Evening Star Newspaper, November 29, 1931, Page 59

Stage and Screen i | AMUSEMENT SECTION he Sunday Star, Motor, Aviation, .~ Radio Programs Part 4—8 Pages WASHINGT ON, D. C., SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 29, 1931. WARNER BAXTER “SURRENDER ¥ Fox WALLACE BEERY JACKIE COOPER $THE CHAMP ” CoLUMB A « JACK OAKIE and CHARLES STARRETT N TOUCHDOWN* Local Theétefstrffer Splendid Attractions For the Next Few Weeks Ziegfeld Follies to Be Followed With “Mr. Whis- tler‘.. “The Merchant of Venl‘ce." “Th: Housc Beautiful” and Chauve Souris. By W. H. ITTING pretty upon the safe and solid acreage of our theatrical airport and toss- ing for the nonce vague and vapory notions of other things to the four winds of heaven, which have blown our plane to a better mooring, there seem to be reasons for trying to forget the past and to hopefully look to the future now knocking at our door. It would be almost unpardon- able to imagine for an instant that any reader of the public press needs to be told that the Ziegfeld Follies in full bloom, will be found at the National Theater to- morrow evening. It would be cold- #looded supererogation to think that there is even one soul among the 621,059 inhabitants of our “metropolitan area”—670515, tc be in accord with the survey of our Board of Trade—who doesn’t know already that this edition of the Follies, as presented by Mr. Ziegfeld, is “the concen- trated glorification of the women of the world,” “the first assem- bled by the old master in five years,” or “the most magnificent musical show of the ages,” as set forth in the advance notices. And all this being true as printed, is there any need to say more? ey A WEEK hence—December 7— we shall have another of those interesting historical char- acter plays in “Mr. Whistler,” which, it is said, provides a glimpse theatrically at the great American painter, James Abbott McNeill Whistler. It is a produc- tion of the same producers that gave the stage “The Green Pas- tures.” And eight days later, the incomparable Maude Adams, with the no less incomparable Otis Skinner, will arrive in “The Mer- chant of Venice” to add to “the ordinary run of the mine” at the National. o ox o OVER at the Belasco Theater, dominated, more or les: by those mysterious twins Messrs. Lee and J. J. Shubert they tell us that a musical com pilation known as “Marching By —a refurbished and retitled pr duction of “Arms and the Maid was destined to appear this very week, but—as often happens—it was canceled. A week later and opening more piously, perhaps. on Monday, December 7, we shall have Crosby Gaige's production of Channing Pollock’s “The House Beautiful,” with a novelty all its own, which should protect it from the charge of the modern taste as being a last year’s bird’s nest, for “The House Beautiful,” how- ever it may be regarded by the younger generation, comes her- alded as noble in its purpose and This is a hopeful in its ideals. Professional Players protege, which in itself is a recommenda- tion. Landvoigt. come the exotic Chauve Souris, with the jovial Nikita Balieff and the polished taste of the Moscow Art Theater; the Mozart Ballet, devised in terpischorean execu- tion by Boris Romanoff; “Queen of Spades,” an Alexander Pushkin creation, but with an English company as a concession |to universal brotherhood, and other exquisite and fascinating | tidbits of grace, beauty and music, which, to tell them all, would be |a task indeed. * o % O that, seeing ohly what is in |~ sight and breathing more easily to lighten the weight upon heart and mind, why may it not |be hoped that, even though the | days be degenerate, the theater is not decadent? Just as even | sturdy old Notre Dame met its singed cat—meaning no disre- spect to either the meeter or the |met—so, apparently, Old Man Depression has been tripped when | he wasn't looking, and there is every reason for being thankful |and giving thanks as well as look- ing forward to a Christmas sea- |only all the dramatic compositions in | son gay with gladness. e e ox INEVERTHELESS, ever and anon | there comes a play, a produc- tion, or call it what you may. which arouses the combative ele- ment in gentle humanity and makes it want to say forceful | things. An old maxim advises the | that the least said the soonest | mended, and, perhaps, that may be true at this time. But when the offense is great and a fellow feels mad—if you catch the in- tended meaning of the phrase— he wants say his is to say his say, andwhat | L i, e he says is not apt to be kind or even elegant. True, the mighty Shakespeare tells us that “All the world's a stage and all the men and wom- en merely players,” and for that | reason all classes and kinds feel | it is their right to crowd into the theater, which is merely the re- flection of life as it is lived, even if idealized a bit. But there is no defense to the introduction of |common, low vulgarity upon the pretense that it dramatic. The liberty of all men |is curbed a bit for the sake of the general welfare, so that the policeman may act when life gets |too gay in | There is no earthly reason why | the same persuasive methods may |not be utilized to protect the theater itself against those whose purpose is, not so much to portray phases of life in the interest of theatric art as it is to appeal to a morbid public with the degra- | dation of life and sheer lewdness for financial reward. Neither the stage nor the community at large |has anything to gain by such manifestations, and it is believed | that the laws now on the statute | books are sufficient authority to | compel a judicial test of the right to carry on a debauch under the pretense of dramatic exhibition. Close behind it, on December 14, | The policeman is provided for a8 at present announced, will'the very purpose of keeping the|be found to justify this crime. i ) is legitimately | its going offstage. | Tempus Forgets. Talent Ditto | ‘HE turnover of talent in motion | pictures is one of the amazing things about the industry. | When Dolores Costello veturned to | plctures at the Warner Bros. studios | after a two-year vacation, she found in her supporting cast only one familiar name and face. In that brief space of time the whole roster of supporting | players popular with the studio and the | public_had undergone such a change that the only player who had ever be- | fore appeared in a Costello picture was | left, and he the well known H. B. War- ner. f Warren William, who plays_opposite Miss_Costello in “Expensive Women,” | was brought directly from a Broadway stage production, but Anthony Bushell, | a young English actor of growing prom- | inence, and Joe Donahue, brother of the Iate Jack Donahue, are entirely new to the screen since Miss Costello left it Mae Madison and Polly Walters are | also new since “Second Choice,” the last Costello picture. The technical production crews, how- ever, from producer to script clerk and from property man to wardrobe de- | signer, nearly the entire crew, are made up of men and women who worked with | Miss Costello before her retirement and | while she was rising from bit roles<to | stardom. NotlisngNew UsndertheiSen. | SOME wise analyst of the art of dramaturgy has figured out that the plot possibilities of a play are limited to probably fewer in numbe: than there are years in the ullotted span of human life. Certainly there are no more than threescore and ten, and a treacherous memory recalls less than half that number. | So that the Hollywood announcement that the film library at the Metr Goldwyn-Mayer studios at Culver Cit Calif., comprises more than 25,300,000 feet of celluloid pictures is 2 supple- mentary warning to that of the ancient King Solomon that “There 15 nothing | new under the sun.”’ | It would naturally follow that with approximately threescore plot forms not | existence, but all that by any possi- | bility may appear in the hercafter, are | of necessity limited to “old stuff.” ‘This, 1t Would seem, is a very impor- tant, revelation to theater patrons, both of the legitimate stage and of the screen, because it practically advises them, in advance, that so far as the | plot of the play they are to see is con- | cerned. it has one of the original situ- | ations long since exhausted, but worked | over a new in v; velopment. It vance to the critic also lay off the plot’ he is getting gay with the play he reviews. | The news seems 1o possess additional | interest in the fact that in lessening toward the annihilation of the critics | themselves, whom nobody scems to agree with and very few seem to like. Playwr’ig}lt and play”Doc(or.‘ A E. THOMAS, whose name appears * _with those of Pauline Hopkins and Sarah Curry in connection with the | authorship of “Mr. Whistler,” which | comes to the National Theater next | week, has, with perhaps two or three exceptions, written more plays than any living contemporary. Mr. Thomas was born in Chester, nd is a graduate of Brown Uni- sity. Experience in his early life prepared him for his vocation as a | dramatist. H> was first a journalist and eventually became a newspaper | critic. For some years he was on the staff of various New York papers—the Herald-Tribune, Times, Sun and Post. The list of Mr. Thomas’' plays s 5o | long as to forbid their enumeration | here, but among them must be men- | tioned “Just Suppose,” “The Matinee | Hero,” “Come Out of the Kitchen,” | “What the Doctor Ordered” and “The French Doll.” _— peace, as it is sometimes crudely put, and in this instance it would be keeping the peace by prevent- ing the theft from society of that which can never be returned | when once filched, its good name and sense of decency. No argu- ment for the freedom of litera- ture or the art of the stage can NATIONAL—Ziegfeld “Follies.” . GAYETY—“Tally-Ho Girls” (burlesque). evening. Opens tomorrow evening. This afternoon and BURTON HOLMES—“The Colonial Exposition” and Paris. This afternoon. ON THE PALACE—“Touchdown.” EARLE—“The Cheat.” evening. R-K-O KEITH'S—“Suicide Fleet.” This afternoon and evening. This afternoon and evening. RIALTO—“Frankenstein.” A Professor Contributes List of Worth-While Plays William Lyon Phelps of Yale Sends in His Annual Catalog for the Guidance of Theatergoers Who Are Unfamiliar With the New York Situation. By Percy Hammond. T every holiday season sub- scribers to this correspondence expect to learn, through it, what Prof. Willlam Lyon Phelos of Yale regards as plays from which profit may be extracted. His recommendations have become its most satisfactory feature, and he himself would be surprised at the influence they exert. As it has been said here before, Dr. Phelps is the ideal playgoer, if there is such a thing. Unlike the paid dramatic critics he is able to protect his taste from the muititude of riff- raffs and rag-tags that degrade the theater. Other reviewers sit night after night in evil companionship and their standards, therefore, are lowered. They are tempted to exult over a bad play, simply because it is not to bad as it might be. Dr. Phelps’ situation ver- mits him to be discriminating and to avoid contamination. While we news- paper critics are forced by Guty to sub- ject ourselves to Broadway's weakening infections he can be wary and aloof, exposing himself only to the more sa- lubrious productions. Issued from the serene heights of New Haven his oc- casional bulletins to this column advise many drama lovers to see what ought to be seen at the theaters. But the catalogue, somewhat delayed, s still useful, itemizing as it does a sane and human scholar's adventures among the Times Square masternieces. Three af these succumbed yesterday from lack of audiences—the Norman Bel Geddes “Hamlet,” the Ethel Barrymore “School for Scandal” and “Payment Deferred.” | The fact that they have vanished from | these parts does not lessen the interest in Dr. Phelps’ impression of them, and here, following and unamended, are his preferences: “The Barretts of Wimpole Street" This is the best modern play in New York. “Hamlet"—The Norman Bel Geddes production with Raymond Massey is so filled with new and original features that it will make a permanent impres- sion. Every student shouid see it. “Grand Hotel’—This is in its last three weeks. Verbum sap. “Julius Caesa “Hamlet” and “Mer- chant of Venice’—At the Royale Thea- ter, by Fritz Leiber and Helen Menken and other famous stars. “Mourning Becomes Electra” — A great tragedy by America’s foremost playwright, magnificently produced and acted. An’unforgettable experience. “Payment Deferred”—An exciting, |original drama, revealing to American theatergoers a superb English actor, Charles Laughton. “Streets of New York"—A side-split- | ting reproduction of an old-fashioned melodrama. “The Guest Room”—A thoroughly | amusing comedy. “The Roof"—Galsworthy's play, ad- mirably produced and ccted, at the Charles Hopkins Theater. “School for Scandal”—With Ethel Barrymore. Readers write in to complain that Dr. Phelps confines his notes to eulogy, never venturing an expostulation. They say that, although he is a prudent playgoer, he must, now and then, run 1 SCREEN. This afternoon and evening. ‘This afternoon and evening. FOX—“Surrender.” This afternoon and evening. COLUMBIA—“The Champ.” This afternoon and evening. METROPOLITAN—“Expensive Women.” This afternoon and inquire, doesn't he tell us what he | thinks of Jed Harris' “Wonder Boy,” a | cold, wicked, malicious and unskiilful | | surgeoning of what was once the mov- in_picture business. Why is he silent about “Brief Moment,” an oily comedy in which Alexander Wnollcott, an ex- dramatic critic, shows the aciors how a witty and feline tongue should be wagged? What are his beliefs about “The Good Companions,” that thought- less mess turning a nice novel into a | cheap circus? Does he think that | “Cynara” is not meritorious? If he disapproves of it, let us have his rea- | sons. Where does “Reunion in Vienim | stand in his estimation, or “The House |of Conrelly”? Is “The’ Left Bank,” an expose of the life lived by peewee Americans in Paris, not worthy of Dr. Phelps’ comment? There is a panorama characterization of Florence Nightin- gale by Miss Edith Evans n “The Lady With a Lamp"; and if it is not inter- esting_why doesn't Dr. Phelps tell us 50? 'Representing a large number of mystified theatergoers, I request him to include in his Christmas counsels some plays that do not please him. I'd like to have him take an honest whack at “London, Please,” “The Widow in Green” or “The 'Social Register,” and to give their authors, producers and di- | rectors a good lecture. But “all boosts |and no knocks” is Dr. Phelps’ plan of | drama criticism; and I am in a posi- | tion to tcll him 'this his scheme is effi- | cacious, gentlemanly and comfortable.,| COLIN CLIVE CFRANKENSTEIN® RIALTO o ERIC LINDEN Y ARE THESE OUR CHILDREN KEITHS DOLORES COSTELLO land ANTHONY BUSHELL! - TALLULAH BANKHEAD STHE CHEAT? EARLE Shows Mexican Life. ('THE CHAMP" Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer's vivid drama, now at Loew's Columbia Theater, is a Frances | Marion story of life on the Mexican border, and pictures many scenes on Mexican locales, through courtesy of the Lower California government. The “inside” of the fight racket, the Callente races, actually filmed at the Mexican track; the great gambling halls of the American Monte Carlo and other striking intimate details are said to give unique interest to the picture, many having never before been shown on the screen. Do Personal Appearances. “KEEP the stars on the screen. They belong there, not doing stage turns at ‘personal thinks Warner Baxter. “That sort of thing simply slaughters illusion.and a star needs illusion. It was the same with the stars in the sky. When people began staring at them through telescopes it didn’t take them long to degenerate from poetry to as- tronomy.” Mr. Baxter had been chatting with Ralph Bellamy, Alexander Kirkland and a group of other players between scene shots for his latest Fox picture, “Surrender,” now at the Fox Theater, when some one had the misfortune to bring up the subject of personal ap- pearances by movie celebrities. Baxter has rdther strong views on appearances,’ 5o the subject and he got right into ac- | tion, and there are many who will agree with him. Who Benny Davis Is. ENNY DAVIS has made several fortunes. Hit songs seem to flow from him. Benny is appearing this week at Loew’s Palace Theater. There is no de- nying he has an excellent revue. He has gathered a group of young per- formers with ability sufficient to carry any stage show. But more important is that he himself is showman enough to develop these tyros in the amusement game and then to sell them to the public. Benny is the author of such song hits as “Margie,” “Carolina Moon" and many others. Also he is respon- sible for the introduction to the public of stars like Helen Kane, Helen Mor- gan, Paul Whiteman, Harry Richman and Hal LeRoy. 'WO youngsters have captured the attention of Ziegfeld “Follies” au- diences. Their names are Hal Le Roy and Mitzi Mayfair. ‘To meet the one, Hal Le Roy, is to encounter Huckleberry Pinn brought to life, the broad grin, the shock of un- ruly hair, the trustful eyes and the lurking devilment. ‘The girl, Mitzi Mayfair, in contrast is the formal embodiment of American ambition, challenging and persistent. She has a pert little face, long red- brown curls and a plaintive way of pouting, and all the artists who come to see the “Follies” always make car- toons of her instead of likenesses. She is about 16. The boy is a year older and exer- cises the prerogative of a seasoned adult. “Now do this, Mitzi,” he urges. “And don't be afraid of that, Mitzi. You are simply a wow!"” Then, over- come by her extraordinary virtuosity, he will turn around and remark, “What a future that girl has.” At the age of 6 Hal was living in Memphis. One day his parents decided to take him on a2 boat ride. Gayly they embarked. Suddenly something happened. The engine chugged the wrong way, the gas gave out and the Every one boat came to a standstill. across a sour entertainment. Why, they | was excited, and the band began to ' Two Unique “Kids.” play. Suddenly without anybody’s ex- pecting it, 6-year-old Hal stepped out and began to dance. Supple, willowy, energetic, taut, limp—a rhapsody of movement in perfect rhythm. ~The passengers forgot the mishap of the moment and began to applaud, and at the instant the youngster's ambition crystallized. He ~decided to dance through life. Meanwhile Mitzi had started. Born in Kentucky, she at once encountered the prejudice against the stage, espe- cially bitter in her own family, which included one grandfather, a Methodist minister. and the other, the president of Bowling Green University in Ken- tucky. But her mother came to her réscue. Mitzi was her own teacher. She went to the theater, studied other dancers, came home and imitated them, then strove to outdo_ their steps. By the time her personalized routine was completed it included everything from tap dancing to ballet numbers. Like Hal, Mitzi always felt the in- clination to dance uninvited. And now, wherever they dance, an audience doesn’t want them to stop. Each is an artist, unique and fascinating. ‘There is never room in the “Follies” for even the most promising talent that lacks a finished polish. ‘The “Follies” 1s Mitzi's first stage show. She is one Ir!:g behind Hal, who zlllie;?y has appeared in “The Gang’ ere.” EXPENSIVE WOMEN METROPOLITAN “Frankenstein” Freezes The Audience and Shows Some Fine Cinema Work Thriller Br;ngs Another ! YN “Frankenstein” Colin Clive proves himself a major screen | l actor. One of Britain’s noted | loans to this hemisphere, his |shrewd methods of being likable and ugly at the same time are worthy of much consideration. The fact that he makes the role of the doctor stand out at all in this film is a great tribute to his ability, since the ol’ davil mons- ter is pictorially the object upon which most of one’s horrified thoughts are glued, and the doc- tor comes in only as a sort of | mechanical manipulator. Mr. Clive continues the list of unhandsome heroes—such as Mr. Gable—who are so in favor at the moment. Although his features ‘do not stick to the straight and narrow, they are unhandsome only as to classic Greek modes and would fare very well any- where, setting off dark evening dress or golf homespuns. Clive, for instance, whose mouth sags slightly at one cornet, is said to be continuing that excitement among the weaker sex which Gable put the match to not so long ago. Since he strode neurotically through “Journey’s End” one lady in particular claims not to have gone to a single film, vowing that she would wait for his return. She went, the other day, to the Rialto, after a cinema starvation of more than a year, and found the same crowds—in fact, more crowds—and her idol, Mr. Clive, to reward her for her patience. James Whale, the director of “Frankenstein” and also a great friend of Mr. Clive, has “lighted” the latter in an unusual manner. He has taken the camera and caught the British actor very many times off his guard, pictur- ing him to disadvantage rather than otherwise. This all goes to prove that the | public no longer wants gentlemen with straight noses and regular features. The pretty boys of yes- terday have had their fling. Give the public a humanly possible face and a voice which is rem- iniscent of the parlor at home rather than the theater in its Hippodrome days, and the actor’s | heydey is almost assured. | ~What is particularly outstand- ing among these Britishers as far as their acting is concerned (and Arthur Wontner in last week’s | “Sherlock Holmes” proved the |same) is their ease and natural- ness. As Sherlock Holmes, for in- stance, Wontner scarcely moved further than into a chair or out of one. Yet when he talked slowly and distinctly he was worth listening to and one didn't feel that fidgeting restlessness which is often so evident in some of the more local celebrities. Clive, | too, doesn’t jump before the cam- era. than to the lens. When he is meant to be hysterical and emo- tional he doesn’t burst into the very teeth of the camera. He has something about him which un- doubtedly must be called ‘“good acting.” * X x X MRS, PERCY BYSSHE SHEL- LEY (the second), the author of this tale of woe and nightmare and mechanical blundering, would probably have been pleased iat the film replica of her Frank- He acts to himself rather | R’ Unhandsome Hero, Un- usual Direction and a stOPy Which IS a Blt Weak. An Old Tale Has Remarkable Rcvival. By E. de S. Melcher. |enstein in the shape of Clive. She would, too, probably have ap- proved of the monster, except for the strange noises which come out of him, and which for some reason are sometimes so small and puerile that they sound like nothing so much as an angered bull pup. What undoubtedly |would have surprised her most {would have been to see the re- | ception which the public is ac- cording this old, old story of the criminal brain which roused a giant robot to life and made him a monster of uncomplimentary proportions. Strictly speaking, this is by no ({means a 100 per cent picture. It gives its audience the proper chills and fevers and sends it home to an unwanted meal, but according to all the laws of film fashioning it doesn’t hang wel enough on its story prop to burst into superheadlines. The love af- fair is a weak little bit which does nothing save detract—and all the | sequence which has to do with |the wedding, and the little girl |who is drowned, and the young | bride who runs into the monster, is all weird, but not at all con- vincing. o AT this point one might recall the fact that Mary Woll- stonecraft Shelley wrote this story when she was scarcely 21 years of age. It was undertaken as a kind of week end frolic in Switzerland, where she had gone with her husband and Byron. Each of them decided to compose something on the order of the modern thriller, although the supernatural was more fashion- abli’e then than the realistic. Mary Shelley's contribution to this lit- erary game was “Frankenstein,” which proved not only popular in its day, but one of the most noted of this lady’s many interesting works. That its popularity has sur- vived ug until now may be wit- nessed by the crowds who have gone to see it at the Rialto. Al- hough there was a film tear pro- moter in town with Mae Marsh giving a grand performance in “Over the Hill,” and although one could laugh at that gutteral “mug,” Bert Lahr (still not so funny as he was in “Hold Every- thing”), and at Joe Brown, and one could have a splendid eve- ning at “Way Back Home,” which the Lunt family enjoyed ‘'so much when they were here, it seems as though the public prefers to be frozen into human jelly. All last week the lines at the theater rivaled the rush for front row seats at the National. "Touchdown":Ce]ebrities. ICHARD ARLEN'S foot ball experi- ences at St. Thomas College, in the Middle West, were made good use of as a coach in “Touchdown,” the Paramount picture of the great American pastime, now current at Loew’s Palace Theater. Howard Jones, famous throughout America as the coach of the Univer- sity of Southern California foot bal! team, was one of the technical assist- ants to Norman McLeod, Who the foot ball scenes for “Touchdown.” Tom Lieb, former assistant to the im- mortal Rockne of Notre , was the other assistant technician on the film. | *“Touchdown” takes its audience from ' the grand stand to the players’ bench, (