Too Many Stage Plays

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 134, 4 December 1930, Page 21

Too Many Stage Plays

There appears at the moment to be a considerable vogue in English pictures (says a writer in the "Daily Mail"). There have been two, or possibly three, English talk-films which have been better than the rest of the world's best. These were acclaimed at the outset in the "Daily Mail," and now echoes o£ that acclamation may be heard coming from elsewhere. "Rookery Nook" is so different from the established brand of American humour that it entertains even the film-weary public of New York. That happy pair of comedians, Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn, have worked long together at the Aldwych Theatre. Mr. Walls has an instinct for timing his own jokes. He is the perfect retailer of humour. And humour, Heaven knows! is the urgent need of the films during this prolonged hiatus in the Charlie Chaplin story. As the "Daily Mail" announced, the new Chaplin comedy will be seen in London during the Christmas season. It is a silent'film, with added noises. Charlie is an-Englishman who works in the United States, and who most stubbornly refuses to renounce his nationality. 'I fear that his film will make excessively small beer of these elaborately photographed versions of the plays of the Aldwych wits. The talking screen so fa; has been strangely deficient in native wit. "Rookery Nook" on the stage reduced me to helpless laughter. The process was repeated when I saw the thing on the screen. Talk-films had hitherto been so empty of robust laughter. They had concerned themselves so much with pretentious talk that ■ laughter apparently had been forgotten—particularly the kind of laughter which Charlie Chaplin can evoke. This fetish for stage plays, though, if it is persisted in, will kill the English film. There is, as one example only, the case off Mr. Lonsdale's comedy, "Canaries Sometimes Sing." This film was made at Elstree under the supervision of Mr. Wilcox, and the "production" of Mr. Walls. No line which Mr. Lonsdale writes can fail to be witty. I saw the film at a private, show just after it was finished. I chuckled continually at the wit o£ its words and of its situations. Yet I had seen the stage play, and I knew that the whole measure of the wit of the original was lacking in the film. I laughed at the film—yet I felt cheated. I knew that Mr. AVileox and Mr. Walls in alliance with Mr. Lonsdale could make a better job than that. The uncomfortable truth is that the stage play had been transferred to Elstree and there acted again before a camera. It is easy to do that kind of tiling. Mr. Walls is the greatest producer, and certainly one of the most original "comics" in the English theatre. But I suggest that he could make much better films than hitherto he has done. I suggest that this_ easy method of merely photographing his stage play business will presently weary cinema audiences; that unconsciously they will recognise that the stage has boundaries which are unknown to the film.

Dorothy Arzner. Dorothy Arsmer, director of "Sarah and Son" and "The Better Wife," has been dispatched to the Paramount studios in New York to take charge of Claudette Colbert's next all-talking film, as yet nntitled. Production is scheduled to commence shortly, with Fredrie March heading a cast of stage and screen players. His Passenger. Wallace Beery, has found a new "customer" for his aeroplane. He takes George Hill, his director, up daily. While on location at San Pedro in Metro-Goldwyn's "Bill and Mm," Hill and Beery "commuted" with the 'plane every day. "Hook, Line, and Sinker." Hollywood's record-breaking screen courtship contest goes merrily onward. The bitter rivalry between Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey for the hand of petite Dorothy Lee will continue through the comedy situations in the trio's latest screen vehicle, "Hook, Line, and Sinker," shortly to go into production at the RKO Radio Pictures studios in Hollywood under the direction of Luther Reed. The announcement is made by William Le Baron, vice-president in charge of production. Wheeler and Woolsey were first seen with Miss Lee in "Rio Rita"; later in "The Cuckoos"; with the third episode of their hectic romance to be revealed in "Half Shot at Sunrise," shortly to be released. Lupita Tovar. ' ; Lupita Tovar, the vivacious Mexican actress, acted as guide to < Fernando and Guilhermo Ortiz-Rubio when the two sons of the Mexican President visited Universal studios to see how talking pictures are made recently. Miss Tovar was proclaimed a dramatic artist by 300 Spanish writers, actors, and directors who attended a studio preview of the Spanish version of "The Cat Creeps." Miss Tovar is cofeatured with Antoio Moreno in this play. "The Cisco Kid." As soon as Edmund Lowe and Warner Baxter finish "Scotland Yard" and "Renegades" respectively, they will _team up again as co-stars in "The Cisco Kid." Comedy Veteran. Leo White, screen veteran, who, as the Count, co-starred with Charlie Chaplin in many of his early films, plays one of the chief comedy roles in "Along Came Youth," Charles Rogers's current Paramount musical production. Lloyd Corrigan and Norman M'Leod are co-directing the film, with Frances Dee, Stuart Erwin, William Austin, and Evelyn Hall in the cast. Denny Writes. Reginald Denny, aside from being an. actor, is a writer. He has written several successful motion picture stories,_ a number of stage plays, in some of which he appeared, and is now engaged in writing a novel between scenes in "Those Three French Girls," at the Metro-Gold-wyn-Mayer studios. "The Pay-off." The title of Lowell Sherman's current directorial and starring production has been changed from "The Losing Game" to "The Pay Off." Two-reelers. Sam Hardy, the flashy prize fight manager of "The Leather Pushers," and Hallam Cooley, well-known screen comedian, were signed by Universal for its new "Red Star" comedy series of ten two-reelcrs, which will have an array of talent in miscellaneous subjects of wide variety. Hardy and Cooley will team tip in "Meet the Wife"'as the first of their contributions to the series, which has just been given the title "Red Star Comedies." They started work under the direction of Ralph Ceder. Two other comedies of the "Red Star" group have been completed. These are "One Day to Live," featuring Emerson Treaeey, well-knokn stage comedian, with Margaret Adams, the Carl Laemmle, Jnr. "discovery," Jack Duffy, Nina Quartaro, and Eddie Foyer, under the direction of Al Kelley. The other completed comedy is "It Happened in Hollywood," which Ralph Ceder directed, with George Chandler, Ed Kennedy, Franklin Pangborn, and Margaret Adams. Her Next. Announcement is made by Metro-Gold-wyn-Mayer that "Dance, Fool Dance" will be Joan Crawford's new starring vehicle, following the completion of "Within the Law." Harry Beaumont will direct "Dance, Fool, Dance," which is a story by Aurania Rouveral, author of "Skidding" and other plays.

Two More. "The Silver Horde." Rex Beach's slnvy of the Alaskan fisheries, starring Evelyn Brent, Joel M'Crea, Raymond Hatton, Jean Arthur, and Louis W'olheim, is completed. Also "The Losing Game," with Lowell Sherman and Marion Nixon in the leads. "The Losing Game" was taken from Samuel Shipman's towering Broadway stage triumph, "Crime." . "Little Accident." Playing at the RKO-Keith Theatre in Boston,' "Little Accident," Universal's first special of the new season, attracted phenominal business, and was held over for a second week. "Little Accident" has Douglas Fairbanks, Jnr., Anita Page, Slim Summerville, Sally Blanc, and Zasu Pitts in the featured roles. It was directed by William James Craft from the Broadway stage success by Thomas Mitchell and Floyd Dell.

Joan Marsh. Joan March, • 15-year-old blonde beauty, recently placed under contract by Universal, is finding plenty of. competition in her screen romance with Kane Richmond in "The Leather Pushers" series. Douglas Z. Doty, who wrote the script, is to blame because^ to add spice to the already active chapter plays, he also gave romantic roles to Nora Lane and Sally Blanc. Just what the outcome of the screen romance will be Joan does not know, but she is willing to trust Mr. Doty to give her "a big break" in the final episode of "The Leather Pushers." Richmond seems" to feel pretty, much the same way. Joan Bennett. Joan Bennett, who will be remembered for her work in "Disraeli," has been signed for the leading role in "Scotland Yard," opposite; Edmund Lowe. William K. Howard will direct.

Wolheim Doubles. The minute Louis Wolheim finished his part in "The Silver Horde," RKO's Alaskan production, he went to his new office and began definite preparations for his first technical effort. It is an original sea story by Keene Thompson, tentatively titled "Sheep's Clothing," a drama of the great salty spaces. Working with Wolheim on the preliminary plans is Hugh Herbert, who will also play a role in the picture. Ocean to Air. From the seas to the air is the jump about to be made by- Alfred Santell, Fox Movietone director. Santell, who recently completed the filming of "The Sea Wolf," will direct "Squadrons," Elliott White Springs' dramatic play. As soon as Jules Furthman finishes the adaptation and dialogue, the task of selecting players will be undertaken.

Fashion Parade. Clothes worn "by Gloria Swanson in "What a Widow," her new talking and singing comedy for United Artists, will cost a fortune. The star wears more than a dozen different costumes in the picture, and each one promises to strike a new note in the coming ■ season's parade of fashions. There are ' tea gowns, dinner gowns, evening gowns, and wraps, negliglees, pyjamas, street ensembles—apparel for every hour of the day and every, purpose. The expense of preparing the wardrobe is due not alone to the quality of materials used,-but also to the procedure of creating each costume from original designs, even to the jewellery and accessories which complement it. Elaborate precautions were taken to prevent these designs being duplicated before the release of the picture.