ANSWER CORNER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1936, Page 5 (Supplement)

ANSWER CORNER.

REPLIES TO INQUIRIES

-N.E. (Auckland). —Write to Nelson Eddy at Oulver City, Hollywood, U.S.A. "Dear Mr. Eddy" will do for that letter; certainly not "Mr. Eddy, Dear Sir." Many thanks for your bouquets. -FILM FAN (Auckland). —Rochelle Hudson was born on March 6, 1914, at Claremont, Oklahoma. She is sft 4in high and has dark brown hair and grey-blue eyes. Write to her at Movietone City, Hollywood, U.S.A.

DEL RIO (Coromandel). —Cast of "Ramona," as supplied by a correspondent : Ramona, Dolores Del Rio ; Alessandro, Warner Baxter; Felipe, Roland Drew; Senora Moreno, Vera Lewis; Juan Canito, Michael Visaroff; Father Salvierderra, John T. Prince; Marda, Mathilde Comont; a shepherder, Carlos Amor; bandit leader, Jess Cavin ; the dog, Jean. • -NO NAME (Auckland). —Charles Bickford is married and has two children. George Baft has been married, but is not at the present time. Tauber sang the following songs in "-Blossom Time": "Thine Is My Heart," "Love Lost Forever More," "Faith In Spring," "Serenade," "Red Roses," "Hark! Hark! the Lark!", "Marche Militaire" and "Once There Lived a Lady Fair." Tauber himself composed "Love Lost Forever More" and G. H. Clutsam was composer of "Once There Lived a Lady Fair." Schubert wrote all the others. -BROTHER ALFRED (Kamo). —Clara. Bow has definitely retired from films. Bebe Daniels, however, is in "Music is Magic." The murderess in "Thunder in the Night" was'played by Gloria Roy. The school mistress in "Becky Sharp" was portrayed by Elspeth Dudgeon, while the little coloured servant boy in the same film was done by James ("Hambone") Robinson. Helen Brown was ca6t as Mrs. Brady in "Diamond Jim." Yes, Jean Arthur played a dual role In that film, ai Emma Perry and Jane Matthews. Robert Taylor was not the hero of "The Perils of Pauline." His films are:— "Society Doctor" (debut), "Times Square Lady," "Murder in the Fleet" and "West Point of the Air." Your description of the song in "Love Me For Ever" is not sufficient for recognition. HONEST JOHN (Ponsonsy}.—lt is almost impossible to name the first talking film shown in Auckland- Generally, Al Jolson is said to have started the present vogue with "The Singing Fool'* and * The Jazz Singer," "but actually the history of "talkies" goes back to 1930, and even earlier. Prior to the Jolson "weepies at least four types of talkie machines were tried out in Auckland theatres. These were the Chrono-Megaphone, the Cinephone, Edison's invention whereby the projection-machine was connected with the screen by long silk threads, ana the De Forrest' system, which introduced sound-on-film —the basis of all talking films to-day. Jolson's pictures- wer ® * most successful reversion to the oiaer Bound-on-disc system, which was not unlike a gramophone record. .'JEAN PARKER FAN (Kongahu).—Margaret Sullavan is married, but Jean iarker is not Nor has Janet Gaynor remarried since her divorce from Lydeli Peck. Joel McCrea (married to Frances Dee), Was born in South Pasadena, California. and after leaving Pomona University there, he "set out to decide on what career would make the most money with the least amount of fatigue' — own words. He knew he was good-looking and the movies were close at nana, tie "crashed" the "extra" crowds, but remained .with them for two years before getting a good-sized part in The Jazz Age" in 1929. His subsequent films include "The Five o'clock Girl, J"c Single Standard" (with Garbo), ~ yn . mite," "The Silver Horde, Born to Love," "The Lost Squadron, Bird 01 Paradise," "The Sport Parade, J-'e Most Dangerous Game ( « Zaroff"), "Rockaby.e," "A Bed of "One Man's Journey," wirld " Lady," "The Richest Girl in the "Private Worlds," and "Barbary Coast. He had the male lead opposite Baroara 'Stanwyck in "The Gambling Lady. IHELEN ICAY (Waiwera) —Your sad-eyed hero of "Father Brown, Detective was Paul Lukas. Have you seen him as Atnos in "The Three Musketeers ? William Powell was male star of R« c o kle jL s " Myrna Loy, - a native of Montana, was christened Myrna Williams. Her next film is "The Great Ziegfeld,' again with William Powell. You are the first I have heard speak in harsh terms of her Dim work. As regards her age, she is just ao. And she has red hair and green eyes. No, Jean Parker is not married, and recently broke off her engagement to one Francis Lucus, an American bank cierK. Janet Gaynor is not making any more films for a while. She suffered concussion and other injuries in a fall wmle making "Way Down East" (in Rochelle Hudson eventually replaced her) and has made none since. Rosco ( stuttering") Atcs has gradually fallen into disfavour through the very medium of his success —his famous stutter. it aroused so many protests from school teachers, parents, etc., that he. was cast for a time in comedy roles without flis defect being used. However he was not a success and is hardly ever seen in films now. >FILM FAN (New Lynn).—King Philip of France in "The Crusades" was played by C. Henry Gordon. Cast of 'PowderSmoke Range": Tucson Smith, Marry Oarey; Stony Brooke, Hoot Gibson, Lullaby Joslin, Guinn "Bing Boy Williams; Jeff Ferguson, Bob Steele; Rundown Saunders, Tom Tyler; Caroline Sibley, "Boots" Mallory; Big Steve Ogden, the late Sam Hardy; Sourdough Jenkins, Francis Ford; Brose Glasgow, Adrian Morris; Jim Reece, Franklyn Farnum; ■Happy Hopkins, Bill Desmond ; Bud Taggert, Wally Wales: Rub Phelps, Art Mix; Tex Malcolm. Buffalo Bill, Jun., Bat Wing, Buzz Barton; Jake Elliott, Eddie Dunn; Chap Bell, Ray 1)311 Orcham, William Farnum. Addresses you want are: —Ann Harding, Tom Tyler and Bob Steele, care Radio Pictures, 7SU, Gower Street, Hollywood, U.S.A.; Henry Fonda, Movietone City, Hollywood, Reginald Denny, Culver .City, Hollywood , Henry Wilcoxon, care Paramount pictures, Inc., 5451, Marathon Street, Mollywood ; Jack Buchanan, care British ana Dominions Film Corporation, Boreham Wood, Elstree, Herts., England; Charles Starrett, not known. He is free-lancing for independent studios in Hollywood.

In "I Dream Too Much" New Zealanders will have a chance to hear one of the world's greatest sopranos, Lily Pons, do things that opera fans the world over have never seen her do. They will hear her sing her greatest "role from "Lakme" and in addition will hear her eing songs from the pen of Jerome Kern, America's most popular composer, the mail who wrote the lovely melodies "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "Lovely to Look At" for "Roberta." "I Dream Too Much," a song that might be called the theme and inspiration of the picture, ranks with Kern's best, while " The Little Jockey of Carrousel" is something quite different from anything the composer has ever done before. Henry Fonda, last year's romantic "find," Osgood Perkins and Eric Blore head the supporting cast.

Nearly every conceivable thing has happened to delay film companies when making a picture, from having the star get poison ivy or sunstroke down to elusive mechanical difficulties with the cameras and sound equipment. But the "top" in interruptions came during the filming of Gene Raymond's new feature, "Seven Keys to Baldpate." With nearly 100 big evergreens planted about the big "Baldpate Inn" set on one of the studio's largest stages, a loud-voiced cricket evidently ignored the rules about visitors and alighted on one of the trees. Remaining quiet for several days, the insect suddenly started chirping right in the middle of a dramatic scene between Raymond and his leading lady, Margaret Callahan, completely ruining the sound-track. When a second "take" was similarly spoiled, the directors, Edward Killy and William Hamilton, called a halt in production and set the entire company to work searching for the intruder, who complicated things by remaining silent and not betraying his whereabouts. After half an hour the cricket was finally tracked down, and picture-making was allowed to proceed.

With Katharine Hepburn, Edmund Gwenn, Cary Grant and Dennie Moore as tlie performers, an amusing and colourful pierrot show is staged as a feature of "Sylvia Scarlett." The show is identical with those which from time immemorial have entertained audiences. at English seaside villages, and is presented in an authentic setting representing a little town on the coast of Cornwall. Masquerading as a boy in the picture, Miss Hepburn is the "feeder" of the troupe. Gwenn is the comedian, Miss Moore is the soubrette, while Cary Grant is the baritone and pianist. The show, in addition to affording delightful comedy, features a dramatic recitation by Miss Hepburn. It also serves the essential 6tory function of introducing the star to Brian Aherne, her leading man in the romantic adventure film.

Funniest of all Hollywood's "accent stories" is tlie one which actually occurred when a film test was made by an elderly, dignified Chinese. When he spoke, it was with a rich Australian accent! Amazed, Karl Freund, at the camera, demanded, "How come?" "Oh, I say —I was in business in Australia for 40 years, don't-cher know!" explained Wong Min Lee, who is a wealthy importer from Northern California. "General Tu, he's a friend of mine, and awsked me to come down 'ere. But, really, I cawn't act in a picture. Oh, by jove! I've got six businesses to run. I just dropped in as a friend of the general, by jove!" It seems that General Theodore Tu, loaned by the Chinese Government to aid in the picture of "Good Earth," had met Wong at Sacramento, capital of California, and had invited him to Hollywood on a visit, then had insisted that he take a test for the movie.

Every producer aims at realism, but Mr. Harry Hughes, who is directing "The Improper Duchess," at Elstree, has gone a step further than most directors of pictures. Yvonne Arnaud in this production will wear £20,000 worth of jewels. She is the first film star to be so expensively jewelled for a talkie, and the gems, of course, are heavily insured. Two detectives have been engaged specially to look after them, and wherever Miss Arnaud goes the detectives follow.

Instant stardom, the dream of every hopeful screen player, is far more infrequent than generally imagined. When a new name blazes in the screen heavens it usually appears there only a'fter the person has experienced a long and tedious apprenticeship. New players, once "discovered" by talent scouts, frequently expect to be given immediate stardom, and become discouraged at a long succession of minor roles, failing to remember that Mae West, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Marlene Dietrich and other luminaries spent years in preparation for the stardom which eventually was theirs. Mao West was a sensation in her first picture, to be sure, but before that she had been many years on the stage, where she developed her unique entertainment style. Gable and Cooper both were "extras." Miss Dietrich played "extra" and small parts in Germany before she went to America. One of the few persons to reach stardom in a single picture, with no previous acting experience, was Bing Crosby. But even he already had been in vaudeville and on the radio before he went to Hollywood.

American custonis are difficult for Jasper Jammers, the strictly English butler of W. P. Lipscomb, the renowned British writer, to digest. Jammers lias been with Mr. Lipscomb ever since he served as his orderly in the World War and it was only natural that the novelist brought him to Hollywood when he joined Twentieth Centu.ry-Fox Studios. The other day he sent Jammers tc the library to get some books on the Span-isli-American War. Jammers helped himself and bicycled home. Now he took them back and started to make off with some others when an officer lying in wait, nabbed him. An explanation from Lipscomb of Jammers' lack of knowledge of how things are done in the United States, "got him off." W. P. Lipscomb is convincing proof that Hollywood is "the land of opportunity," where one is judged by ability and not intimate aquaintanceships. Arriving in Hollywood slightly over a year ago to write the screen play for his stage success, "Clive of India," Lipscomb proved of such worth that he was successively assigned to "Les Miserables," "Cardinal Richelieu," "A Tale of Two Cities," "A Message to Garcia" and "Under Two Flags."