Evening Star Newspaper, July 13, 1930, Page 41

| Theater, Screen ‘and Music Part 4—12 Pages AMUSEMENT SECTION he Sunday Star, * WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY MORNING, TAGE and SCREE LORETTA YOUNG -/ S The fRoad 7o Laradise” Earle JoaNn CRAWFORD - /n N Our Blusting Brides Columbia R-K-O KEITH'S—"“Inside the Lines"— “Bottom of the World.” -K-O KEITH'S offers a twin bill of features this week, pre- senting Betty Compson in a | cturization of the stage play, | “Inside the Lines,” together | with “Bottom of the World,” an un- usual cinema of the Antartic Circle, taken by Dr. Rob- ert Cushman Mur- phy, world-famous scientist and cura- tor of the American Museum of Natural History. The lat- ter is said to bring to the screen crea- tures that few knew existed and to show lives and problems of exist- ence in a country where _there are but 15 kinds of vegetation, where it snows five days out of every five the year round and where there are no native land mammals. At one time the bottom of the world was a center for sealing operations and in one year & fleet of 18 sealers took 57,000 Ant- arctic fur seal pelts. Of course, this slaughter meant practical extermination of the seals, so that now the land has become the headquarters for the greatest whaling industry on earth. The major feature, however, “Inside the Lines,” is the story of a great love that concerns Jane Gershon and her flance, Eric Woodhouse, who sepa- rate in Germany upon declaration of war. They meet in the British fortress at Gibraltar as German sples. Jane poses as the daughter of an old friend of the governor’s family, and Wood- house is supposedly a British officer. Jane is to secure the key to the mine- control fleld in the harbor. Eric sur- the key. She suad g the British fleet, then coming into_the harbor. He notices a covering Jane and he gives the key to her and at the is sending Betty Compson. same time tells her that she him tion upon her. denouement is brought about, mowever, in a happy and thrilling manner. ctades v Known Engiih ‘The Forbes, in- and Ameri- ery, Raymond Hackett and John Miljan as the three boy friends, complete the cast of principals. The plot centers about three girls who live together and go through the same monotonous routine at Jardine's Department Store. David Jardine, son of the owner, persuades Connie to allow him to set her up in an apartment on Park avenue and supply her with the clothes and other things wealth will buy. He promises to marry her just as soon as he can arrange it with his family. toll, is easily persuaded to become the wife of the wealthy Mr. Martin, a cus- tomer at the store. Jerry, however, holds out, even when the older son of the Jardine family makes advances to- ward her, and she spurns nis offers. In the end, Connie is left despondent when David announces he is g to marry a society girl; Francine’s hfisband proves to be a thief and is taken by the police, and Jerry, who goes to the Jardines to bring David back to Connie, who has taken poison, when he refuses to go finds Tony stepping in to make him. Jerry, the level-headed girl, who has won the respect and love of /Tony, promises to marry him. A fashion parade of ultra-smart ap- parel is an outstanding incident of the picture. Supplemental features will include “A Silly Symphony,” the Hearst Metrotone News and the Columbia Orchestra. FOX—“Women Everywhere.” “WOMEN EVERYWHERE,” the film feature now at the Fox Theater, presents a new combination of the Fox firofluclng forces of Fifi D'Orsay, the ttle French comedienne, and J. Harold Murray, former Ziegfeld singing star. Both are from the legitimate stage and bring a world of experience to the talking picture. Miss Dorsay already finds herself at the top of the ladder, following Victor McLaglen’s successful productions, “Hot for Paris” and “On the Level,” while J. Harold Murray has appearéd in numerous Ziegfeld shows and other attractions. is sald to have a magnificent voice that records for the talkies with exceptional effectiveness. The story is described as a tuneful, dramatic romance of a rumrunner, whose adventures with women every- 'hex'ex mdupcrumluly with one wom- an of a Moroccan seaport lead him in and out of the Foreign locale covers Mediterranean: a Moroccan Casablanca, an outpost of the Foreign Legion, as well as the African can players, such as Betty Carter, Ivan | Cook, Simpson, Montague . d ihulmd, Evan Thomas and \uer. . COLUMBIA—"Our Blushing Brides.” ¢ 4 MERICA'S Popular Dancing Daugh- ters™ are announced at Loew’s Co- Jumbia in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s story of a jazz-mad whirl at life and love, “Our Blushing Brides,” = with Joan Orawford featured. Dorothy Sebastian ? sad Anita Page,.with Robert- Montgom- tage program present another Fanchon & Marco idea, the * " which features Ed and Morton Beck, Muriel Stryker, Crop- ley and Violet, Chief Eagle Feather. For the current week the Sunkist Beauties have been eliminated and Carla Torney Girls, a group of highly trained danc- ers, will take their place. Sam Jack Kaufman, master of ceremonies, will Francine, tired of her life of | the city of | lam will | Deen at both the ECoorER and JUNE COLLYER- A Ma: ’Q’”’, \)(/)/O/fl/)zy Palace BeTTy COMPSON" ard RALPH FORBES- /r N sy The Lires” RKO Keiths i STRYKER- &= Yes, "Pavlowa, Jr." ONCE upon a time there was a dancer | “” and her name was Pavlowa. She | made the swan what it is today. And walking one day through the academic streets of London, she happened upon little Vera Boot, who was dancing with abandon in the middle of Trafalgar uare. “Ha!” sald Pavlowa, when she had spled the child. “There is my suc- cessor—a real, honest to goodness suc- cessor.” And she ran up to Vera and embraced her. “What is your name, my good little girl?” she asked, as the young lady paused in the middle of a leg exercise. “My name is Vera Boot.” “Vera Boot? What an ugly name, little girl! What a terribly ugly name! What a really h—” and Pavlowa would have continued, 'if discretion hadn’t smitten her on the back. Then, seeing the child caught in a of embarrassment, she told her to relax and added: “No loxr shall you be ‘Vera Boot. Hencefol you shall come with me and be my successor when the swan that is in me dies. And you shall have a new and beautiful name. Hilda—that is what it shall be—Hilda Butsova!” And =0 away went the two, Paviowa with her protegee, and the protegee with her new name. And they danced all over the globe, and made many, many friends, until with Pavilowa’s re- tirement, the little girl was left to dance by herself. And thus, and so she did, until the fates, with a good laugh, dropped her mplly on‘A;e day at Loew's P‘k&'fi w‘;fx‘:t may be seen today—dancing 2s she did when first discovered amid the lions of Trafalgar Square. Fox Personnel Changes. F. WINCHESTER, who has been ' at the Fox Theater practically since its Dpenlx? and has risen from the position of doorman to that of as- sistant house manager, has been trans- ferred to Detroit, ‘where he will ler Wil- the here de of Mr. Winchester will be led by W. Clyde Gardner, until recently on duty at the Warner Bros'. Earle Thea- ter. Mr. Gardner is a Fox man, having Fox, St. Louis, an Fox, Detroit, Theaters, and 'Ilw‘fl Meakin bursting with enthusiasm at the line-up of the new feature pictures and Fanchon and Marco stage presentations (Stage) FiF Do Fox RSAY and J. HAROLD ; MURRAY - /> \Xomen Ever)/»v/ere Screen Attractions This Week R-K-O KEITH'S—“Inside the Lines,” “Bottom of the World.” This afternoon and evening. COLUMBIA—“Qur Blushing Brides.” This afternoon and eve- ning. FOX—“Women Everywhere.” This afternoon and evening. EARLE—“Road to Paradise” and Will Osborne. This afternoon and evening. PALACE—“A Man From Wyoming.” This afternoon and eve- ning. METROPOLITAN—“Way of All Men.” This afternoon and eve- ning. Outdoor Amusements GLEN ECHO PARK. 'HETHER one goes by bus, Street car or private auto, it is promised a big kick awaits those who arrive early and stay late at Glen Echo Park with its more than 50 amusements. Like a trip to a fairy vacation land, it is promised there's & new surprise—a new thrill—around ever{y corner. This year an electric fountain, in all colors of the rainbow, and a ferris wheel are newcomers, sharing honors with the thrillers that.have won their DE eoursc, are the Bersy, the Tash: 1ids of course, are the “derby, on the roller coaster, thrills of the aeroplane swing, the caterpillar, the old mill and the carrousel. Merry- making machines dot the midway, and the penny arcgde makes 10 laughs grow ‘where none before. Dancing in the beautiful ball room, to the captivating tunes of McWilliams and his gay band, is a nightly joy from 8:30 until 11:30 (except Sunday). Picnie crowds are so large daily that more than 200 extra tables have been already generous facili- | ‘SEASIDE PARK. Susmx PARK, at Chesapeake Beach, is now at the height of its for family outings, on Friday, at a min- imum of expense. Swimming and diving in the fine salt-water pool, dancing in the cool ball room and enjoyment of the many other devices, including the coaster dip, aeroplane swing, whip, skooter, miniature railway, coaster, skee ball, bowling, etc., make time pass pleasant- ly at Seaside Park. For those employed during the day rapid and convenient train service from District Line station takes patrons to the very gates of the park, and bathing under floodlights and to music has proved a strong attraction. Ample parkingd space will be found at the District line and at the park itself. > CHAPEL POINT. 'HOSE who yearn to “go down to the sea in ships” can enjoy the count~ erfeit thrill of such an adventure by boarding the big boat City of Washing- ton, which plies daily, except Tuesday, between the Capital and Chapel Point, and which, also, every evening except ‘Tuesday, glides down the Potomac under the moon, with hosts of happy couples enjoying dancing and other diversions on board. The Chapel Point of this year boasts many new improvements. Bathing was never better, and there are newly in- stalled showers, up-to-date bath houses, diving boards, water slides and water wheel. Picnic parties will find every- thing to their liking, with pl:nl%uxl reduced | tables and chairs in shady nooks. BCS-SAWS, JULY 13 Motor, Aviation ?nd Radio News HiLDA E)UTSOV/;- | Palace ($7age) Taking to the Tcnts.l 'HE greatest news of the “magical” world to blossom forth in a long time is that the famous Thurston, known throughout the land for getting something out of nothing, united with his brother, is to start soon on a tour of the country, showing magical enter- tainment under the spacious hood of a mammoth tent theater. Under the billing “Thurston the Mys- tic,” Howard will present his brother Harry in a series of feature shows “the like of which has never been seen.” Not only, it is said, will rabbits be bun- dled out of hats and chickens hatched under one's very nose, but such features as the following will be included: *“The Magic Man from Ceylon,” “The Sun Worshipers from the Land of the Star and Crescent,” “The Sword Dancers from the Nile” and “The Crystal Gazers from the Land of the Midnight Sun.” In a veritable cloud, a5 it were, trans- ported i 30 specially designed motor trucks, these magicians will besport themselves around the country. An- other week of fervent preparations and the company of 40 will be under way, headed by the mighty Harry, who, it is faid, guarantees the utmost in magic— such as chasing old age back to youth, giving teeth to the toothless, hair to the hairless and prohibition—to those who want it. “Ham Actor"lflne’d. IT seems that the definition of & “ham actor” is not what you or I or any- body else thinks. This vital piece of news comes from the press agent, who had it via the press book, who had it via supposed {nterview, but who had it actually via his own head. John Miljan, who will kill anybody for a nickel (on the screen), says that he is not a “ham actor,” and that the term is not applicable to certain wilting ladies and gentlemen of the screen who belong mostly in the waste basket. He says further: “Show me a ham actor and I'll show you a season trouper who knows his stuff. The term ‘ham,’ as applied to actors, originated long _-Alo in the one-night stand troupes. le actors were paid so little and so seldom that they couldn't afford to buy cold cream with which to remove the grease paint make-up. Instead they fiiched the bacon or ham rinds from the hotel and _lunch-wagon kitchens, and used the fat for paint Temover, As 'y prospered they switched to lard.” So, ladies and gentlemen, after view- ing a scene in which an actor brings to mind that old term of unapprobrium, <ham,” take a notch in the belt and think of something else—something worse than ‘“ham,” something “more v'emeuble. animal or mineral, or what youl Has "Mis;ing Link." FROM a redoubtable source comes the | that the real thing invariably gives you. source ?I{elr existence to the Divine workshop. .The it can never equal . DOROTHY REVIER and DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS Jr. - /n “The XWay of Al Men Metropol 1tan This Modern Drama By Percy Hammond. HEN future historians of the drama describe for posterity the character of today's American stage, they prob- ably will denounce it as the most ribald and licentious theater since | the Restoration. Many of the present | plays will have been forgotten by then, | but their general tendency to be de- praved will be known from the archives and handed down as a horrible example of an art on a spree. Fifty years from now puplls at Yale and other universi- ties specializing in plays and players will learn from their instructors, but will be loath to believe, that in 1930 things were said and done upon the stages that to drama lovers of 1980 would be intolerable. “Were such per- formances really permitted when grand- | pa was a boy?” the students will in- quire of Dr. William Lyon Phelps at New Haven. And the professor, revert- ing to the lingo of the present, will answer, “And how!" It is a time, it seems, when our guardians are lax or are engaged in other flelds of discipline. Not long ago they were putting a ball and chain upon Miss Mae West's ample ankles for her effort to blend drama with life, as she understood it. They were patrol- ling “What Pric€ Glory?” in search of contraband cuss words and were mak- ing Morris Gest more or less miserable with threats to arrest him and “Aphro- dite” unless he secreted her charms be- hind a screen of step-ins and a bras- siere. They sent “The Captive” to the chair and placed the chill but unsteady hand of virtue on “The Shanghaid Ges- ture.” I can remember away back when Arnold Daly was treated as a criminal for appearing in Bernard Shaw's “Mrs. Worren's Profession.” If you care to reelize how sinful the stage now is, read in the books of Willlam Winter, one of my predecessors on this throne, his indignant rebukes of Clyde Fitch’s “Sappho” or Ibsen's “Ghosts.” David Belasco may be responsible for the drama’s current jamboree. It had been threafening for several seasons to take the bit in its teeth and to ride wild over the low hurdles of respecta- bility. But its efforts were either fur- tive, undistinguished or too daring, and their consequences were important only as symbols. Mr. Belasco is known to the theater’s police as Broadway’s be- nignest benefactor. A gracious, shrewd and generous pontiff of the exhibitions, his endeavors are_unquestionable. So in “A Bachelor Father” he paved a broad way. This he followed with an- other dacious essay, “It's a Wise Child.” Both of these plays reeked with the fragrance of Mr. Belasco’s odorous bars for cruder merchants of the stage to sell a cruder merchandise. “Stepping Sisters,” “Lost Sheep,” “Young Sinners,” “Lysistrata” and & dozen other sex ballyhoos came forth under the protection of the Belasco tra- dition and paraded their deviation from what has been referred to as the moral code. They amplified with loud shout- ing what Mr. Belasco said in tasteful whispers, and they dared the authori- ties to interrupt them. Nothing, there- fore, was done by the police force to interfere with them and they proceeded as long as it was profitable to make merry with sex at the expense of its traditional decorum, My desk is full of complaints about Earl Carroll's new “Vanities.” Sub- scribers tell me that it is an evil show, festooning the direct vulgarities with specious garlands of beauty, motion and music. The “Vanities,” they write, is a menace to the purity of Times Square under the disguise of entertainment. The “Vanities,” while complimented for its splendor, is reproached for its guilt, and the press is requested, in the i dlflirence of other authorities, to penal- 1ze it. Well, so far as T am concerned, Mr. Carroll and the ladies and gentlemen of his troupe may go as far as they like. They play before audiences that enjoy that sort of thing and who, knowing what they are about to see, are eager to pay for and revel in it. On the first night at the New Amsterdam there was no one, from the freshest of the debu- tantes present to the most faded of the men about town, who did not enjoy its sime as well as its splendor. The dir- tiest jokes were applauded, as were the sentimental tableaux and marches. As one who is apter at eulogy than at expostulation, I still desire to rebuke Mr. Carroll for an incident or two in the “Vanities.” A spectacle so volup- tuous as that at the New Amsterdam is handicapped, I think, by ugly interpo- lations, humorous perhaps, but revolt- ing to a finicky esthete. The ladies in the bottle dance are, in their way, an inspiration. One does not object sin- cerely to them and their exposures, for they have beauty, if not grace. But he does walk out on such things as Miss Nami Ray's {llustration of a cartoon by the mischievous Peter Arno, entitled “In All Ears.” That picture, they tell me, was rejected by editors as being too sophisticated for even a sophisti- cated magazine. Since the first per- formance, Mr. Carroll has been per- suaded to exterminate from the “Vani- ties” a couple of exhibitions represent- ing a mermaid and a merman. There innocence, and although thdir naughti- ness was ingenuous, it let down the are naughtier things in the extrava- ganza. Talkiedom Too Touchy. ’I‘HINGS that are really good are in- herently so. If they are not, pinch- hitting publicity cannot make them good. And this simple fact makes criticism of talking pictures danger- ous for the critic. It is largely the reason why they who dislike to have their judgment questioned call Jim names. In imparting sound to the silent pic- ture, the movie makers accomplished | wonderful, sometimes the most un- canny, results, and in exactly the pro- portion that true realism has been achieved is the wonder to be crediud.i One t mistake of the talkie| booster, however, is his claim that talk- | ing-picture drama equals, and because | of its scenic accomplishments, sur- passes the drama of the stage. It is a very bold claim, but one that has been advanced with intense vehemence. Indeed the voluble shouting of the claimant has been so intense and so persistent that the shouter has actually come ‘to belleve that what he ever- lastingly shouts is true. ‘The fact that it is not true is amply proved by the experience of any think- ing patron of both the sta; drama | and the talking picture. 'Ou never | get the “kick” out of the substitute | This is um?ly the assertion of a self- evident fact, that God creates better than man. The drama of the stage is the reflection of life that God created, men and women who, likewise, owe pll:t\;rict ‘may approximate; It is quite | the human emotions counterfeited in a pictureé, even in a picture that ap- parently talks. The weaker the nature of the subject the greater will be the respanse. it when all is said and done the process by which this response is secured is purely mechanical. It isn't the real thing. is ,clever counter- feit, nothing more. ml'.:ed" ing picture, ul,t uxm:f' h:; attained a degree near to perfection, mechanical endeavor, "f 1s quite mar- ible that the artificially heart may respond velous at times. A great deal of its success, however, is due to its scenic environment, more beautiful, more im- posing, more startling, perhaps, than is possible for a drama presented on the stage. But as beautiful, as imposing, as startling as it may be, it loses in the absence of the human element, even though its counterfeiting may have been accomplished with that element. After all, its men and women are not real men and women, they are simply shadows, photographs of men and women, and who that has ever looked on the photographed face of a lost loved one has ever felt the thrill that came in looking upon the living face? If you cannot have the real, the counterfeit is invaluable, especially when, with the counterfeit, you can have the added eye appeal of beautiful scenic background and environment. It should not be considered a crime lo long for the real, nor, indeed, is it fair to consider as a reflection upon the merits of the counterfeit the thought that it is not the same as the real thing. ‘That even the makers of the talk- ing Elcture recognize this is evidenced by the fact that their favorite product for screen consumption is drawn from the plays and the musical productions that have already won fame upon the stage of living men and women. The vast majority of their productions, how- ° ever, do not have this virtue. And yet they do have a very decided advan over the printed page, when it comes story presentation. Also there are times when a favorite story loses its original to | charm upon the screen, and this is be- cause it fights the humanity imparted to it by the imagination of those who first encountered it upon the printed page. Since it first felt that its wings could be trusted to high flights, the movie, less, perhaps, than its champions, has been prone to extravagance in its claims of what it is and what it can do. It ought not, however, seek to surpass the Deity in creating the life of