Evening Star Newspaper, May 24, 1931, Page 47

Stage News and Screen and Gossip AMUSEMENT SECTION The Sunday Star, Motor, Aviation, Radio Programs WASHINGTON, D. C, * STRANGERS AY Kiss "~ /ACo,umbia ‘Maup Hiton ALmy- Palace(Stsge) Fame—What's the Use? By W. H. IME was when the alluring of fame was dangled the eyes of youth, . . much like 4 bag of oats be- fore a hi ; -when ambi- o on and Landvoigt. |ter attribute that me2de him jue among stage managers of the twenty years or so0.” Nor' did Mr. Winter, while pro- claiming Belasco’s virtues, forget his faults. “Being human,” he| Fox ! Pulitzer Prize Play Promised 'HE most recent acquisition en- nounced by the Professional Play- | €rs to their 1ist of attractions to be pre- | sented 2t the Shubert-Belecco theater | | next season is Susan Glaspell's “Alison’s | Hlauu the 1931 Pulitzer prize-winning | ay. i Only one of Miss Glaspell's works | | has reached Washington to date, and| | that a one-act play, “Suppressed De- | |sires,” dealing with psychoanalysis. | “Alison’s House” is baced on the| character and career of Emily D! SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 24, 1931. Deee DaNELS - /1 ~ The Maltese Falcon” Earle “© CYLINDER, LOVE” ' SveNGaLl - = _Metropolitan DONOVANS KID” - Keiths JOE LAURIE, Jr Earle (S‘fa?e) laudal rt | wrote, “Belasco sessed faults the bzl:ml:goolfnnd made mistakes; being suc- to the juveniles| cessful, he never lacked censurers n | son, the eminent American t, who during her lifetime was-practically un- " with M known. She died in 1836 and it was America. great achievement in letters, arts or arms. Never be- 1 has there been 2 y, when the pursuit of endeavor to attain high ideals seemed more certainly one of the world’s greatest needs, for is not uth now, as never before, assert ng its right “to live its life” un- hampered, uncurbed and with an almost . contemptuous scorn of guidance. And yet, when the audiences that laughed themselves to tears over the antics of a famous people of the theater burlesqued in the mly, “The Royal Family,” dur- g th e week, find time for second ught, and when the general ublic recalls the comments that ollowed the ing of a modest, gentle, lovable old man of achieve- ment like David Belasco, at the ripe age of 78 years, not to men- tion the astounding misinforma- tion crowded into the lines that were to serve as memorial tribute, is it surprising that youth should want wrgln(ntil nod of disillusion- ment at its elders and exclaim with utter hopelessness “What's the use?” WHEN war changes the world, ¥ as the World War apparently altered its manners and customs quite as radically as it modified its boundaries, new standards assert- ed themselves, and those who at- tained the heights, living or dead, under those which preceded, per haps, are or should be perfectly contented to rest in the discar and to become the butt of a new line of revelry. There are those yet alive, however, who would are the caricaturing of famous players like Mrs. Drew, Ethel Bar- re, John Drew himself, and the two famous Barrymore broth- ers. And perhaps David Belasco, even though passed to eternity, left behind some who may recall that William Winter, once one of the great authorities in the the- ater, as well as one of its most caustic critics, wrote before he, 100, passed out glowing tributes to tlge enius and accomplish- ments of “the grand old man of the stage.” “Belasco,” wrote Mr. Winter, “was an artist, a dramatist, an authentic mlnl':r, lclu:lted byrt‘ h purpose, and one who exert- :‘l‘n profound influence on the theater.” Furthermore, he said of the “Master Craftsman” that he was “a'f t manager because he noulng:. comprehensive knowl adge of bmmm nature llf,d human experience, an equally compre- hensive knowledge :1!!: of scenery (including stage lighting) - and of acting; a temperament, clear insight, almost inexhaustible patience, ability to impart knowl- edge and the rare and precious faculty of eliciting and developing the best that was in the actors ‘whom he dirécted. It was.the lat- % % x to point out the one, or, with glee- | ful malice, to celebrate the other. | First of all he was an artist, and {in his theory of the theatrical | business the keystone of the arch | was the art of acting. He was one |of the few managers who united |in himself a profound knowledge | of the drama, all the methods and | expedients of histrionic art, the | history of the theater and entire | familiarity with its contemporary conditions.” 5 Mr. Winter also noted that when David Belasco, in 1902, at last be- |came independent in a theater of his own in that great field of |drama, New York, “the theater had | passed almost entirely into the ‘gands of so-called ‘business men’ |and the rampant vulgarian.” Per- haps this constitutes a sample of Mr. Winter in his caustic, critical vein and is a bit more than severe | justice, but it serves, at least, to show that, even in the heyday of | his achievement, Mr. Belasco’s |situation was akin to the man with many troubles in his kit. Those who helped create them would | not be prone to lay flowers upon | his bier or to recall virtues which some of them at lzast could not |understand or appreciate. And, 1me modern youth should turn his {eyes from fame and despairingly |ery out “What'’s the use?” | * o ox % [ JFROM the offices of another astute producer, Crosby Gaige, |comes the news that Mr. Gaige. | ,” is current in the metropolis, |is to send it on “the road”—and |perhaps to Washington. Four | companies are to be organized— {one for Boston, Philadelphia, Chi- |cago and “key cities” as far West as Kansas City; one to cover the West Coast; a third for a season | in the Southern States, and the fourth with “a modified produc- | tion in compact form” to fit small rostrums of the little theaters and | auditoriums of the various col- leges and toplay a tour of “selected | one-night stands” in the Middle West. In this venture, it is added, “Mr. | Gaige is having designed an elabo- rate line of poster printing and will resort to old-time showman methods of combining newspaper advertising and bfll—g(-nln to herald the coming of his attrac- tion.” Incidently, Mr. Gaige among others, feels aggrieved that “The House Beautiful” was not awarded the Pulitzer Prize recent- ly bestowed upon Susan Glaspel's “Alison’s House.” "Expenaive Women" ¢JIXPENSIVE WOMEN,” starring Dolores Costello, recently finished at the Warner Bros. West Coast studios, is based upon a novel by Wilson Colli- son entitled “The Passionate Sonats,” which is yet to be pul not until as late s 1924 that her com- plete poems and lettérs were made gen- erally accessible. Labor He;d on Censorship ILLIAM GREEN, president cf the American Federation of Labor, warns against insidious attempts to take away from the public at large the right to decide what is or s not suitable film_entertainment. “Th> greatest m’sfortuns that could | happen to the American people would | be to permit the screen to become the | medium of class appeal,” says Mr. | Grezn in an article in_the forthcoming | issue of the Motion Picture Monthly, | published by the Motion Picture Pro- | ducers and Distributors of America, Inc, in which he d'scusses the social and educational values of the screen from the standpoint of the wage earner. | “And by this I do not mean merely the obvious voice of partisanship in a political or social conflict. Much"more subtle, much more insidious, is the at- tempt sometimes made to cast the screen into the narrow mold of this | or that individual's, or this or that class-minded group’s notfon of what is | |or 1s not suitable entertainment for | | the rest of the Nation. “No censorship can be go accurate, | no censorship can be so effective as the | censorship of public op'nion. To de- | stroy the pover of public opinion is & | move to destroy civiliaztion itself. So | o is it a wonder that|long as the public is capable of think- | el ey is no need for po- | B !ing for itself, there | iitical boards to guide its thoughts.” | | Mary Leans Stageward | MARY PICKFORD will be seen upon | the London stage in the not too | distant future. The star has admitted | as much in an interview with the cor- | respondent of a leading English news- paper, Whether the return to her first love will occur on Miss Pickford's curren | trip to Europe, however, is a matter of | conjecture. But whether it does or not, | the star expects to discuss her plans | | with an English theatrical producer | | during her present tour. | _Miss Pickford left for Europe on the | North German Lloyd liner Bremen re- cently, and expects to be met in Eng- land by Dougas Fairbanks, her hus- | band. "Doug had been in London for a week or more and was in daily tele- ph‘;nlc touch with Miss Pickford, it is | sald. “Miss Pickford's stage plans, however, | will not conflict with preparations for | her next picture,” says the Hollywood | report. “Even now she is on the 1ook- | out for a story, one combining modern- ity and semi-sophistication with her celebrated flair for gamin roles. oo Dialogue RetardTTemw uTALKING pictures have not yet ar- rived. At least, the talkies we have seen to date are merely a promise of whot we will see in a r or two.” Thus spoke Doug'as Fairbanks in an { interview with London newspaper | men. | Doug gave it as his opink 1 {a-ide ‘from the Zeppelin l:&nne:h‘ltn | “Hell's Angels” the Howard Hughes | epic, and som=* of the war shots in | (AL Quist on the W‘:‘km Front,” no al yet really been able thinking audiences. oo and he describes | washingtcnian, if one isn't so NorA FORD- Gayety. * Stage and Screen Attractions This Week On the Stage. NATIONAL PLAYERS—"“Up Pops the Devil.” Tomorrow evening. GAYETY—“Parisian Beauties” (burlesque). This afternoon and evening. On the Screen. METROPOLITAN—Barrymore in “Svengali.” and evening. COLUMBIA—“Strangers May Kiss.” This afternoon and evening. FOX—“8ix Cylinder Love.” This afterngon and evening. R-K-O KEITH'S—"Donovan’s Kid.” This afternoon and evening. RIALTO—"“Hell Bound.” This afternoon and evening. PALACE—"Ladies’ Man.” This afternoon and evening. EARLE—“The Maltese Falcon.” This afternoon and evening. This afternoon OnSAmong Us URKE CLARKE, who will long be|even as now, “the theater of Wash- remembered as the ever unani-|ington.” mously grateful sick man in “That's| He remembers when Channing Pol- Gratitude,” Frank Craven's play at the | lock was a Iccal dramatie editor, when Natinal last week, ai . ance in several o{" the heyday of its glory and even when its predecessors|the old Academy, now the humble smacked of char-| Strand, where wrestlers sometimes acter genius not |rassle for the boss, was the' temple of soon to be for- | melodrama incarnate. fotten, not a| “The old town was theater mad in oreigner at all. | those days,” says Mr. Clarke, “or, if He is one of our | the town wasn't, the boys were. It was yery own. a Silver | in thcse days that I embarked upon Springer, who {oop-,n promising career, first appearing as ped right out of | spear holder in Shakespearean the Aoti}l‘ewh'enr:’ Dow | drama, although they used to call that jsort of a r o 3 el ot e Dtien | goner - ™ BB, TMEN a6 Spring Golf Club| But that fsn't the whole story of long betore the old-timer. Burke was launched as days of the Great- | ap ntellectual from Swarthmore Col- er Wl’:h’"l'm;ir lege, and then he began in real earnest ¢ven early enough|and’ ranks mighty high today as a to remember the| haracter man with the theatrical National Capital as | o°* an overgrown country town"—but m"ipr. ducers of Broadwayville. v eniasiont ks 12 thi o . ow man: m in “ . o supporting cast of Ethel Barrymore | Yankee Music Master when “Scarlet Sister Mary” came to| ARRY GERARD, whose California R Wop ey, BarHabs: hecees his | Nightingales appear at the Palace G O e in the “All Girl Revue” have been called the “Yankee Music Master.” Once a light opera favorite on the New York stage, Gerard for the past 15 years has devoted himself to making this type of music popular in vaudeville. 4 His present enumblle %{e 13 pretty girls 'Mr. Clarke was born in Montgomery offers a program of the more popular Oounty, Md., and reared in the neigh- melodies from world-famed composers. Dorhosd of " Silver Spring, which, of | These girls were all personally trained course, makes him a pure and, simple | in choral werk and dancing by Gerard n particu- | from among 350 puplls of his school in “But | Hollywood. Gererd was born in New York City, where he started singing as a choir boy at Trinity Church. Burke Clarke. . But Burke was there just the same, and he wouldn't have been there unless he deserved to be, for Ethel is very particular about her supporting casts nlwniu lar about the meaning of wor: 1o were adored. individunly and * who were a In ly an fixfiulymmk day, as were genial 1 Prapk Metzerott and dear old Fred lna'l‘umm:';zolr "The Alaskan” and played it five years in New York and on tour, both now no then, nd whose perform- | Albaugh's Grand Opera House was in | | {thes: who would hack and cut and de- |H Taste in Movies 4“THE new production code set up| by the motion picture lndustry‘ to maintain a high standard of good | taste in films has been accepted bygthe | men who make the movies, not as a | hampering restriction, cut as a chal-‘l lenge to artistic genius | Alfred E. Green, dirsctor of “Dis- | raeli” and other fine pictures, gives ex- | pression to this attituds of the :!\lflio} staffs in the offiical publication of the | Motion Picture Producers and Distribu- tors of America, Inc. “The cnly real bugbears to the mod- ern director,” says Mr. Green, “are nounce, in order to force their own narrow ideals on the screen. The di- rector welcomes the constructive criti- cism which helps, not hirders, motion picture progress. There are few rela- tionships of life that cannot be beautiful by really artistic trtatment, and there are none that cannot be ruined by arrart vulgarities. A “And I may say that the progressive director welcomes this latest challenge to his profession, if for no other reason than merely becauss. it demands elimi- nation of hackeyed and time-worn situ- ations and calls for the creation of new effects.” Gl BihosPool AROLD N. BANGS, managing di- rector of the new swimming pool at Glen Echo, was born in Boston, Mass., and was active in athletics as a high school halfback on the foot ball team and captain of the swimming team. His first job of pool making was in Magnolia, Mass, (Manchester-by- the-Sea), where he constructed the first swimming pool with submarine lights. The next two years he was with the| Water Filtration Corporation of Amer- ica, getting wider experience in the con- struction of pools. the last three years he has been manager of the Nau- tical Swimming Pool at Revere Beach, Mass. Mr. Bangs has been working all Win- fer on the Crystal Pool at Glen Echo, the first of its kind around Washington, with submarine lights. His corps of as- sistants will include Benjamin Welssner, former stroke oarsman of the Syracuse University, captain of the life guards, and instructor of the Iona Boys’ Camp in New York State and also life guard at Coney A physician, first-aid room, ladies’ at- tendants and other conveniences will always be available at the Crystal Pool. Becomes Actor at 72 AT the age of 72, Samuel Marx has become screen struck and followed the footsteps of his illustrious sons, the four Marx brothers. He made his debut a few days ago as an actor, playing a mm:?e bit with Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo in a scene for “Monkey mmmu.' which the med.\lmnl are Hollywood. at the in | exc NMHeLL Bounop’- Rialto NATIONAL PLAYERS—“Up Pops the Devil.” \OMORROW night the National Theater Players will revive the Broadway comedy “Up Pops the Devil,” a play by Albert Hackett and Prances Goodrich. 'Up Pops the Devil” was hailed last season as “the nearest approach to a real American comedy.” It contains all the native elements—young love, ambi- tion, financial diffi- culties, disappoint- ment. Laid in Greenwich Village,’ with a note of the bizarre, it concerns enadvertising agent whasg sweet- heart-wife discov- ers in him the burning fires of genius. He is about to writz the great American novel. Only cne difficulty lies in the way— “too many parties in their Greenwich Village apartment.” ‘The old whoopee gang Is given the gate, the wife decides to go out and work while her husband remains at home and writes. Here is where the fun comes in. Stanley Ridges is cast as Steve Mer- rick, the would-be novelist, incidentally & part criginally played by Roger Pryor, a former leading man of the National Players. Nancy Sheridan will be seen as Anne, the whole-hearted young lady who starts all the trouble out of a keen ambition to make of her sweeth ing figure in the litty world. Others who will have parts ars Mrs. Hibbard, John Warburton, Roberta Beatty, Burke Clarke, Edward Poland, Raymond Bramley and Forrest Orr. Clifford Brooke, knowing that hi players relish the farcical touch, has in- Jected a fast tempo that will keep the play moving. There will be two mati- nees—Wednesday and Saturday. Naney Sheridan, GAYETY—“Parisian Beauties.” NOTHER new show presented on the M. B. A. circuit, “The Parisian Beauties,” is current at the Gayety Theater this week. It ¢omes with the reputation of having pleased lovers of burlesque and vaudevil'e right and left on its tour. Sensational features are promised in a program replete with fun, tuneful song delights and intricate hoof- ing, all of which harmonize with ideas of good A ngfble cast gdes Rags Ra land, Bimbo Davis, 'y, Ray Parsghis, Nora Ford, Pes y, - othy Reid and Patricia Ke! gith an chorus. ayety. t tay is amateur night at an outstand- | | CHACE-SHAFER RECITAL—Tuesday. ARIAN CHACE and Lester Shafer, | assisted by the students of their | Washington branch of the Denishawn | Studi> and by the children in their special Chevy Chase classes, will appear |in a varied and interesting program of | dance numbers Tuesday evening at the Wardman Park Theater. The program, which is in three parts, | wiil include sclo numbers and duets by | Miss Chace and Mr. Shafer, in some instances with ensemble features. Numerous dances have been prej | for the pupils of the several classes, and a wide range of compositions will be | given, with original dance conceptions perfected especially for this recital. | __Among the features will be “Tales From Vienna Woods,” a Strauss com- | position, by Miss Chace, Mr. Shafer and | the complete ensemble, and one of Miss Chace’s solos will be “Nocturne Satin- | ique,” by Ge | and ' accompanis the fictional chara | gia. Mr. Shafer vill include “Kwahu the Eagle,” by Cadman, from Thz Feather of the Dawn Other selections will include “Dan- *seuses de Delphe,” by Debussy; & com. | pesition by Re: “Valse Romantique, | by Debuss; liegreese,” by Sinding, and “Bavarian Holiday.” Nearly & score of numbers will be given by the dance puplls to the music of famous composers. Most of the accompaniments will be played by George Cornwell, with Miss Constance of Lucretia Bor- : | Gustat as accompanist for the children. The school dances will include “Betty's | Music Box,” by Carrie Jacobs Bond; “Egyptian Dance,” humoresque, by Re- | ger; “Garland Plastique” and a series | of “Oriental Moods. . *Okays" Barrymore 'THEL BARRYMORE made her debut in Amarillo, Tex., and the is | Amarillo Globe entirely approved of her. | . “Miss Barrymore is in Amarillo, She is a fine, fine lady and is America's greatest actress. 1It's a real privilege and honor to have her here,” wrote Gene A. Howe, the “Tactless Texan,” in his paper, the Amarillo Globe. The front page of the Globe carried | & three-column interview with the ac- "ifl”h l}leraldlng r'-ihl flfitt :h“h:he is not. “high hat,” a crime fit for hang! in the Panhandle. oy Because E. H. Sothern, Mary Garden and Charles A. Lindbergh had seemed to a certain Amarillo mind “high hat,” they brought down upon themsslves the rage ard vitrio: of Gene A, Howe, editor of the Globe and the News. To be approved by Gene A. Howe at first sight, without even a cup of tex to smooth the troubled watars, is said to be the culminating triumph of Ethel Barrymore's not uneventful Texas vasion, perhaps even sweeter than records the lady office I ias and Fort Worth, e WP B 5 )