Evening Star Newspaper, February 28, 1932, Page 47

|7 Stage, | Musi Screen and ¢ Reviews Part 4—8 Pages AMUSEMENT SECTION he Sunday Star, M&o},‘ | Aviatioh; Radio Programs WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, —— Clive Brook and Marl “Shanghai Express” ene Dietrich '—Earle. New York Stage Goes in For Series of Thrilling Plots and M Drodicer WioodsllsBack Which May Entitle Him to Resume His Place in the Drama—Ot By Percy Hammond. H. WOODS casts a defiant eye in the direction of o adversity, and, renewing his struggles on behalf of the drama, presents a play about modern outlawry entitled “The Inside Story.” He has been missed since his overthrow by bankruptcy at the beginning of the season, anc_his return to activity is re- garded by many as symptomatic of livelier happenings in the the- ater. Mr. Woods has suffered the wreck of his fortunes gallantly, I am told, viewing it in the fashion of those lofty souls who can look beyond vicissitude and see fate wreathed in rainbow smiles. Even in the bleakest hours of his in- solvency he was able to jest. For instance, when it was time for him to distribute his Christmas largess he mailed defunct Germany cur- rency to his creditors, and on each note was written: “This money used te be good. So did show « business.” i The play, treating of murder, has much opposition in Broadway, since 10 of the recent dramas are founded on the habit of man- slaughter. It, however, is notable in its school for the intricacy of its principal crime. Whereas most of its rivals are content to shoot, stab or poison by the simplest of methods, “The Inside Story” kills tortuously and with almost inhu- man craftiness. It makes homicide an art, remarkable for its cun- ning knack of concealment. The strategems and tactics of its chief miscreant—a luxurious New York gangster—amaze by their snake- like convolutions, and cause ordi- nary assassinations to be looked upon as humdrum. Ernest Truex’s scheme in “Whistling in the Dark” is a good one. While an annoying district attorney slumbers in a sleeping car his tube of toothpaste is abstracted from his traveling kit. After it has been tainted with cyanide of potassium it is returned to his reticule with the expectation that upon its use the next morning he will pass away without trace. In “Black Tower” the loony murderer’s procedure of destruction is to freeze the arteries of his victim with embalming fluid. Black magic, I believe, is employed in “Trick for Trick” to erase the villain from the play. But in the others, “Mourning Be- comes Electra,” “Monkey,” “The Fatal Alibi,” “Blessed Event,” “If Booth Had Missed” and “Ten Nights in a Bar Room,” the re- movals are achieved with no re- freshing innovations. * ook % JHEN Louis Carrotta in “The Inside Story” embarks on an errand of depopulation he medi- tates on means by which he will escape punishment. A tall, well dressed, reptilian racketeer in the verson of Louis Calhern, he is a power in State and municipal governments. Desiring to be rid of two acquaintances whose exist- ence irritates him, he presses some buttons in his voluptuous flat and sets the lethal machinery in opera- tion. First he permits one of them to escape from Sing Sing, whither he has been railroaded on an un- Just charge of forgery. With split- second calculations he arranges for the fugitive to arrive at Nick Bernstein's room in the Parkside Hotel at the instant that Bernstein is exterminated by a gun shot Also that he himself and an hon- est captain of police will reach the scene a moment later and con- front the innocent fellow with undeniable evidence of his guilt. The situation seems a perfect thing in the way of cogwheel alibi, and you may be astounded when eventually it fails to work. All the familiar paraphernalia of urban vice plays is utilized in “The Inside Story”—the masterful crime king; his courtiers rough and smooth; a good reporter and a bad one; a weak Governor and his son-in-law; a weak district attorney; politics; a golden-haired baby girl, and a sinning though noble lad“f‘snuw who is the instrument of retribu tion at the last. 43 They are dove- tailed efficiently, however, as are - the episodes of the play, which move quickly, but without haste.| Harry Bannister, & vivid bit of theatrical! Mary Duncen. urder Yarns With “The Inside Story.“: her Theater News. lithography and I believe that it entitles Mr. Woods to resume his position of opulence and power among the Broadway drama’s overlords. "THIS is the second time within a ! week that the drama has made New York the butt of its detrac- tions. Although the authors of | “The Inside Story,” Messrs. Bryant |and Verdi, say that it happened 'in “A Midwestern City,” I am not | to be fooled by that cautious dis- | avowal and insist that it occurred | | within walking distance of Long- | | acre Square. Unlike Chicago. | which prohibits the theater from | | making libelous pictures of it,| |New York welcomes calumny. In| | “Face the Music,” the best revue| |I ever looked at, Messrs. Irving | Berlin and Moss Hart revile the -netropolis in merry quip and| caricature, and not a whimper is | to be heard from the residents or | | their governors. It starts gayly with jokes about‘ | the famine, showing the erstwhile | |rich in glum celebration at an | automat. Actors are peddled along | | Broadway in pushcarts, and Roxy'’s | | advertises four feature films and | 2 room with bath, all for a thin| dime. Ballyhooers are stationed | at the doors of Fifth Avenue shops, one of whom boasts that | his eloquence has persuaded two begears to enter and spend the day. The Palace Theater is a | nickelodeon with a bill including | Dr. Einstein, Ethel Barrymore, Aimie McPherson, Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson and a free lunch. “Is| |the Empire State Building for | sale?” some one asks Miss Mary Boland. “No,” she answers, “they’re | still trying to rent it.” None of | those present laughed more will- | ingly at this jibe Wednesday night | than did the ex-Gaovernor, who sat | across the theater from the mayor. | | And the mayor, too, proved his| ability to “take it” when the sport | began to get rough with municipal | affairs. _For it is the whim of the libret- tists to show that all the money in New York is in possession of thc} police. When Andrew Tombes, as | an insolvent impresario, fails to get credit for his costumes, the citv’s richest man offers to back him. That benefactor played by Hugh O’Connell is a quaint police- man with profitable prohibition contacts and a collection of tin boxes. He and his chorus become the angels of “The Rhinestone Glrl,”_and the City Hall is also lured into the investment. “Wh- not?” inquires the sheriff. “The bankers put money into the mo- tion picture business.” It is all as brash and impudent as a dinner of the Gridiron Club. In Comedy Field. JPRODUCTION is scheduled to start today at the Hal Roach Studios on latest Zasu Pitts-Thelma Todd tentatively titled “Hot Har- | mony.” The story is an original writ- | ten by Paul Gerard Smith, noted | comedy scenarist. | With prospects of & vacation in the offing Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, | comedians, are planning to leave in June for London, England. They expect |to spend several weeks in and around | London possibly making _personal appearances, having already been assured of suitable bookings. Stan Laurel, a native of London, is making the trip essentiajly to see his parents who reside there. He visited them last in 1927. It is possible the | comedian will also visit Germany, France, Switzerland and other neigh- boring ‘countries. * % kiok the come } Barrymore's New One. | ¢«QTATE'S ATTORNEY,” starring| | John Barrymore, is in production | |t the R-K-O-Radio studios, with Irving | Pichel directing. Opening scenes were | | filmed in a metropolitan political club | | setting with 150 players participating and a six-plece Hawailan orchestra pro- | viding music. Coincident with the | starting of production, numerous addi- {tions were made to the cast. Lee an unctuous boss of | Phelps, Robert Wayne, Harry Stafford, | R. H. Mitchell, Bernie Lamont, George | Reed, Nicholas Koblinsky and Leflani | 0od were given parts. Miss Sher- ood, a native Hawailan dancer from | the Island of Maui, was signed. Fea- | tured support for Barrymore in the pic- |ture is provided by Helen Twelvetress, Jilj, Esmond and | Leonora Fague, “The Gondoliers”— Belasco. Making Their Debut HE new Washington Clv Opera Co,, conducted by fred Manning, is making its but at the Belasco Theate the Gilbert & sullivan o “The Gondoliers,” beginni morrow evening. Among prominent local concert and dio artists who are members of the cast are Nina Norman, Has- seltine Dunn, Alma Harris, L« nora Fague, Harriet Gunde: Beverly O'Brien, Ira Philip Meyer, Henry Nestor, Kroon Bagranoff, Edward Stock, jr.; Ray ott, Paul Garber, Howard Rita Reyos, Lorraine B Gerald Flood. 1o Between Scenes. F you want to know what screen actors and actresses are like, watch what they do between scenes, when the technicians are preparing the cameras, lights and properties for the next shot. Some of the stars study their roles to “keep in character” during these 10- | minute recesses, but most of them use the time for relaxation from the strain of work under the burning lights. George Bancroft once was a devotee to the keeping in character creed, but during production of “The World and the Flesh,” his latest Paramount picture, he is spending his time talking to other cast members, studying his script only when the succeeding scene promises to be_difficult. Maurice Chevalier usually does some- thing directly connected with his work. While “One Hour With You" was being filmed he spent much time practicing the songs in an undertone or rehearsing pantomime. Every available moment between scenes of ‘Shanghai Express” was used by Marlene Dietrich in conference with her director, Josef von Sternberg, working out the details and psychology of the next scene On the other hand, Claudette Celbert’s habit 1s to talk with friends. If there is time she may go to her dressing | room to listen to her favorite phono- graph record. Fredric March generally sits in a camp chair reading a book, but he has moments of levity when he imitates workers on the set, from prop boys to players and the director. | Richard Arlen rehearses with other “cues.” | straightening out players, employs an old cowboy Gary Cooper custom of whittling a stick while rest- | This he attributes to his early ranch training. Occasionallly he sketches. He was a cartoonist before he became an_actor. Nancy Carroll has a small writing stand on the sets where she works and writes letters. She frequently is found reading between scenes. Tallulah Bankhead believes in keep- ing in character and wants nothing to jar her or cause her to forget the “character she is portraying, even for a moment, feeling that this will ruin her mood and possibly mar the con- tinuity of her characterization. Owners to Convene. THE twelfth annual Convention of Motion Picture Theater Owners of America will be held at the Mayflower Hotel, March 14, 15 and 16. An out- standing feature will be the dinner given in the ball room of the hotel, Tuesday evening, March 15. Realizing the place for speeches is in the convention meeting, the committee representing the theater owners, with A. Julian Brylawski chairman, is sponsor- ing and preparing a dinner program such as only the facilities of the motion picture industry are able to provide. ‘The stage and screen will be drawn on for personal appearances of the stars. The dinner will be “short on talk but long on entertainment.” It can already be announced that Eddie Dowling, the musical comedy star and producer, has accepted an invita- tion to act as master of ceremonies and he will be assisted by associates in his musical successes. Every theater in Washington will furnish entertainment. ing. . | side world he WAL LACE BEERY Richard Dix, “The Lost Squadron”—Keith's. Stage and Screen Aftractions This Week BELASCO—“The Gondoliers.” NATIONAL—No attraction this GAYETY—“Innocent Maids.” ON THE ‘The Lost Squadron.” EARLE—-“Shanghai Express.” FOX—“The Gay Caballero.” Af RIALTO—“Murders in the Rue ning. METROPOLITAN—“The Man Who Played God.” Afternoon and evening. COLUMBIA—*“Hell Divers.” Aft Forrest Orr Returns. | ORREST ORR, for several sea- | sons one of the outstanding | members of the National Thea- | ter Players, has been signed by | the management to return and play comedy roles during the eighth annual Spring and Summer season, | soon to open. A thespian of marked ability. For- Test Orr's experience in the theater has carried him throughout the length and | breadth of the land as a supporting member of many stock companies Years ago he was a member of the celebrated stock company which played Poli's Theater when Izetta Jewel Was | leading lady and Van Buren the lead- | ing man. Then Mr. Orr played juve- | nile roles. That was the real beginning | of his career in the theater, although he had served an earlier apprenticeship in his native State, Texas. | With an elder brother, Forrest Orr | started out in life as a rancher—a real | | American cowboy. It was while throw- | | ing a lariat that he got his first glimpse | into showmanship. When the Miller | Brothers organized the old 101 Ranch, they looked for material in Oklahoma | and Texas. Thelr scouts went all the way down to the Rio Grande, and on a thousand-acre tract they discovered Forrest Orr. M. Orr had one year as a rider with the wild west troupe. It brought him into contact with an out- | had known nothing | about. Then was born a desire to g0 | |on the stage. So, setting aside lariat, | sombrero and chaps, Forrest Orr went to Dallas, and got his first speaking | part on the stage. It happened to be a | character role, that of a young | cowpuncher. From Dallas to Broadway is & long hop, but Orr made it by perseverance. | It was not by any means a straight | line that brought him to the electric | lights of Broadway, for he trouped in | all the small towns of his native State and afterward went to Louisiana, where one season he played in New Orleans. Then up the seaboard coast, he came to Washington, Where he joined forces with the old Poli Players, and after that it was easy sailing into New York Now he has signed the contract which calls for his appearance here with the National Theater Players in their eighth annual season. He writes: “It will seem like old times to get back to Washington and all the good folks | I know in Nation's Capital this particylar Washington i the | | Opening tomorrow evening. This afternoon and evening. Afternoon and evening. Afternoon and evening. At | into the lens, an interpreter explained \to"¥on Stermbesy 7 week. SCREEN. Afternoon and evening. ternoon and evening. Morgue.” Afternoon and eve- ernoon and evening. center of all eyes, with the Bicenten- nial celebration the talk of the entire country. I consider myself rather | lucky to be able to cast my fortunes | again with the theatrical troupe that members of the profession believe to | be the top notch among all existing | companes.” At present Mr. Orr is doing his bit | with a Broadway troupe and will re- | main at his post until the curtain falls on a performance one, week before the opening here. Then he will turn® the reins over to an understudy, who hap- pens to be another young man raised in the Panhandle country. Dummy Cameras. "T'O set the desired crowd action and outwit “lens hogs,” mostly Orfental extras with an uncontrollable penchant for staring directly into the camera while scenes were being filmed, Direc- tor Josef von Sternberg had to set up 2 dummy camera and microphone for certain sequences in his current pic- ture. More than 1,000 men, women and children of all ages and representing many races were recruited for the story, which is laid in the present war-torn area of China, with Marlene Dietrich starred and Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Eugene Pallettee and Warner Oland in supporting roles. When Von Sternberg started work on location at San Bernardino, where the Santa Fe Railway station, main line tracks and adjoining streets had been | transformed into Peking, China, termi- | nal, many of the extras, who had never worked in pictures, insisted upon peer- | ing into the camera lens during film- | ing. Von Sternberg kept admonishing them, through interpreters, to pay no attention to the “evil eye,” but they could not resist the tempation to steal an_occasional peek. The dummy camera ruse finally was adopted, with the director conducting rehearsals from beside it. Ready for action, he would saunter away, leaving an assistant to keep the attention of the Orientals, and then shoot the scene from another angle. Some of the older Chinese, men in their 70s and 80s, believe it is impossible for the camera to register their images unless they gaze FEBRUARY 28, 1932. Conchita Monte- negro, “The Gay Caballero”—Fox. New York Theater Notes By Noel Thornton. EW YORK, February 27 (#).—Mak- of a Broadway hit before expected. This is Been Levy's “The Devil Passes,” which has been a play leader for 12 weeks and must go on tour while still attracting profitable audiences. ‘The comedy is a peculiar one which demands a group of 10 stars, especially cast for their individual roles. Diana Wynyard, Basil Rathbone, Cecelia Loftus, Robert Loraine, Ernest Cossart, May Nash and Ernest Thessinger are among the players. Most of them en- tered the play with previously signed contracts which demand their early de- parture for Hollywood. So producer | Arch Selwyn is sending the company | | them to the movies. The tour begins in Boston March 28. in ‘The Group ‘Theater, that coterie of youthful stage experimenters sponsored last Fall by the Theater Guild, has been set upon its own and is now an independent theater. Having already offered the successful “The House of Connolly” and the unsuccessful “1931—,” they now have in production Maxwell Taos.” It was first called “City For- gotten.” Franchot Tone, & young actor from Buffalo, who has become one of Broad- way's outstanding leading men, has the leading role. He is constantly offered very lucrative contracts by other man- fers doing experimental work with the Group Theater at a lower salary. Only three new plays are due to ar- rive next week, the first one being the Theater Guild’s production of the Irish drama, “The Moon and the Yellow River.” On the following night, Peggy | the wife of a millionaire movie mag- nate, makes her debut as a Broadway manager. She will present “Child of | Manhattan,” newest play of Preston | Sturges, who wrote “Strictly Dishon- |orable.” Dorothy Hall and Reginald Owen have the leading roles. The Provincetown Playhouse resumes the theatrical season in Greenwich Village again with a play called “Park Avenue, Ltd.” Rosalie Stewart increases the ranks of woman producers on Broadway when she places in rehearsal next week Lester Cole’s new play, “Still Born.” Several years ago Miss Stewart was one of the town’s leading managers until she quit to become a vaudeville executive. She also is known as the one who discovered Harriet Hoctor, the dancer. Now that his production of “When the Bough Breaks,” with Pauline Frederick as star, Arthur Lubin is resuming his program with two new plays. One is “A Trip to Pressburg,” which he purchased from Max Reinhardt, and the other is “Mardi Gras,’ by Flo Flelds. Witiin another couple of fortnights Lubin will go to California, where he plans to try out two other new plays in the Pasadena Playhouse. | Mouse Beat Him. AMONG & recent arrival of fan let- <% ters from China addressed to El Brendel, the character comedian, now appearing at the Fox Theater, was one from a newspaper man in Shanghai, who informed El that, as the result of | a recent voting contest among patrons | of the cinema theaters there, Brendel | and Mickey Mouse topped the list with Mickey winning by about 50 votes. Lau- rel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd and Chap- lin were high up in the list when the final votes were counted. “Imagine following a mouse,” was EI's comment, | Fears, former “Follies” beauty and now | well on its way, | | Triangle dramati Jean Hersholt and Marie Dressler “Emma”—Palace, Stars Who T winkle for oy A Brief Period and Then Fade Into Darkness Promising Youngsters of Measure Up to Au placing Blame Whe | EOPLE are always saying, P “What's happened to so- and-so? You never hear | of him or her any more. Why, Iremember when we thought that——" and they embark cn a | series of reflections which have to ing an unexpected thrust at the|do with last year’s screen celebri-| drama, the films are forcing the closing ties, their glories and their prom-, |ises and what has been the out- |come. And that leads to one | thing and another, until finally | the circle is completed and you | begin wondering yourself “What's happened to so-and-so?” and are touching the field of those screen personalities who seemed to hold 50 much promise and now are slipping away on the tide of also- *ans. A brom'mem film celebrity said recently, “You know it’s funny how a certain company builds up out on a quick tour before releasing | its stars, and how a certain other | company lets them down.” That brings up the question: Is it the company that does the building |or is it the star that builds him- | self or herself? And who is re- sponsible for that state of things which has provoked the question, | “What’s happened to so-and-so?” | There is the case of Nancy Car- Anderson’s newest drama, “Night Over |roll, which illustrates much of the| ‘above. A year ago Miss Carroll was reaping such praise as seemed | to indicate that she was heading | straight for stardom. A year be- | fore that, she had been a modest |flower, blooming prettily but agers and movie companies, but he pre- undemonstratively along mu.sical; dy,” comedy byways, and provokin | polite "but not overwhelming a | plause. Then some one said, |“Nancy can act.” Some one else said, “I'll show you.” And Nancy acted. At first some of the doubt- ers said “Good,” when the true apostles said “Great,” and “Very | Good” when the others said “Ex- |cellent.” But not many months | ago the verdict was fairly unani- | mous that Miss Carroll was near | perfection, and that given this {and that opportunity she should |attain the heights that many dream of and few achieve. Today the old question arises, “What’s happensd to Nancy Car- roll?” And what has? Where is g D- | near to capturing—where the laurels that were waiting to be delivered at her doorstep—where the fame that seemed on the verge of becoming a landslide? | _Miss Carroll, in other words, has | not delivered the goods. Or per- haps the goods haven't been de- livered to her. At any rate, she is not where the publicity guns were prone to place her. The same may be said of Phillips | Holmes. This young Princeton | thespian, first plucked from the front ranks of the Prmceton‘ { c corporation by | the discerning eye pot Budd§ Rogers, was boomed almost out of sight and his future painted with garish brightness—and now, | suddenly, it is admitted fairly | generally around and about that he is a nice actor “with two ex- pressions.” Even Director Lubitsch does not seem to have been able to swell his expressions into three. | that crown which she came so the Screen Who Failed to dience Requirements. relt Really Belongs. By E. de S. Melcher. | matter of fact, he may almost be | said to have kept strictly to one, Mr. Holmes’ fate is not quite sq | lugubrious as Miss Carroll’s, since he never was as near the top. Bul the public wonders why their lof has not improved, andewhy espe« cially this handsome lady of the amber locks has not clinched suc+ |cess. Is it the company’s faul | as some one said, or is it her faull —and ditto with Mr. Holmes? In Miss Carroll’s case the blamgq may be divided half and half bes tween the studio and herself. In Mr. Holmes’ case, the blame mus{ be set primarily and absolutely a{ his own door. While Miss Carroll has tried more than half-hearteds ly, Mr. Holmes seems not to havq tried at all. Or, if he has, he hay |set a false sandard for himself, | While the lady has been given Roor stories and directors wig ave not brought out her best Holmes has had even such 3 | wizard as Lubitsch to work for and the results even then havq | been negative. | So while one may say that this | or that actor is “let down” by § | certain studio, only to go somes ’where else and be given the boosi that seems to get him where hq | belongs, the fault very often lieq |in the man himself. Certainly | neither of these two have done th¢ | extraordinary things that werg ‘Eredlcted for them. Holmey | bungled one of the finest roles of | the year in “The American Trag- and "that certainly wasn{ mpany’s fault. Even though, then, the studios may “make the or break chem,” the breaking poin it would seem lies often with the |actor himself. After all, a may with “two expressions” can't be great actor—and is it the studio’ | fault if he hasn’t three? * ok ok ox | | the col THE three pictures which are be+ ing held over this week in th¢ cinema houses are interestingly diversified in topic. “Hell Divers' is glorified by the United Statey Navy and by Berry’s excellent per. ‘ormance. “The Man Who Played ;God” is a second-rate picture made eloquent by the acting of George Arliss, and “Murders iy the Rue Morgue” is a hodge-podgq of horror, for which somehow thig department sees little use. The latter may be set down ag a first cousin of “Frankenstein,” | but thoroughly inferior in treate ment to it and so chuckfull of inightmare actions and unpleass antnesses that one is inclined tq wonder why the ghost of Wil | Jays didn’t rise up and strike it | dead in its infancy. As it stands, |it is a garish series of hideoug deeds which makes any spectatoy feel uncomfortable. It is neithey pleasant nor relaxing entertaine ment. The best that can be said for it is that it is one notch bettet than “Freaks,” last week’s picturq at the Palace, which definitely In “The American Tragedy,” as a | struck the rock-bottom level of the yflr. Mishaps in “Twin Beds" Cast, With| Madg’e Kennedy as Star. Experienced Series of Dis- couraging Accidents Be- | fore play Was Staged. HE coming to Washington next week of Madge Kennedy at the National Theater in the comedy, “Bridal Wise,” in which she has & part of the farcical type in which she has scored so successfully, brings to mind her triumphs in the play, “Twin Beds.” Apropos of that play there is a story of its final dress rehearsal, which was visited by a series of mishaps upsetting enough to have discouraged any group of people, let alone a cast of more or less super- stitious actors and actresses. First, Georgle Lawrence, playing the part of the maid and having to lock a burglar in a closet, found the busi- nas eflo ness a bit awkward and the actor play-| Als¢. the members of the \ing”tha Tergies i & fanda S0% kot SIS 2 e @b Rehearsal help her, brought his hand up quicl and, instead of sweeping ble:kq wkmbl obstructing clothes, caught Miss Laws rence a blow cn 'the chin, knocking her completely out. Next, Miss Kennedy, rushin, her dressiry room, % a5 noy & q late for her cue, dashed a long mirros to the floor, where the glass smasned to atoms. When she got on the stage & costly neglige that she was weari caught on one of the posts of a b and was torn beyond repair. Then thq leading man climbed into one of the beds, with the result that it broke down and he was precipitated to the floor. The climax to the list of mise haps came when Miss Kennedy lay oq one of the beds for a couple of minuteg awaiting her turn to speak and, wor out by strenuous rehearsing, was f to be soundly asleep when her cugq came. Incidentally, the entire “Twin Beds” company was under half salary, S0 bad was the business it played tq during its first three weeks, yet the farce became one of the biggest money| makers in the history of the !hmlerl