FRED ASTAIRE CREATES NEW DANCE

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21909, 9 October 1936, Page 5

FRED ASTAIRE CREATES NEW DANCE

Waltz Certain to be Popular

f GINGER ROGERS CO-STARS IN “SWING TIME”

« - swing tunes became the music (jay, dancers have stumbled i w%nned about ballroom floors, atimprovise steps to fit the Sating rhythm. Astaire, appar“Zhastaken their problem to heart. of his past pictures, Astaire Jr Heated dances which have been ■“laup by academies, private inand thousands of the more tijtadajnateur enthusiasts in ballroom Many such adaptations •Sffteyond the mastery of the SSL dancer, however. . tremendously popular CariJftoTMually favoured Continental toe fascinating Piccolinp were a SatoTintricate and difficult in sunphSt tom for the ordinary run of balldancers. Such versions as were SSLTwere apt to be interpretations Iffioushistructors, with the CariS. tor example, being danced one £ New York and quite another inftaence of these past creations, Waver, has been such as to win Asffintemational recognition for havKmulated ballroom dancing more other one individual. As the his creations designed primarily Srthe public and within its scope, the swing waltz probably will be ?3Ln«i as the most important of the g&ntributions 'Tk the first definite dance created the “swing,” or flowing rhythm, mnsle which has taken the country by SSt Kis also a rejuvenation operaSTtor the waltz, most enduring but n»t neglected of modern dances TV CTfing waltz is introduced by iriairp and Ginger Rogers as one of Swir more spectacular team routines tethe current RKO Radio musical, jsnring Time.” Those who have seen ftnerrormed on the rehearsal stages jt to revive the waltz to a jimalarity greater than the old favourermjoyea even in the golden era d grandma’s and grandpa’s youth.

Naturally, Astaire and Miss Rogers present an intricate professional routine of the dance. Basically, however, the waltz in “Swing Time” is adaptable to the talents of rank and file dancers. The screen co-stars introduce the new dance to the Jerome Kern melody, “The Waltz in Swing _ime.” Jerome Kem, who scored “Roberta,” “Showboat,” and many other hits, wrote the music, and Dorothy Fields the lyrics of the “Swing Time” numbers. Six songs, “The Way You Look Tonight,” “A Fine Romance,” “Pick Yourself Up,” the electrifying “hot” “Bojangles of arlem,” “Never Gonna Dance,” and a unicue dance tune, “The Waltz in Swing Time,” are included in the picture. The swing waltz is the big dance feature of the film, and “Bojangles of Harlem,” created by John Harkrider, is a spectacular production number with Astaire and 24 dancing girls in black-face. The Story The new picture has an intricately romantic story, with both stars pursuing the course of true love through the obstacles offered by a, pair of rivals. Astaire is a cheerful gambler, seeking his fortune in Manhattan so he can go back to his home town and marry his childhood sweetheart; Miss Rogers is a dancing academy instructress who takes Astaire as a pupil, despite the glowering of an orchestra leader who intends to marry the lady. Complications come thick and fast, especially when Astaire’s fiancee arrives to find out what he is doing, and the band leader makes frantic efforts to break up the growing romance between Astaire and Miss Rogers. All this is interwoven with some of the catchiest song numbers and dances the famous pair have yet presented, and the hilarious counter play of a new screen comedy team in the persons of Victor Moore and Helen Broderick —a combination that gives “Swing Time” top honours in originality and entertainment value.

KgW FILMS AT CITY THEATRES

duce, they claim, sharper images and purer tone. The ultra-violet tone range is from 25 cycles (or vibrations a second) to 10,000 cycles. The extreme limits of the human voice are from about 100 vibrations a second, in the case of a deep bass, to about 3000 for a soprano. This applies only to what may be called the basic voice. Over-tones, which give a voice its character and enable us to distinguish it from another, may rise to 10,000 vibrations a second.

®lPAlE —“Dracula's Daughter,” •fcoißg Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden, Bd Marguerite Churchill. Thriller. PofomL CRYSTAL PALACE— “The Invisible W," starring Boris Karloff and Bella WftsL Drama. Universal. .ffiffi*~“The Prisoner of Shark Starring Warner Baxter and Drama. 20th Century *“*• Second week.

ON TIGHT LACING

Sing Again,” starring ■““"rßreen, -Musical, RKO Radio.

WHY IT WILL NEVER RETURN

f tNW PROCESS FOR film sound

JEANNETTE MACDONALD DISCOURSES

YIBST PICTURES SOON

“Women will never return to the hour-g-ass figures of 1906!” This was the statement of Jeanette ‘‘seaS'T/S'^sSg-room Mac Donald had just up” one of th. •to characteristic of 30 years ago, she role m “San Francisco u Spence r Ho C h! r Ted and woman with her the s&r conhnSld “I didn't myself, until I began wearing these costumes for pictures. Now I know I am safe °p?edSng that the »mst them.” Finding Suitable Garments Procuring the various items of lin^ gerie necessary to give real effect to the costumes proved a real problem tor the studio wanhohe department, working on San Francisco In the first place, a manufactur couldn’t be found who made nour glass” foundation sequently patterns ha £ H %Xinat2y and special items created. Fortunately, Jeanette MacDonald’s waist was ally so small that the severe lacing was unnecessary. ; ,Then came the Problem of high laced shoes, and high button shoes. Models were borrowed from . * „ manufacturers’ exhibits, and duplicates were made. Special attention was given the peculiar type of *\ ench . of the time, which was almost as hourgfa£ in shape as the approved feminine figure of the time. , “-The styles of the day were definit'ly picturesque,’ Miss Mac Donald said, “but wholly unstated to life as we live it to-day.” A Varied Repertoire Tn “«!an Francisco,” Jeanette MacDonald took npon herself the biggest Isss| Tufjgg Mac Donald was given-a musical J

®«ing “s’s,” warring over-tones, and tfechanical impediments to the greatly reduced by the recent vp** in sound-film technique, are to be brought near vanishingby a new process used by the Phototone Corporation, writes Dixon in the “Daily Telefaph.*

process has already been the 20th Century Fox, and Corporations in America and Boek studios in Britain. Process is based, like others, of light. Where it differs Violet depends on a very narrow range of rays. R.C.A. have been ranuce this distortion and pro-

NEWS FROM THE STUDIOS

Cabled advice has just been received by British Empire Films that Bette Davis, 1936 Academy Award winner, has signed a contract to make two pictures in England for Toeplitz productions.

The script of London Films’ production “The Man Who Could Work Miracles,” was written by H. G. We Is from his book of the same name. Lothar Mendes directed. The cast is headed by Roland Young, Joan Gardner, Ralph Richardson. Ernest Thesiger, Robert Cochrane, and Lady Tree. The stoxy revolves around the unusual and amusing consequences which follow when a humble village shop assistant. Fotheringay, discovers that he possesses the power to work miracles. This ordinary and everyday individual finds himself the centre of incredible happenings. Idealists urge him to reconstruct the world, while reactionaries try to kill him. He becomes intoxicated by his own greatness, and finally stops the sun from setting and commands the earth to stop rotating. All is chaos, and Fotheringay, wearying of his exalted position, commands that the earth and sun shall revert to their former routine and that he shall lose his power to work miracles.

When Wheeler and Woolsey return from their jaunt to Europe, they will find a picture awaiting them which should suit them excellently. The story, ‘“A Pair of Sixes,” tells of the predicament ot two fighting business partners, who finally resort to a game of poker to settle their differences — winner to take the business, loser to act as his butler.

James Raglan, the man who plays the title role in “The Flying Doctor,” was educated at King’s School, Canterbury, and the naval training ship Conway. He saw active service with the Grand Fleet from May, 1918; until April, 1919. In 1924 he made his first aopearance on the London stage, at the Queen’s Theatre, in “Silence.” He has since played in a number of successes at most London theatres, and has toured Australia. James Raglan’s talkie debut was made in “The Last Hour.” He was also featured in “The Rasp,” “Two-Way Street,” “The Chinese Puzzle,” “Insult,” and “Brown on Resolution.” His favourite sports are swimming, flying, riding, skating, golf, tennis, and squash rackets. He is on the Reserve of Royal Air Force officers.

From now on, Maureen O’Sullivan plans to wear fresh flowers in the lapels of her tailored suits, for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer player has invented a clever little gadget to keep the blossoms from wilting. It is a long, tubilar arrangement made from glass and fashioned to fit exactly over a stem. The bottom of the tube contains a moist sponge. The tube, which fits in the under side of the lapel, is waterproof, thus protecting the suit but giving the flower sufficient moisture to keep it alive.

The historic settings and costumes of “Mary of Scotland,” soon to be released, are an important feature of the picture. Approximately 45 sets were used. Queen Elizabeth’s lavish Whitehall Palace, and the picturesque Scottish castles—Holyrood, Fotheringay, Dunbar, and Lochleven—are reproduced in all their authentic splendour. Two thousand yards of the richest velvets, brocades, embroideries, and laces were used by Walter Plunkett, the noted designer, who created the sixteenth century wardrobe for the cast. One hundred pounds of jewellery contribute to the general effect of luxury of the Scottish and English courts of that period.

With cbtmpagne bubbling over her deck rail, Hollywood’s own “Queen Mary” was “launched” the other day. The sea on which she rode was a solid planking of pine timber; the cloudless sky over her giant funnels was a sheet of canvas, and the wind that swept her decks blew fri~n the nozzles of a gasoline-motored air machine. But the champagne, the enthusiasm, and the dignitaries at the “.aunching” were real. The “Queen Mary” is a built-to-size replica of the boat and play deck of the giant new Cunard-White Star liner of that name, erected on the sound stages of the United Artists studios for the filming of sequences in the Samuel Goldwyn production, “Dodsworth.” The motion picture boat structure exactly duplicates the dimensions of England's queen of the seas. The design was made by Richard Day after the steamship company and the British Government had given their permission for use of the ship's blueprints. Film “shots” made on these decks will be matched with pictures of the actual Queen Mary which were taken on the liner’s maiden voyage by a Goldwyn camera crew.

The really outstanding talking picture success during August-September was the Jessie Matthews musical, “It’s Love Again,” which was still showing to crowded houses in Sydney when it had to be temporarily withdrawn to enable “The Flying Doctor” to be shown on a pre-arranged date. However, “It’s Love Again” will resume its interrupted run so soon as the screen is clear again. Its premiere in New Zealand at the Plaza Theatre, Wellington, is set for to-day.

repertoire ranging from ballads and hymns to the most difficult operatic arias. In the film she sings the “Jewel Song” from “Faust,” other excerpts from that opera, the prison trio with Mephistopheles and Faust, an aria rom “La Traviata,” “The Holy City,” “Love Me and the World Is Mine,” “A Heart That Is Free,” Gounod’s “Ave Maria,” “Nearer My God to Thee,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and two popular songs written especially for the film, “San Francisco” and “Would You.”

den, the home of Rembrandt’s father, singing and dancing will be shown to old seventeenth century folk songs and accompanied by genuine instruments of the period such as rommelpot, serpent, bagpipes, and clarinet. On the technical side, it would be hard to find a more suitable selection of talent for the making of a vivid and an authentic film about the great Dutch painter. The art director, Vincent Korda, is himself a painter and etcher of distinction on the Continent. The cameraman, Georges Perinal, who