Evening Star Newspaper, October 19, 1930, Page 57

| Theater, Screen and Music Part 4—12 Pages @SS NAGEL-ard GENEVIEVE TOBIN- /7 H Lady Surrénders” Rial+o N/INNIE. LIGHTN ER and /n S The Lite a/e +he ene DELROY rf)/ o arle Drama on the Highways By W. H. HAT with the chronologi- cal lines of demarcation fluctuating, even as does the drama of the period, funtil the week is now starting on ¥Friday, Saturday or Sunday, as you will, the chronicler of theatri- cal hlpfzenmgs has to be on his guard lest he lose the what-, where- and whenness of his story. The daring and distinguished ac- tress, Ethel Barrymore, has es- sayed the role of a Negress of dis- tinctive type and, in the judg- ment of the critics, she has got- ten away with it most hand- somely. Indeed, she is credited with even outshining- the setting that gave her the opportunities, but in some quarters, at least, her carefully selected and accom- plished sup, ing company seems to have left the suggestion of burnt cork. However, the more the cooks. the worse the broth, always been a sinister threat ambition. One fact remains elearly and unmistakably fixed in the memory of it all—Ethel Bar- rymore is ever and always a great, en inspired actress; never a dampener of expectations to the eountless hosts of the theater who admire her. “Scarlet Sister Mary,” despite its shortcomings, nevertheless may prove an in- . dorsement of David Belasco’s no- tion, made known to the world! some months back, that the Ne- gro race is a mine of rich dra- matic ore well worth developing. 1f there should linger in the min, of some a doubt that the mate- rial can meet the ethics of polite parlor entertainment, there yet remains the possibility, after all, that the Negro's .reai spirit qualities may be beyond the reach E{ his interpreters. One often is ual | ous s of life, let us turn to our ::o%nl lcmnhf which fairly Landvoigt. tening to Caucasian renditions of the exquisite spirituals which were born in his heart. LR 'HE presentation of David Wark Griffith’s screen masterpiece, “Abraham Lincoln” concurrently with “Scarlet Sister Mary” strikes the dreamer as exquisitely appro- priate, whether intended or not. For the sun of the Negro's hope arose in the famous emancipator, and to him primarily is due the first credit for the rapid advance- ment of the Negro race to a place in the sun. Since the shaekles of slavery were struck from the col- ored man by the courage of the Lincoln pen, the Negro has at- tained eminence in almost every field he has been permitted to en- gage, thus demonstrating that what men call the soul and its glorious attributes are not re- stricted to a white epidermis. And, furthermore, that it requires the quality of spirit of a Lincoln to measure that soul as men are given to measuring their fellow man. Burnt cork has valiantly served its humorous purpose in lightening the white man’s bur- den during his idle hours. It would seem that the time has come to lay it aside in the future measuring of the colored race. * % % % HOWIVE'R, all thought and no thrill is apt to make a dull arty, so back to our mutton. e world, despite its revolutions, is exuberant and wants to be en- tertained. And so, while our hu- manly animate theater is given over for the moment to the seri- ToRle s Qisposed Lo n‘m ot AMUSEMENT SECTION The Sunday Star. WASHINGTON, I—A‘Gl E an d SCREE D. C., SUNDAY N /” Michael and M ary - SEBASTIAN- /1 Brothens RKOKerths | & _/ ) MORNING, OCTOBER 19, 1930. NYALTER HUSTON as Liircoln and JAMES DRADBURY- a5 GenlSeott, BERT LYTELLand DOROTHY YAVONNE. ELFORD- | Gayety a reader in Washington, it is be- lieved, especially among the pic- ture fandom of the National Cap- ital, but believed that “Her Man,” an attraction of the past week, was inspired by the doleful Fanny Brice melody, “My Man,” which was dragged over the American battlements to impart a new phi- losophy and a new conception of deathless devotion to our restless juvenility. But it wasn’t. The Breu hummingbird that sips the oney from the screen flowers de- clares that he found “Her Man” really good entertainment, if you comPre end what he means by good. The idea of the song, how- ever, found deep lodgment in Molnar’s “Liliom,” which was screened elsewhere and which flew with its admirers to the judg- ment seat in Liliom’s heaven and back again to illustrate the po- tency of enduring love. True, “Reno,” on another screen, carried balm for the torn and bleeding heart, and Gloria Swanson, still further removed, supplied the hint of death as the roadway to delirious joy’if the balm were in- adequate. And thus ran the course of the week’s dramatic en- tertainment, not even the golf course and the bootlegger being overlooked. Surely the spirit of the theater can never die with such vigorous support still abid- ing in a yearning humanity. * % % ¥ INCIDENTALLY, during her brief and auspicious stay in Wash- ington, according to the authority of her press agent, a famous actress took occasion to deliver a vigorous wallop to the talk- ing screen which, evidently, she doesn’t admire, and also to sug- gest an original idea as to the result of the supposed war between the crowing screen and the decadent stage. After sisterly coddling her two distinguished brothers, John and Lionel, who seem stubbornly to cling to_the charms of the silver sheet, Miss Barrymore is credited with boo- ing the notion that the talkies have hurt the Theater with a cap- ital T. Miss Barrymore is said to think it ridiculous to believe ]r.hnc the public can be satisfied with “canned entertalnment.” Hymer, E iy Rather, she thinks, the talkies have helped the Theater with a capital T “by draining its audi- ences of the people the Theater doesn’t want.” This is a dis- tinctly original view of the sub- ject.i It is one, however, that is likely to be sharply challenged by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on the coast of California, if not by rival cham- | plons nearer home. * * ¥ % ETTING back to the Theater| with the capital T, it must not be forgotten that it is even now supposed to be making a des- perate effort to come back, no one knows from whence, but nev- ertheless to come back. Right here in Washington there is a branch of the Professional Play- ers’ organization, harbored in the Belasco Theater, which on behalf, not of players, but of those who love to see players in good plays and fine performances, is battling loyally and zealously in the cause. And while “Abraham Lincoln,” as pictured by Mr. Griffith, the dean of the great movie directors, re- mains at the National to lead the manhood and womanhood of our fair city to the heights of serious contemplation, the Professional Players will bring their second play to the Belasco—“Michael and Mary,” with brilliant Madge Ken- nedy as its star—to gladden the hearts of the drama lovers and as further proof that the old thea- ter is not yet on the wane in ‘Washington. —— “Stolen Thunde_r.“ JRODUCTION has started at Movie- tone City on “Stolen Thunder,” based on Mary Wilkins' story of the same name and directed by Hamilton MacFadden, youthful Fox director. “Stolen Thunder” brings to the screen & new combination of talented leads in Jeanette Macdonald of “Love Parade” fame and Reginald Denny. The story deals with the romance of an operatic prima donna and a burgler. Lynn Starling, former stage play- wright, and Philip Klein have prepared the screen play and dialogue. The sup- cast includes such well known names as Marjorle White, Warren who is & riot in his current pro- the River”; Albert Contl, Blipworth, o g Stere from” UPTHERIVER" Lfox Stage and Screen Attractions This Week On the Stage. BELASCO—“Michael and Mary.” Opens tomorrow evening. GAYETY—"8ilk. Stocking Revue” (burlesque). This afternoon and evening. On the Screen. NATIONAL—Griffith’s “Abraham Lincoln.” evening. This afternoon and EARLE—“Life of the Party.” This afternoon and evening. PALACE—"“Her Wedding Night.” This afternoon and evening. R-K-O KEITH'S—“Brothers.” This afternoon and evening.’ METROPOLITAN—"“The Squealer.” This afternoon and evening. FOX—“Up the River.” This afternoon and evening. RIALTO—“A Lady Surrenders.” COLUMBIA—“A Lady’s Morals.” This afternoon and evening. This afternoon and evening. Aboithe Talkies. THEL BARRYMORE has won her position as a foremost actress on the English-speaking stage by a long career devoted to a wide diversity of characters, ranging from Shakespeare and Sheridan to Ibsen, Galsworthy, Barrie, Pinero and Somerset Maugham. She has carried on the stage itions of the famous Drews and Barrymores, and it is naturally assumed that she is fully qualified to speak with authority on the drama of the screen, ‘That the talking picture has made such inroads on the speaking stage as to threaten the eventyal extinction of the living theater is a view not shared by this famous actress, who herself has appeared on the silent screen and whose brothers, Lionel and John, are out- standing in developing the vocal flim, “The talkies havenit hurt the theater and can't hurt it”’ says Miss Barry- Tou, with Ray Henderson, her Yu ) licity man, as her mouth&leee, “It 18 ridiculous even to believe that the pub- lic can be satisfled with canned enter- tainment which hurts the ears and in- sults the mind. Really the talkies have aided the theater greatly by'draining audiences of the people whom the the- ater doesn't want. An outsf fact is the improved quality of the gallery audiences. Compared with those'of a few years ago, they are far superior, The worst part has been taken over by the movie houses. “People have become with bad plays and r actors. stay away from the theater on that ac- count, but that does not mean that the talkies have won them away from the stage. Those who complain most about the decline of the road are the who are not doing “business. But few actors and actresses who carry on the great tradition of the stage, the pll:yen who are trusted and whose I ,went to Chicage and Does that indicate that the talkies have ruined the theater for Chicago? “It is absurd for any one to expect capacity audiences at all times and in every city. Business is bound to vary somewhat, but those who have kept faith with the public find no more to complain of today than in times passed.” « Before the film awoke to what one critic calls “the natural noises,” Miss Barrymore spent a year before the camera, She remembers only one with pleasure, Margaret Deland’s * Awakening of Helena Ritchie.” ; “I have mercifully forgotten all the rest,” said the actress. “I am lost with- out my audience. The stage is where I'belofig. My life always has been the theater and always will be there, re- mleu! of anything else. Even if I limitless means, what else would I do, or could I do, to bring me content- ment and happiness if I did not act?” Miss Barrymore believes that the stage lost its greatest actor when her brother Lionel deserted it for the films. The fact that he has become one of the leading directors for the talkies might tempt her to make one talkie, but only so that “my children will not forget me.” John, she says, is very happy in Hol , sees few people and lives much alone. She doesn't belleve he come back to the stage. The stage, according to Miss Barrymore, never got mmwhmlllnwmelmd e e Romance and Comedy. Row\mc interest in the new Marie Dressler-Polly Moran comedy, which has been titled “Reducing,” will be sup- plied by Anita Page, William Oollier, jr.; Sally Eilers and Willlam Bakewell. Charles Riemer will direct this produe- o AbrahamLincolr* National : and Radio Motor, Aviation News GRACE MOORE ano REGINALD DENNY- &1 ¥A Ladys Morals”? Columbia BELASCO—“Michael and Mary.” NE of the high points of the local dramatic season .will be the appearance of the exquisite comedienne, Madge Kennedy, in A. A. Milne's emphatic suc- cess, “Michael and Mary,” at the Be- Iasco Theater this week, starting tomor- row evening, as the second attraction of the Professional Players series. g ‘The story con- cerns two young Londoners, a boy and a girl, with high ideals but low financial status. ‘They meet acci- dentally inthe Brit- ish Museum, where Michael has come to keep an ap- pointment. and Mary has wander- ed for a moment's Madge Kennedy. who, after taking all her money, sailed blithely away to America. Touched by her plight, he. insists that she accept temporary finan- cial aid from him. This aid is ?- tended in the pure spirit of generosity and not with any ulterior motive. They are to share the 1 sum of money with which he came to London to establish himself as a writer. Soon comes the realization that they are in love, followed by a wedding. = Years pass and the couple are happily mar- ried, eminently successful, with & fine son at school, a flat in Chelsea and an increasing sale for Michael's books. And suddenly Mary’s missing husband turns up. Incidents of unusual inter- est happen rapidly, but everything ends tl:vplg—-u all good comedies ought en . Miss Kennedy is supported by such excellent players as Terence Neill, George Alison, Maurice , Donald Randolph, Harry Dornton, May Ediss, Gertrude Rivers Alison -and Virginia Wallace. 5 Mr. Charles Hopkins _directed: the 'pnnsenhunn and the production is sald be tastefully and delicately embel- Dororuy REVIER., DAVEY LEE \S}m/efi ~ andJACK HOLT 4 lesque, will be the guest star 8t the Gayety Theater in “ ing Revue” Miss Wassau arrived alrplane to take part in the in compliment to Manager Lake. star with tramp specialties. He by Jean Pearson, a S T— O'Brien. Has Contraet. = he-man charac.erisations which ave made George O'Brien famous will be'a feature. of Fox Film tions for some time to come terms of & new long-