A New Star

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 106, 7 May 1931, Page 18

A New Star

talssa Landi, the attractive English prl» is now marked for stardom' in' the United States, and ,has already scored a big'hit in New York., Her appearance in the.British "Children of Chance," shortly to screeat here, therefore is interesting. . The film i» good, easy flo\ving narrative, capably handled, with the foundation!of a physical "double," exploited since the, time of Shakespeare, and giving Elissa. Landi the chanco to. play ■ two very, different parts. In one she is. a ..sweet, attractive.English girl and in ■ the other she isn't..' The' basis of ,1110 story is such that those who. view it arcs kept waiting for .the next move— ■ that is, it has the quality of suspense, it is well photographed, and it is-' graced by this .cunningly beautiful'girl. It must.be said that she'is better in' the-part of.the bad girl and that-she 'makes ;the bad.-girl seem- higlily ■ attractive. ' Technically, the film ;shows I.an : advance in. method;^ it, is mqre slick than previous English films; it has.no irritating tricks, and if it underlines some .of the.points .itmakes, that is all,'to the 'good. Tlicro is. however, the tendency to end a sequence with a painful pause, while waiting for' the'camera to finish its job, which, when abolished,, will speed up the English movie considerably. Frightening.: '.■■"."- . •.

To those careful "'and superstitious persons who ;alivavs. j; ,avoKl passing under ladders, breakihg.;mirrors,' letting: a' ; black cat-cross tlicir paths, or opening umbrella* in the house,, has been .added . by' the . movies'a now.and .much more'vivid .'superstition-.. This .superstition has "... already claimed its, first victory and'■ at the'expense :of none- other than ' Samuel, . L. Kothrife),' manager of the-great, theatre, the Rosy, in New York..; 'This new and most alarming superstition'is human,vampires. Within a short timer the. country will know all about them,-.-5 because "Draciila" is full of them. '.'Dra'ciila" ii the picturisatipn of the . novel by Bram Stoker which was.also made in, to a! play. Tod Browning directed it with' all th« care.of'one'who is a thorough-going,super-stitiouist. r -There' isn't one' superstition that Browning doesn't believe in.; He regards it as' the basis of .his1 success in making 'such pictures as . "The 'Unholy Three;"; "London After- Midnight,'-'"The Unknown,") and "The; Thirteenth, Gh«ir." He.'approached "Dracula" as the gn«t««* thrill ■of ;his»clirectoral life.aud, put «T«fthing which his. superstitious soul i co»tt concoct-into^this play of jjoinan. vampire*. And. then/he heard that the 'Rosy was going to opcnthis.pct of hissuperstitiou* career,' the climax of all his' directmg 0* superstition, on Friday, the 13tK..0;i. "Charlie Chan Carries On." . ;:':;:^ ■ Until "Charlie Chan Carries On" reacliei the screens-of--the-world," which will b« shortly, and you will see it. forypurself, if 11. that needs be said, is that E4rr Derr Biggers,. the.', famous, novelist.who;':'made famous the character "Charlie. Chan" i^ his. several bas.t-solling novels with- tM Oriental detective ns' the chief'character^ ha.s-sat in the projection room, viewed th# film, .complimented' Hamilton MacFaddcn* the director, who'was his host, :'an'd wa^ especially pleased with the work'of,rWarner Oland as "Charlie."-, So.keen was h« over.the. picture that he authorised * statement froiii himself: and Mrs.. .Bigger* as 'to' their complete satisfaction.-with it* handling. ' : ' ' .' .■ Two Ambitions. , ■ Robert. Burns, ,forjner.;blackfaced:iconi6diaii from the: vaudeville stage, has' been an.admirer of Will Rogers.for sometime. Being under contract to .the Fox •■ Corporation, he visited Rogers "on the set where "A Connecticut Yankee" was being filmed. . "I. always wanted to be a' cowboy, like you, Bill,", he confided after introductions.. "I tried once, too, but I never seemed to get the hang:.of it.' "All right"' replied Rogers. "Now I'll tell voii something. I've always wanted to do blackface on the" stage. I asked

Ziegfeld once.to give me a cha but he talked me out of the idei

mcc at it*