Evening Star Newspaper, January 3, 1932, Page 53

Stage 1 News and Screen and Gossip AMUSEMENT SECTION he Sunday S, Radio Programs — Part 4—8 Pages WASHINGTON, D. C., BUNDAY MORNING, JANUARY 3, 1932. — RALPH ERROLLE COSMOPOL ITAN OPERA” NATIONA L Theater Bears DOROTHY MACKA ILL *SAFE IN HELL” EARL Up Well, Despite Shortcomings Mentioned by Crities Wl‘nlc NEW’ YYOrl( Has Had a pOOl‘ Seascn. and Some Cities Have Had No Season at All, Washington Has Had a Share of Fine Shows. By W. H. F all the persons and in- stitutions that have felt the lash of criticism and the ire of the critic during the past season none, perhaps, has had his or its shortcomings so widely flaunted to the four cor- ners of the earth as the theater. | And those who have found the| time and fhelination to read what has been printed, unless they were | blessed with fine discrimination, might be tempted to believe that the arts of mimicry and theatric resentation had truly found their lowest level. But the like has hap- pened before—and many times. Critics, like the theater itself, are just as apt to give way before the same cares and worries that affect other mortals, especially when everybody talks about “going on the rocks,” and few, very few, have any safety valves to lend. The theater, like almost every other institution, has been having a difficult time to maintain itself Jt had its troubles before the “de- pression” came, and when ‘“hard times” hit it squarely in a head- on crash something had to hap- pen. However, there seems to be a strong conviction that the new| year is going to remedy every thing, even the critics, and the real wise men are going to be those who get ready now to help the new year to a happiness that everybody longs for. ])R. WILLIAM LYON PHELPS of Yale, in reply to a challenge from an eminent metropolitan critic, ventured the opinion that “the theatrical season in N ‘York is the worst I remember, and the only reason other cities is becau no season at all.” t eminent doctor added: quantity and in quality N theaters are in a state of depres sion.” Dr. Phelps is not one of those eritics who are said to dip their pens in acid when t write of the theater. He had been specifically why other plays had not been deemed worth ra with the ten or a dozen present during the season which the doc tor had said pleased him. And he gave the soft answer that turneth away wrath, ir d of pouncin upon the omitted plays with t sharp prod of the vengeful critic. It is not the present purpose butt into the exchange of cou tesies by the doctor with his ch lenger. Our concern rather is di- rected to the truth of the state- ment that outside of New York the other theaters have no season at all. Washington certainly can- not boast of its season, although some very delightful attempts have been made to create one. The principal difficulty has been that ‘we cannot get plays for the purpose. It serves to revive t old story of why Mary didr ] soup for dinner, after her mistress had expressly ordered it. N paid: “We ain't got no wegeta an’ the store didn’t have no wege tables, an’ when you ain’t got no mwegetables and you can’t get no wegetables, you can’'t have no soup.” Smcl!: Peter vzinly mace the at- * tempt to “fly high” at the Na- tional Theater the middle of last September, Washington, on a number of occasior has beer favored with att ions that ranked with the best output of the theater sinee the days of i decadence. And when thos tractions came, folks were ple and turned out capacity audiences to Jxay their tribute in box-office an in personal appreciation Then came the darkness. And who wouldn't be scared when it's dark? However, out there within easy reach of the lorgnette, lies to . d Landvoigt. the further promise of things that look good. Among them is “The Band Wagon,” Walter Hampden in “Cyrano de Ber- gerac,” glimpse of the renowned Maurice Chevalier in the flesh, while right at our elbow is the new Titheroh play of the old Oregon Trail, with ‘ who can say what behind it. So| that if we can’t have the pie in its | entirety, at least we can have some of the stuffing without the | crust. If we have been denied a, real theatrical season, at least we | have had, as far as it has gone, a very superior imitation. xid "THERE is no doubt in the world from something. It may be “hard times,” or it may be one or all of the ills that have been pointed out by Willlam A. Brady and George M. Cohan. Instead of talking about those ills, however, it would seem to be much more desirable to hunt for the rem- edies. Times have changed and tastes have changed with them. The new crop of theater-goers are determined not to like old things and old methods. It is quite natural for them to ask for a theater that suits them, and un- less they get it they will seek | their distractions and pleasures elsewhere. | The old managers seem dis- posed to put their hands into their pockets and hold fast to what they find there, reluctant to embark upon new experiments. | The playwrights are perched high | in the tree of “watchful waiting,” | alert for the drop of the hat to| tell which way the wind blows. And the dear public will continue to bob between the talkies and modern catch-pennies of the legitimate stage until somebody | discovers the way out of the pres- ent theatrical depression and into | the sunlight of present demands. | The incentive to move in the right | direction now is buoyed, or should | be, by the fact that the deeper folks are in the doldrums of any sort of depression the more in- tensely they seek to be diverted And the theater is one of the best little old diverters the world has ever known. If the theater, there- re, 11 be only as courageous ind daring in an effort to make itself what it should be, as it has been in devising things that have wrought its downfall, it may yet see better days—and see them soon. ok * X \\'E are about to invite—if, in- deed, we have not already in- vited—the nations of the earth to come and help us celebrate George Washington’s two hun- dredth anniversary. If, however. they find us steeped in want and v, with no attempt at all to e it, even in our places of amusement, they may not be so prompt in accepting our invita- tic Misery may love company, but no sane company is likely to spend its money and its time oft hunting misery. Has a Gershwin Score. A LTHOUGH individual Gershwin £3 {ines have appeared in previous pictures, “Delicious,” is the first to be dramatized to a score written in its entirety by George Gershwin, the ed author of “Rhapsody in Blue." Lyrics for the six musical numbers of the picture were written by Ira Gersh- win. David Butler, the man who cuided Farrell and Miss Gaynor to ther gres success in “Sunny Side Up,” directed “Delicious.” Marvine Maazel, young Russian pianist who has made an extensive tour of European musical capitals and appeared in a number of cities in his country, was specially selected for an important role in “Delicious,” and in the picture he introduces the newest compositions from the pen of George | Gershwin, ! even a brief personal, £ ROBERT COOGAN YSOOKY#” —PALACE Authors, Pictures and Producers By Robert E. Sherwood. i HEN Theodore Drelser saw | the film version of his enor- mous novel, “An _American Tragedy,” he went to court | W that the theater is suffering | and attempted to get out | | an injunction against its release. When | | Sinclair Lewis saw the film version of | | “Arrowsmith,” he wrote a note to its | | producer, Samuel Goldwyn, expressing | his wholehearted approval of the work | that had been done by John Ford, the director, and Sidney Howard, the adapter. | Mr. Dreiser's protests attracted a great deal of attention, but Mr. Lewis’ expressions of praise were greeted with | | impolite indifference, which impelled Mr. Goldwyn to make complaint in a formal and suspiciously elegant state- ment to the press, as follows “Theodore Dreiser uttered a violent polemic against a screen transcription of one of his novels and against the screen in general. What he said was widely heralded as substantiating the cynical attitude toward pictures. But | | when Sinclair Lewis, generally recog: nized as & more penetrating critic of | the American scene, expressed satisfac- | tion with the transcription of one of | his stories, it was accepted only with | minor comment as unimportant.” Mr. Goldwyn then went on to deplore the quantities of insults that are lav- ished” upon the cinema, and concluded thus emphatically: “It seems to me that | the time has come for some one to rise | in vehement defense of the industry against carping, nagging and ridicule Shamefacedly, as one who has con- | tributed a goodly share to this carp- ing, I admit that Mr. Goldwyn has ample grounds for complaint. But the unhappy fact remains that the great reading public likes raspberries better than laurels. A savage attack, like Mr. Dreiser’s, is hot news. By the way, in the course of his complimentary remarks on “Arrow- smith,” Mr. Lewis took occaslon to de- liver another poke at his old sparring partner, Mr. Dreiser, by saying that | authors who become indignant at the mutilation of their works on the screen are suffering from the “god complex Which is perfectly true. But, MT. | Lewis—aren't we all? It is my personal and somewhat pre- sumptive belief that Mr. Goldwyn did not mean all that he sald about the desperate need for defense of the cinema. Indeed, in view of his choice of words (especially “polemic”), I don’t believe that he even said it. Mr. Goldwyn knows & lot better than you or I do that the movie industry deserves plenty of carping, nagging and rdicule and that its defenders have an | excessively hard time thinking up ways to justify and apologize for its mani- | fold mistakes. _ Mr. Goldwyn himself, on the day fol- lowing the statement above quoted, in- formed an interviewer that some of h fellow producers are doomed to disas- ter if they continue their present pol- icy of overproduction. He pointed to the Hollywood studios which are try- ing to manufacture 50 or more feature | | pictures a year, and then said: | | here is no studio that is mentally | equipped to turn out more than 20 pic- | tures a year, perhaps not that many.” | |, How will that word “mentally” appeal to the officials of Paramount-Publix or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, whose schedule for 1932 compels them to complete at least one picture every week? May they not reasonably ask Mr. Goldwy to mind his own business and quit na ging? I have no doubt that the movie Industry will cease to be ridiculous— and when that day comes, if it ever | does, the cinema will also cease to be | the fascinating, fertile topic of con- versation that it is now. As for “Arrowsmith,” I find myself situated uncomfortably in the insignifi- | cant minority of those who do not fol- low Mr. Lewis all the way in his ap- proval of the film. It is unquestionably an honest re- lmoducuon of a great American novel, (Copyright, 1932.) CLARK GABLE and YPOSSESSED¥ BELASCO—“Distant Drums.” GAYETY—“Girls in Blue.” PALACE—“Snooky.” afternoon and evening. ning. EARLE—“Safe in Hell.” FOX—"Delicious.” COLUMBIA—“Possessed.” Our National This Set to Words i"Of Tl’xee I Sing" Opens in New Out to Be "a Hilarious Exercise in Absurdity." A Burlesque on Political Affairs. By Percy Hammond. HEN “Of Thee I Sing” was announced there were hopes that George Kaufman, pre- mier wag of the librettos, would address his badinage to a seriously jocular burlesque of American politics. That, in the man- ner of Gilbert, he would make me with the statesmen while limiting his pranks to the legitimate bounds of travesty. He would lift the dome off the Capitol, it was suspected, and show us through the magnifying glass of jovial satire the patriots as they move | in_and out of the legislative halls. But “Of Thee I Sing” turns out to be just a hilarious exercise in ab-| surdity. Since the result is more than satisfactory as an implement of pleas- ure, there will be no further objections to it from this quarter, and it is hereby welcomed to the street of sorrows. The mantle of Mr. Kaufman's frivolity is ‘mbroidered with some of George Gersh- win's most azure music, the strains of which are ornamental if not always | melodious, Though none of the players is especially gifted in song, the patri- cian notes of the composer’s score are not wasted, thanks to one of the best of the bands that operate outside the broadcasting stations. The lyrics, by Mr. Gershwin’s brother Ira, are addi- tional sparkles on the gay garment. If the newspaper reviewers are in- clined to overbless the entertainment a trifie, we may be pardoned for that excess, considering how frugal the sea- | son has been in its offerings of first-| class shows. And this is & show of the first class. As you may know, William Gaxton, a smooth, personable and very Broad- way ccmedian, appears as President of the U. S. A., having been elected, over Goldman-Sachs, O. O. McIntyre, Aimee | McPherson, Walter Hampden and oth- ers, on a platform devoted exclusively to love. It is the plan of his campaign managers to wed him to “Miss White “House” (Miss Grace Brinkley), winner of an Atlantic City beauty con- test, but his affections stray to & de- feated candidate (Miss Lois Moran). This breeds intrigue. Miss Moran and bt [ — COoLuMmBIA Stage and S?reen Attractions This Week Opens tomorrow evening. NATIONAL—“Rigoletto” (grand opera). This afternoon and evening. ON THE SCREEN. This afternoon and evening. METROPOLITAN—“Around the World in 80 Minutes.” R-K-O KEITH'S—“Men of Chance.” This afternoon and eve- This afternoon and evening. RIALTO—"Strictly Dishonorable.” This afternoon and evening. |all five will have been equipped for | all of which, operated by the Dallas the | PAULINE “DISTANT. BELA JOAN CRAWFORD Tomorrow evening. This This afternoon and evening. afternoon and evening. Capital Is and Music Yorl(‘ but Turnsf Mr. Gaxton, despite the handicap of their sappy comic opera romance, are | funny as they deliberate in the Execu- | tive Mansion over petitions from their | subjects. One of these is from the American Indians asking that scalp- ing be restored, and another from the Virgin Islands prays that the name be changed because It keeps tourists away. | However, it is Victor Moore in the role of the Vice President who creates the major portion of the laughter. Even the man who nominated him does not know his name—which is Alexan- der Throttlebottom. His humiliations | are numerous, though not of a kind to | emphasize the predicaments of our heirs-apparent, and they“serve to jus- | tify Mr. Kaufman’s fame as a broad | satirist. In case he falls to gratify| those who like their comic operas to be | serious, it should be remembered that he is not a crusader. NEW Ala‘aama Sounds. JUNTSVILLE, Ala., one of the larg- est mill towns in the South, has four community auditoriums in addi- | tion to the Grand Theater and when RCA Photophone engineers complete | the installation of sound reproducing apparatus in the Lincoln Auditorium, sound motion picture reproduction. Lincoln Auditorium, Merrimac Hall, the West Huntsville Y. M. C. A. and the Dallss Manufacturing Co. Y. M. C. A,, Manufacturing Co., present weekly pro- | grams of sound pictures to employes. Vaudeville Acts ar Hit | BILLBOARD reports that the War- | ner Bros' Stratford Theater in Chicago, which has recently adopted a new picture and vaudeville policy, is packing them in” with a picture and six acts of vaudeville at 40 cents for |C LORD DRUMS” Sco / \ DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS "AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 MINUTES# METROPOLITAN T Bearmud PAUL LUKAS, in “Strictly Dishonorable,” at Rialto. | |Hampden-Chevalier Soon FOLLOWING the engagement of Max Gordon’s mammoth musical revue, “The Band Wagon,” the week of Feb- ruary 1 at the National Theater, a per- sonal appearance is announced by the management of Maurice Chevalier for Sunday night only, February 7. “Cyrano de Bergerac,” will follow for a three-day cnghgement on Monday, Tuesdey, Wednesday matinee and Wednesday night, February 8, 9 and 10. Friday night and Saturday matinee of the same week the Isadora Duncan Dancers will hold sway. | & “whirlwind tour,” in which he plans to | visit only the larger cities, covering as much territory as he possibly can be- fore the close of the 1931-32 theatrical season, playing very limited engage- ments. Thus clties like Washington and Baltimore, usually considered “week stands,” are limited to three days each, with only one matinee. Paul Lukas Talks. E “depression” can’t take the laughs out of “Strictly Dishonorable,” now TH | in its second week at the Rialto Theater. Washington, like New York, is find- ing this screen production = delicious comedy. The screen version preserves all the charm of the original play and it seems quite true that the play loses nothing in its translation to the screen. Paul Lukas, who was borrowed by Universal from Paramount after Para- mount was outbid in the sale of the screen rights for the picture, says of the production: “I think, aside from my own work— and I am not qualified to speak of that— the play as it stands on the screen is corking. Universal Pictures, through John M. Stahl, who directed it, has really achieved something. Even the author likes it, and that sets a record, if you know authors. “Seriously, though, ‘Strictly Dishon- orable’ is really very fine. It is a pic- ture that doesn't depend upon plot, one that rather has an innate charm of its own, a quality of realness, a touch of truth, plus some of the best comedy you'll ever see. Miss Fox and Mr. Lewis Stone are excellent, and Stahl's direc- tion, his continuity—if I'm not talking too intricately—is quite remarkable.” Vaudeville a Hit. “BRINGING back vaudeville to R-K-O Keith the Washington theater so prominently identified with this purely American entertainment, says Manager Hardie Meakin, has been Jjustified. The theater has been attract- ing capacity crowds at all performances, and the comments from patrons indi- cates an assured steady support, so says the management. “When the lights flashed up on the opening day it was surely like the good old days, and to hear the music, laughter and applause —well, it was a grand and glorious occasion.” The stage programs are being se- lected with much care, states the man- agement, as shown in the current bill, headed by Rae Samuels, Miss Vanessi and Harry J. Conley, three well known and established artists; and this fact is further supported in the announced coming attracticns—Belle Bennett, Clyde Cook, Charles King, Irene Rich, Gus Van, Johnny Perkins and others of equal prominence. Nor are the screen attractions to be slighted. This is evidenced in the an- nouncement of the coming of “Younger Generation,” a Columbia Picture, fea- turing Leo Carillo and Boris Korloff, the latter’s first appearance since his sensational “Frankenstein”; Ann Hard- ing in “Prestige,” Dolores Del Rio in “The Girl of tte Rio” and Pola Negri in “A Woman Commands. hBuddy.S” NEW Orchestraf HARLES “BUDDY” ROGERS has arrived in New York from Cali- fornia to begin the organization of an orch.stra which he is to head for radio work and dance engagements. Rogers’ last work in Hollywood was the leading role in Paramount’s “This Reckless Age.” He plans, however, to devote all of 1932 to orchestral work, afternoon and 60 cents for evening per- formances, after which, perhaps, he may return to the screen. Walter Hampden in his great success, | Mr. Hampden's coming is described as | Ramon Novarro Plans Two More Pictures and Interviewed in NE\V YOI‘I(, the Screen Favorite Tells of a Future Concert Tour—To Leave Cinema While He Is in the Star Class. By E. de S. Melcher. ELL them if they want to see me they'd better hurry! Two more pic- tures, and then—" Ra- | mon Novarro raised his hand and |indicated, “I'm through—finish- |ed.” Then he smiled, laughed | rather, and seemed not at all dis- pleased at the prospect of retiring gracefully from the films. “What then?” “What then? | “Where?” | “Here, there, everywhere. A | concert tour that will take me | around the world. I want to sing —want to express myself that | way—and I want to travel and see | things.” And Mr. Novarro smiled some more, a young, happy friendly smile —the Kkind the cinema public knows he has— and sank deep into the sofa cush- exaggerated. Each woman, in turn, seems to go out of such an assemblage wreathed in a smile which indicates that she has pleased and been pleased, and %hla" perhaps—well, it's wonder- ul! [43 “No, I'm not sorry to be leaving pictures. After all, 10 years is a | long time, and I think the public | has had enough of me” (and when A concert tour.” | he says that to a woman her op- | portunity is golden for saying “Oh Mr. Novarro, how can you!” “Oh — never — never — Mr. No- varro!”) “I'm going to do now what I've always wanted to do— And he does. His voice is not large, but it is extremely flexible | and velvet-like in its quality. The song, “La Lettre,” for instance, | from the opera “Mozart,” he gings i i ito | With tremendous vitality and an the piano. |its significants, which augers well The truth of the matter is that | for his future. He is a gretat ?‘d‘ “Ben-Hur,” even when he is on a |mirer of Lawrence Tibbett—lis- vacation, as he is now, spends |tened to every note of hls)l‘)roadv much of his day singing. If you |cast the other day—and he has look on the rack of his piano you |Studied and done everything pgs- will see songs in seven languages, |Sible to cultivate his voice in be- scores of operas (he would like |tWeen p‘C““'e?l e n ‘some day perhaps to do, the| TWwo more films anc Oe“ h Guitry “Mozart”) and if there are | more screen “Novarro” One pic- [friends at hand—and there is | ture d‘v}““ Do balfanas | alw 2 ibe—]1 ie | “Huddle” (“I don’t know anything always a Novarro tribe—he is e sy Ethe | most obliging and will polish oft | about foot ball,” L a song and sing just what his au- other one hasn't been decided on. dience wants him to. He was urged to consider another Mr. Novarro's announcement |3-year contract. “No,” he said that after two more films he wiil | modestly iwunt to %et ré\;} 13{31-1 leave the screen will perhaps sur- | fore you ask me to ge hl}}l e | prise those who had imagined | of which really means, “I'm sorry that, 1 . Tennyson's brook, | but I have a new interest now. heatl'flh;k)ig é\:{)r on e:nésgg sforig?,»oel» After all, I can’t be the Student It is all the more surprising since | Prince all my life” Which is |he is still a very ivp'oungg man. | true—he can’t—but he might wait This, however, being the age of 2 little longer—or ;atherf—well. ‘juvenile retirement gmther gmnn | here’s betting his legions will calé Slipping gradually into the valley | him back, that he'll 1et1§1e nex | of old age, and since announce- Yeéar and be hauled back the year | ments of this sort are becoming |after—that he’ll sing a little and icommon, we can rather take off |act a little, and dlrECtdfl lm’lf (in | our hat to Mr. Novarro for doing | three languages) and wiite 2 | what he wants to do and not just ! little, and do the Mary Wigman | stopping—but going on." The fact, dance a little—a little of every- |too, that he doesn't want to be thing—all of which he does in a |shelved, which he feels is the big way. | ultimate end of most film careers, - == |1s_something which perhaps less | Intended for Opera. | talented people forget to remem-| \ oopnING to Huston Branch, his “Safe in Hell,” the screen version of which is now at the Warner Earle | | ber. intended for | Without questlon he is ar | “arteeste” to the tips of his | fingers. After Polly Moran's glow- | Theater, was originally |ing “song and dance” about him | grand opera. when she was in Washington. | when Branch wrote it, four years agd, which opened the skies above| g, the story goes, he was aligned with him and rained such edultngles 35 | Charles Wakefleld Cadman, America’s {‘i‘]‘gh‘ have cannonized B Go| noted composer, to write the music, [ WBe spat, & WES D s and Mary Gerden had exacted a prom- be disappointed in the idol of ten | {ce® ot would be allowed to pro- {million women. But Mr. NOVaITo | gyce it and sing the main role. does not let you be disappointed. |~ When Broadway theatrical producers His personality is so disarmingly | got wind of its theme, it is said, many | D y inamm and, above all. he is o offers followed for the script Iornlegui; inter i imself rather | mate stage production. The novelty o ‘{x}q‘;ent @ I}Je‘:lrz)%dhérgzbmv that | the story seemed to catch the fancy of | than a Holly William~ Brady, Richard Bennett and | by the time you have spoken 10| several others, who are said to have him for a minute or so you Won- | made offers of fancy sums for options. der, “Well, can this be the young | This so bewildered Huston Branch that | man whose name has run riot | he ended by not selling it at all. over the cinema world ever since Finally First National production ex- he sprang into its middle?” ecutives read the script and convinced His versatility is amazing. At Branch that only screen technique could the moment he is particularly in- bring out its dramatic possibilities to best advantage. Hence—! terested in Mary Wigman, and Z his own imitation of her death | dance, which convulses any au-| dience with the good fortune to | see it, should be classed among the best burlesques. He is a great admirer of Miss Wigman—in fact | he has told her so—but he can’t | help taking her a little “over the | coals.” The sight of him, barefoot, lin some kind of a drab costume, | with his assistant at the “percus sion” (which he supplies by hav- ing some one tap a row of semi- filled ginger-ale bottles) is some- | thing which a movie camera would do well to snap while the snaoping is good. Women admirers of Mr. No- varro will find him off the screen an_exact replica of his |cinema self. It is well worth | while watching a feminine group |at a Novarro gathering. His Latin | caljed a halt, smoothness and perfect courtesy | = “Mister,” he shouted, “would you mind to every one has not been over- | nailing between my toes?” \ Won't Be Bluffed. OBERT COOGAN is said to have only one bad habit, his continual dancing up and down, a matter which worries photographers who attempt to focus him, Cameraman Arthur Todd thought to end Robert's restlessness by announcing that if the jumping didn's cease he would have his feet nailed to the grovnd As the cameras lined up for a scene in the new Percy Crosby story, “Snocokv " | row at Loew's Palace, Robert returncd to his jumping. Figuring that he might stay quiet if the seriousness of his con- duct could be impressed upon him by the nailing process, Director Todd called cne of the laborers and ordered Robert's feet fastened to the ground. The boy never batted an eye as the worker placed a huge spike on his shoe. But as the hammer was raised Robert A