Evening Star Newspaper, December 6, 1931, Page 61

Stage and Screen - News and Gossip AMUSEMENT SECTION Aviation, Programs " Motor, Radio WASHINGTON, he Sunday Star. SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 6, 1931. i CEDRIC HARDWICKE and *THE DREYFUS CASE MARY PHILIPS ¥ THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL” SketcheS by Sudduth, Critics of the New York Drama Come in for Their Share of ng Harsh Words 1 No Result From a Heated Debate on That Sul’))-ecn The Theater Situation Around Times SquareA BEATRIX COMSON = METROPOLITAN Year’s “Ten Best Plays And an Actor’s Important Part in Creating a Success cerned With What Pleases Them Individually. Prcservation of the Great Actor. By W. H. c profoundly rich owledge born of long experience and his general efficiency in pick- out the moth-eaten spots in plays that have come under his scrutiny it m be easy to sur- vey the productions of a season and calmy designate he 10 best p This “10-best play” habit is of movie origin, but now contagion has reached imate theater. The v y rings the bell voices chime i its 1e legit- of au- ec- crédates a the ordi- feet which ater patron curely the sweer they may be There is ing gues ave it, for print the ma t Often, metropolitan arth earth when set the rather than finds a voice that has the fudacity to give reasons why the experts are all wrong. And some- these str post-mortems uite clear and convincing. It matter much to the owever, which, as a rule rolls over in its armchair d comments more or less upon aining qualities of the pro and con, without cern as to the ultimate deci- 1. Playgoers, like the picture rons, are concerned only with at pleases them individually and that settles the matter so far as they are concerned ed elsewhere asionally the wilder con ]{E(‘ENTI,Y it seems, Prof. Wil- liam Lyon Phelps of Yale, an eminent guide to the good things to be found in the theater, named a scant dozen of the productions that thus far have delighted York. His list includes “The retts of Wimpole Street” Katharine Corneil; the Norman Bel-Geddes production of “Ham- 1 ;' “Julius Hamlet” and “The Mer- chant of Venice,” as presented by the Chicago Civic Co., including Fritz Leiber and Helen Menken “Mourning Becomes Electra, “Payment Deferred,” with a su- perb English actor. Charles Laughton; “Streets of New York, ’ ; A Few Real Successes. By Percy Hammond. UDLEY FIELD MALONE in a |cxceeded in accused the New |live I Payment Deferred” and ma critics of offenses ‘The House of Connelly,” for instance— from sabotage to but others deserved the knell and the of them, said he, are oud. One them, “In Times wise-cracking and earned its gate, it a insult I suspect person who went of entertainment ver again t0 go to e has been scores of s season, crippled aces to the prosperity wish that the Actors eet’s mortuary rec- m had a right to York d ran; pre ignorant stuck-up- rather than & practitione struc real remedie | he sniffed | lief that -a | the patrcns | employes tutor authors Mr. Ma by pla_\'goers Con- And be- is to t to its he sta i not to |E sociation, the theater’s mo producer rful supervisor, would extend its Junse pline in_protection of audiences £ as performers. It demands that old-fashioned producers deposit a bond to insure the Guest Room,” e r ” be eradi- | payment of wages and salaries. But it sworthy’s play, indifferent to the welfare of the oduced and acted,” beft {riend, the playgoer. Why 25 5 a nce, limore 3 Hot Money Miss well rec iended entertain- | and ‘“Marriage for ments “have succumbed for lack | y should establish a cen of audiences 1d among the producers fr five are the N an Bel-Geddes making fools of themselves and tr “Hamlet Barrymore” he gates are s customer School for Scandal,” “The Roof,” i Galsworthy's d “Payment | BROADWAY'S casua r A BOVE ihe sobs of Times Square's Deferred,” which. however, is to|, Were tolled Son make a try for existence in Chi-|=Rg o 11 pla cago. Dr. Phelp: “booster,” | not a ‘“knocke ccording to Percy Hammor and, perhaps, that was why d no remarks to make conce! at least a dozen other plays more or les well recommended by the eritics | who reviewed them in the metrop- olis. But even nine of them, to- gether with I Fritz Leiber Shakes 5 par have disapp o New York D, some with ope of sur- al elsewhere others to hope no more ng these are The Good Cc ions,” “The House of r “The Lady With a I old-timers, would you Naughty Marietta enter- prise. Landvoigt. e Ly a side- melodram “The Roof “admirably and Ethel . attending thei 1l permits them t n ol E fr displeasing pe not exercse quently the rev write a sa) the r Equit rship to prohibit th s to be heard the laughter < Woollcott, a former causing buttons to plit by his cordially ons in the witty Mr. ithetic comedy, Brief Wynn, the first clown, gay enthusiasm by ate and _irresistibly to tolerate The Laugh Parade”; why “the joy is unconfined at al cast e Ty nd Vv he Cat and the Original o CpSATonEde i Wrhite's “Scandals” and mended by the hinterland Vanities.” Miss Ruth Orlglna] st amusing many people at the Epocisciots 1 a swe entitled “A LR v ayeof nd Miss Helen Hayes stage often public as a sirupy that thing i rep in Mr. Molnar's z of Good Fairy re- Z;"“\;('Z:'C[]nl; . { about the state of Vienna,” 1 \ the drama in Times Square. so long as e plelau serene Miss Katherine Cornell con- Why suberb acting saved an of ) them away from “The wise inferior play and caused i s of Wimpole Street” and there to be ranked with the most de- an audience for Mr. Mcn‘\va]lfi adnd erings of the seas Allen in “Cynara.” In case lightful ofi(x~n gs of the season e through the frenzied of the Theater Guild's and plead for a ticket to Becomes Electra." ; re to talk about this if anything, except esque shows in and Forty-second ay with their demned. Tt enable 5 folks also to determine af—r all, Shake in saying § if he meant t count in the is too w S Y bad acting t i some whether, was right the thing,” or didn’t New York d sides to nto demi 1ger *w with Otis am Engle, a New York classic in foldment, uttered by 73, enjoys a American thea- ond the reach L “The play- wright,” says Mr. Skinner, “shows the way, and the actors create Skir staff write World- the beauty pointed out Mr. Ski distinction ir ter that is sa of envious F, then, the actor counts for so much in the theater, is it pood policy to let him fade out of ex- istence? Age kills oft everythin but surely theater are tainly it to keep ti lay ever competent ighest pinnacle of tr ately L] brazen bu ound Broadway reet How they g ulgarities i a question to be asked the | of Ma alker or Mr. Mulrooney, nis police commissioner passi s a r of concern ake J “p ERIC LINDEN “ARE THESE OUR CHILDREN"-XKE/TH'S Drastic Salary Slashes For the “Cinema Giants” One Tl’lcory of picture-Makmg Is Favored by Wall Street—The System of Ho”ywood Salaries and Change to Be Made. By Mollie Merrick. OLLYWOOD, Calif., December 5. motion picture’s year of reckoning would seem to be at hand. Unless the prophecies of those statisticians who are howling calamity from the house tops thes: days are entirely in the wrong, it will be a hard pull for some of the producers merrily grinding out gelatin entertainment to keep their heads above water un present conditions. It is the unanimous agreement of all interested in the manufacture of talk- ing pictures that Irving Thalberg and Louis B. Mayer, directing the destinies of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, have made the most brilliant record for suc- cesses in picture production during the past year. This opinfon would seem to be more than strengthened by the New York banking crowds, meeting in executive session, and voting unani- mously on the ability of this team. Some time ago in these columns I gave the inside story of Irving Thal- berg’s theory of picture making—names backed by sound stories. But first and foremost capitalizing personalities to the world. That this method of pro- cedure has had the most startlingly successful results the action of New York bankers proves. But the Thalberg method has been successful only from the that he has backed his personaliti with good storfes and good dialog: Other studios have had box office per- sonalities. But they have filled their mouths with utterly unusable lines and | put them in such silly situations and the pla ( 1ing, Mr. Skin- ner said: “T] always some- thing crea putting on a play. It's ctor's work to make it live the and stand on its own f You might say | he builds the fireplace, puts in andirons es the wood; but it's actor) to make the esn't burn, it may > wood is green, or defective.” > well for the playgoer atron who is seriously interested in theatrical enter- tainment to Jet this obgervation sink deeply into remembrance, |faded and passed oyt 1 for it will help in solving many |mind of man. T} difficulties in ~determining why |of the great actor some plays are extolled when they (in the legitimate seem to be filled with faults for | there and there only which others have been con-|him: And what are our managers, who have living out of them their fortune: 1 the succession and efficiency? doing today? The in its actors, not Magnificent characte by the actors ha than anything else to immortal Shakesneare i heaven of the liter idol of classic luster on the through the centuries otherwise even he might made their some of them > to acting What ¢ of NATIONAL—“Mr. Whistler.” GAYETY—“Jimmie Lake’s Own noon and evening ON THE h 1d, an stage when have rom the 1€ preservation I possible only theater, for You will find FOX : a PALACE—"Rich Man’s Folly. and evening. { R-K-O KEITH'S—“Are These Our Children?” Stage and Screen Attractions This Week BELASCO—“The House Beautiful.” Opens tomorrow evening. Opens tomorrow evening. Show” (burlesque). This after- CRE EARLE—“Platinum Blonde.” This afternoon and evening. “X Marks the Spot.” This afternoon and evening. This afternoon and evening. This afternoon RIALTO—“Frankenstein” This afternoon and evening. COLUMBIA—“The Champ.” This afternoon and gvening. METROPOLITAN—"“The Dreyfus Case.” evening. e e N This afternoon and standpoint | WALLACE FORD" and SALLY BLANE *X MARKS THE SPOT” Fox EAN HARLOW LATINUM BLONDE* EARLE JACKIE COOPER *THE CHAMPCOLUMBIA RICHARD HALE ¥ MR. WHISTLER” NATIONAL Mr. dmplin Detérmines ' To Play the Heroic Role Of Warrior N. Bonaparte So the World May Lose Its Favorite Clown—The Comedian, Now in London, Is Reported to Be Planning His Stage Production. and ARLINE JUDGE By E. de S. Melcher. | APOLEON has long been N on the mind of Charles Chaplin. Just as he has | bothered other acting folk since they began to be cradled In emotion. This great tragic tragedian (Napoleon, that is), whose marital, continental, tri- umphal and digestional trou- bles made him great in the eyes of the world, has har- rowed more thespians by his memory than any other pow- | er of history. The sad thing | is that Shakespeare couldn’t have | dropped around during his life- backed by such flimsy drama that they time and written him in his | could not survive, In the other stu-|grease paint annals for the edi- | dios of Hollywood where conditions far € from rosy prevail, drastic cuts in sal-|fication of theatrical posterity. It ary for everybody not bound by union | f it wages must come about. These cuts, oF 11Stance, Napoleon could }"'3"9 far from the znhper cent or Lh!‘lod - | uttered, “To be—or not to be,” h dollar cuts of the past year, will be would, do from 25 to 50 per cent, and there will 1 nvo oubt, be more popu be wailing and gnashing of teeth ar today than he is. St. Helena and subsequent excite- There has prevailed in Hollywood a| Mr. Chaplin is said to be glv-|ments there would, of course, be system ;fi(fifigf*g;&:Sp;‘(‘)f’l"l‘c"gg";"({:x: ing up the films in favor of evok- |no Josephine. And that seems “advised” to accept slight cuts last sea- | ing a flesh-and-blood “Nappie.”|rather too bad. There haven't son are up against the alternative of | He has threatened to shake the |P€EN many notable ones on the taking heavy cuts gracefully this year = > stage, and even lezs on the screen. or working “out their contracts under |dust of Hollywood from his cross- | Whe would be a good one these | the signed ngregmentf :;1]113' r:.g drlsct;);er eyed feet and to jump headlong days? How about dark-eyed Kay under ~ the reduction regime. This|New York's Theater Guild. After P0leon a good run for his money? sounds depressing, but past experience | voor i and vears and v n ¢ Kay Francis and Charlie Chap- has taught actors that when producers | Y€aI years years of [lini Well, the latter will have to get together mzrc 1}:& unity of pur- making people laugh, he will, per- [eat a lot to look like Napoleon, pose that is unbreakable. aps, a and he will have to Birectrial siares during the com- D3PS, attempt to make them cry |&nd he will have to grow frowns ing year will be slashed to the bone.| (since Mr. Bonaparte was said not Booked s b slightly There are some 10 directors in Holly- |to be a particular laugh king), Nooked nose in the bargain. But wood who are worth every penny of and he will appear in a tri-cor- g“dm bel sdtralght drama, or deep- the money paid them for CAIVIg nered hat, with hand thrust |9yed melodrama, or a Milnesque stories rhx’oughttn'lnufilphant ml;r'ltu» through the portals of his coat whimsy on the Emperor’s later sions. The art of riting in gelatin and intone, “On to Elba,” or, per- cavortings? The film world won- pulse to give way to Napoleon came to him while browsing admid his tea and scones. At any rate, this comic virtuoso has written two full acts of a Na- poleonic saga which has to do, it is sald, with that familiar legend of Bondparte’s escape from St. Helena and of his ultimate com- ing to-the United States. Does Mr. Chaplin think that there lingers among us now (and certain of the old regime do) a full-fledged offspring of the great little general? Is there a L’Aig- lon hiding down in New Orleans? Or a great-grandson selling bonds on Wall Street? Is this play go- ing to reveal Auntie Zilch—ugly, plain, unpopular Auntie Zilch, whom ~the relations always frowned upon—as the bearer of neo-noble blood, as the direct descendant of all sorts of crowned heads, who has hidden Napoleon- e ic jewels in her stockings for - | years? If there is to be the escape from ; ift not distributed widely. To i S e L fabu- | haps, some’ other lugubrious dmy{_&ersggndrso do we all. Please, {lous sums are paid. Half a milion a| It seems rather a shame that |M!- Chaplin, a statement! picture ha;o bm;nn given hAn ém;st ‘fo€ just at this particular hour, when | Er making a box-office smash out of what | people would give anything to be HIL! diti could be a very ordinary picture R Heml b Fuarationsl characersiol | So these giants of the cinema will, | 4 ) filmland are deserting their possibly, not feel the pressure of the | Chief maestro of the laugh should h iana | wage cut. But the director who is|tuUrn to drama. It sounds almost | homeland, seems as though | earning anywhere from $800 a week to |as kmdl as if Will Rogers should | Washington had seen seversl $5,000 will possioly find himself bring- suddenly announce that he will |youn, actors recentl (more ing in exactly one-half of last year's|write a daily ode for the papers. ‘zhang actresses. perh);ps :5 income. This because, while Chaplin ma; 4 s = The author situauion in Hollywood | have the heart and suulp and afi‘thouzh the “Follies” ladies were accepted a $500 advance from publish- | [tic actor, he is still the most | be particularly valuable to the ers, content that they were being treat- 5“"”»}:“‘1 of clowns and the one |screen. Has, for instance, that ed n a princely fashion, sat down and |Who has done the most in one gentleman who gave such a stir- waited for their percentage to come in|continued vein to making the ring performance in “The Crim- quite happily. ~Those same authors films light, silly and wonderfully | jpat Code” have been given the habit of the| digestible entertainment. jinal Code” and who was seen thousand or two thousand a week Hol-| "Ny " Chathin ' who grew out 0(‘hlere & week or so ago with tne [lywood salary, whether or not the slightly overebulient Mae West. | ; a London fog and has recentl | thing they G v;rmnx }su\:ah{: ‘{ur Bect hacl Bas Fof coursey Russell Hardie, done anything on fct when it is comple olly- | ack, s ) ; £ 5..503_"_51,“, :he motion picture indus- |had his “legitimate” experience ‘;}:‘edsczfseg ha;;d goggfii wggunlo;s’? | try—are alone responsible for turning |At a tender age he played “Billy” |whom Francine La.rrlngx q [ P tha” onae. to sifles. from 'thy |1 @ production of " “Sherl®ksnatehed out of the very teeth of W e ones A | dissatistaction of their people and the‘}gglm'fi:e' m‘;lhgqu -1-"‘_}:};1 g;n;lel:g?: London, been given a try before dissension in the ranks when the exist- | % (ae 1ol of his hgand gt . | the camera? - o | . Since it is evident that day by day in every way the old order ing financial conditions of the earth : X force them to turn the racket back into | recting pictures other than the is giving way to the new, it seems | as though these two clever actors | an industry with stabilized salaries once | hilarious ones centered around his | ngmnd e e ‘ko]\;vn person. But this age knows Producers wi mortow take time | him as “the great Charlot” (this |25 i to find out who they are hiring. There |in Paris), and he has delighted {r;t‘lezrkrz‘gugieveullte; gC%?gmboosns é'uaf:x:: will be no white elephant stories bought ) ! with closed eyes. And players who once | th€ young and old by being his tee that they will be blazing forth accepted Broadway salaries of three to| OWN Tidiculous self. |in screen lights before the next five hundred a week will not expect to |’ ok ok Py o t S Poeetnd gt five thousand for| DERHAPS, the London fogs have | der Woolc%at‘ts:se?\‘e cosullé)rc:x}te:l:xrl]y doing poorer work. - | (Coprrieng, 1931, by tne North American | removed his sense of humor. ‘%évfg'-lgi h.dgor‘:(c.lisrg';l;fi;zdsome.tthhu‘), Dper Alliance, Inc.) i Certain it is that the sudden im- |