ness and conventional movement of the earlier Shavian days, in which, as Mr. Shaw used to assure us, he ly rowed plots and framework from the routine dramatic cupboard on which to hang the ideas and arguments in which he was at the moment interested. It Poetry and dramatic fire of “Saint Joan.” It occupies a position about midway between the earlier ieces, in which Mr. Shaw was still, owever he might disdain it, writing for the commercial theater, and “Back to Methuselah,” in which he felt that he had arrived at a position in which he was a law unto himself, could ignore ner, make his own rules and talk in- definitely about whatever might come into his head. “’THE PLUTOCRAT”: A dramatic arrangement from Mr. Tarking- ton’s novel, full of sure-fire caricature of Americans versus Europeans, Omaha versus New York, domestic humor of the “Mr. and Mrs.” type, and so on. Earl Tinker, e plutocrat of the story, is one of those stage pork-pack- ing millionaires, who, on being intro- duced in the smoke room of & trans- atlantic luamsh&ew an elegant youn; painter, grabs latter’s mitt an pumps it, meanwhile asking “House” or “Sign"? " He and his cronies, all sup- be very “big” American busi- ness men, indeed, break into “Sweet the usual stage limits of time and man- | fieq R.K.Q Aerths “The Apple Cart™ and Others Broadway Show!. Adeline” on'all occasions and on_the least excuse, and are forever each other on the back and “At:lmsoy!;‘nsm u‘(e be W‘F ven! o! these rusticities, as are young Newn}lorsfin whflo are also pass- engers on the and quite ashamed of their fellow mp trymen, is charmed by them, and sees Mr. Turner the almost nary sense of the word—for the swift | effe Mr. nize his novel, but the piece 18 with “good clean fun” and is Mr. and Mrs. Coburn and pany for all the laughs in sight. UITE out of the usual run is all-Negro cast's playing of Connelly's “The Green Pastures,” liglous fable, suggested by Roark ford’s Southern sketches, “Ol' Adam an’ His Chillun,” in which the author attempts to present ‘“certain as of a living religion in the terms. of its believers.” The religion is that o' thousands of Negroes in who have learned and Bible storles in _terms evervday lives. Thus the grave and all-powerful kS i o peoacir. ane e own X will be a happy and sunshiny place, one of their own fish-fry picn! that all the blessed angels, old and s Ay a brie roduc scene which an old Southern preacher tells the story of Genésis to a little handful of Sunday school children, the Phy does, indeed, begin in just such a glori- fish-fry of & heaven. And the Lord comes in and decides to create the earth and the race of man and next we see him raising up Adam in the Gar- Eden. i gtry follows through the story of the ld Testament, with Adam and Noesh and Moses and all the rest a) in the everyday shapes and clo and talk of the present-day Negro country- side. There were some 30 Scenes, fad- ing into each other in rapid succession, and between these scenes and some- times along with them, Ne spirity for which the words and feel moment gave the cue, bfldg emo- tional gaps and merged scattered ea into a continuous dramatic Ty. Steve’s Bigge MANAO!R COCHRAN has promised ‘‘surprises” from the earliest an- nouncement of his National Theater Players for 1930. And already he has redeemed his promise in the new lead- ing man, Walter Gilbert; his charm! new ingenue, Marian Sterly, and in the return of Romaine Collender, one of the best, and Clifford Brooke, who has been identified with the finest productions that have been made by au players Aln::‘dthel-r start in 102#; B " now comes, perhaps, the surprise of all in announcement the players this year will have Miss Marian Wells for their leading woman, that Miss Wells has never appeared be- in n but once, and that ter in 1926 in Earl ‘That Off”; tense and gripping drama the next, a musical comedy the third night and follow that up with a stellar per- formance in a terpsichorean production do, to me contentment and hap- piness i not act?” as evidence of her versatility. & e st “Surprise” “He Who Gets 8laj L” with the Provincetown Players of Massach and with Bert Lytell in * “§ which is to be one of the new plays seen for the first time in Wi ing | in_the National Players’ 1930 :m Besides season ts in Mon- treal, Richmond, Lou lle, Province- town and Detroit, Miss Wells has peared in New York and in chle-m‘g such productions as “Hell Ben Heaven,” “The Dybbuk,” “Sonya” snd “Polly Preferred,” and it is only eight she was graduated from t | years _since Coe College in Iowa. Marion started out in the world to make a name for herself as a dancer :A:ln college dramatics Marion is slender, lithe graceful, a blonde withal with !Ifl:n“lflk and blue eyes, anc, of course, a member of Pi Chapter of the support of Richard Guild Furthermore, Miss Wells appeared Bennett in th New York Theater production of & the Gamma Delta So) i mmnvmbt’&m‘;m“.‘““