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Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 26, 30 July 1931, Page 18

Hong. ' Richard Bennett's complaint, against Pprop" cigars lie had to smoke in "Five and Ten" touched the sympathies of Marion Davies, starring in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. She had a,, special cigar, nearly three feet long, manufactured in a local factory, and ■ pre-' gented it to the sire of the Bennett brood jrith. her compliments. '

Famous Bar. The famous Ritz bar in Paris, gathering place of the moneyed from all over the world, has been brought to the screen in all its detail. A replica of the celebrated Parisian rendezvous, to which ladies are not admitted, was built at the Warner Bros. First National Studios for scenes of the comedy special, "Fifty Million Frenchmen." Photographs of the .Ritz bar were made by the studio representatives in France and dispatched by fast mail to Hollywood. The elaborate set was constructed from these pictures. With the long'and well-lillod bar as the main feature of the room, there is also the familiar well tables with settees, and the small round tables in .the centre. Olseu and Johnson, comedy actors, play the leading comic roles. .'".'. • '■ Replica. A replica of the caskets uaed by the Tsar of Russia/ to hold gifts of jewels to favourites arid famous stage performers was prepared for the 'picture, "Svengali," in which John Barrymore is starred by Warner Bros., and ■which will be shown here i.shortly. ; The proper insignia and greetings were worked out with former officials of the Russian royal household, some of -whom are now numbered among Hollywood extra players and technical advisers. Wheeler and Woolsey. "Full of Notions," co-starring Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, will bring the pair of screen comics together again after having been separated for a. time, each doing a solo part. Woolsey will soon be seen in "Everything's and Wheeler solo-starred in "Too Many,

Cooks." "Full of Notions' duction very shortly. Lorotta. !■.■■„■ p; Loretta- Young' is j about 18. SI *• began j her screen career j when she was five, but stopped for a time to get an education. Not that she wanted it, but ' her family- decided ; she must • havo ; schooling. She was ; , bora in Salt Lake . : City, Utah. Her j! name was Grefcchen, j and as. Gretchen at ■ j five she acted with j Fannie'Ward, then a- a quite distinguished screen star. Two of her sisters, Polly Ann ' Young and I Sally Blanc, preceded her in pictures, being older. ■ Loretta's entrance into ' the picture world came through her B brother's enthusi- jj asm about her. A s| director,, Mervyn Sj..

Le Roy, called for Sally, who was not at home... The brother, answering the telephone, told Lc Roy .how very'good Loretta was, and she went, to takethe part, got it, and a contract. She lias acted in a number of pictures since, and has climbed to stardom. And she also has a husband, Grant Withers.

Lowe. Edmund Lowe has three Fox pictures to .make, in addition to "Disorderly Con : duct," namely, "Transatlantic." with Lois Moran,"Greta Nissen, Myrna Loy, John Halliday, .and Jean Hersholt in support; ''The Midnight Cruise," with Virginia Cherrill and Allan Dinehart, and a cofeatured production, with Warner Baxter, "Silver' City." '• -• I

Her Way. Marie Dressier, recently promoted to the rank of a full-fledged M.-G.-M. star, celebrated the event by buying a canary, but when she got it home it refused absolutely to sing. Professional jealousy! Working Again. Ray M'Carey, the youngest director at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, is working again after illness. M'Carey is making a series of athletic, shorts for M.-G.-M.

Shirley Grey. The next Richard Dix starring vehicle, "The Reckoner," will enter rehearsal stages shortly. It will be the initial directorial assignment of J. Walter Ruben, recently elevated to the station of fnll(ledged director by Production Head William Lc Baron. The story of this mystery dramatic thriller was written by George' Goodchild under the title of "The Splendid Crime," a story which gained wide popularity with the reading, public as well us mystery fans. Shirley Grey, noted stage actress, recently placed under contract by .Samuel Goldwyn, has been borrowed by Radio to play the leading role opposite Dix in this film. ■■ • . From the Book. "The Right .of Way," fir Gilbert Parker's famous novel, once successfully dramatised on the stage, will be shown here shortly. "The Right of Way" deals with.the attempted regeneration of a very h.ii rd, strange lawyer, "Beauty" Steele', who loses his inhumanity with his memory, and gets.it back again when memories of the past return. Conrad Nagel heads the cast of players, which include Loretta Young and.Fred Kohlcr. Stars. , ■ Sally Eilers will have the title role in Fox's "Bad Girl," to be directed by Frank Borzage, ' Joau Bennett will bo featured in "Lipstick"; Hardio Albright in "Skyline," with Maureen O'Sullivan as leading lady, and Virginia. Cherrill will have the leading roles in "She Wanted a Millionaire" and "Honeymoon." Queer Life. . Arthur Housman, who makes: a' livirigby acting drunk in-pictures, .again,'plays an inebriate in "Five and Ten," in which Marion Davies is starred by Metro-Gold-

Frooi France ,» France is sending a talking picture director to Hollywood, Rene Clair, who will try conclusions with Ernst Lubitseh on his own ground of the wise and witty use of the screen that Lubitsch made fashionable in "The Love Parade" and "Monte Carlo," says the "San Francisco Chronicle."- Clair has made two pictures that have captured London as well as Paris. They are "Sous , les Toils dc Paris" and "Le Million." The latter is frank farce, and tells a simple story, that of an: impecunious artist who suddenly becomes rich through a lottery, and then cannot iind the ticket wherewith to collect his wealth. .His artist friends celebrate, his creditors descend on him in a body, and the army of harpies that swoop down on the suddenly rich aru after him. : : Clair' uses song in this picture in chorus form. The artists sing'; the; creditors sing, and one character, an opera singer, uses his voice in solo. Lubitseh usess choruses in somewhat this way in "Monte Carlo." Clair is a realist,- but combines fantasy with his naturalism. His picture, "Le .Million," has made a real sensation in London, and will probably find its way to America. For English-speaking audiences he has two English students, one knowing Frenflh, peep through a skylight at some of the happenings, with the man who knows French telling his companion, who doesn't, what is being said. , ' - London critics compared Clair with Lubitsch. without prejudice, and wondered what Hollywood will do to him. . He has had a number of offers to come to Cali-

Weird Fastuacht—the night of evil; swirling fog, and wolves howling in the mountain ] passes; a solitary traveller waiting at the , crossroads; the clatter of approaching , hoove.1?, and a coachman with feverish eyes , glowing above his'great-muffler. j The traveller enters the coach, which • continues on its headlong flight; but as ( soon as it is agaiu under way, the driver , disappears, and his place is taken by a giant bat which flaps over the heads of the I galloping horses. Silence settles over the misty landscape. The mysterious coach is swallowed up by the dense fog, and makes { its way to the crumbling castie of the terrible. Count Dracula, vampire! ... ; This is one: of the .opening; .scenes of ] "Draeula," Uniycrsal's strange motion pic- ' turo drama which was adapted from the ' stage success of the same' name, and ' which comes to Wellington this week. ' The cast is headed by Bela Lugosi, who created the title role of ■ "Dracula" on the I stage, and other players appearing in; pro- ; mineut roles are Helen Chandler, David i Manners, Edward Van Sloan, Frances i Dade, Dwight Frye, and Herbert Bunstou. ( Tod Browning directed. j Laurel and Hardy. ' After six weeks of vacationing, the Hal i Roach personnel is back once more and ; settling down to normal. Laurel and ( Hardy start the ball rolling -with the s shooting of the first comedy in their 1931- i 32 schedule, entitled "Come Clean." The c cast consists of Linda Loredo, who plays i the part of Mrs. Laurel; Gertrude Astor portrays Oliver's better half, and Mac ] Busch, who always adds zest to "Laurel i and Hardy comedies. James W. Home I

' will enter pro- will continue directing Laurel and Hardy, fornia, and will accept one of them, but wyn-Mayer. He began his staggering Art Lloyd is at the camera. which has not been made public. career in variety years ago.

Wylie. . Continuing its plan to procure good stories for talking picture production, Radio i Pictures has bouglit : "The Last 'Virtue" from I. A. R. Wylie, noted woman author, and adaptation and script writer. The author is best known for her storie.s, "Four Sons" and "Young Nowheres." Among others which she has written expressly for the screen are "Evenings. For Sale," "The' Foreign 'Legion," arid ''The Temple of Dawn."

Tricßeff,

Comes Back,

One •.of Robert Montgomery's' favourite pranks these days is to find some unsuspecting person in the;' Metro-Goldwyn-ATayer lunch-room and try out the "butler" outfit he is wearing in his new picture, "Man in Possession." He assumes a very professional expression and, .with a napkin over his arm, bows to his, victim., , "Service, sir?" he asks, and several actor friends-of his, not-looking at the "waiter," have. replied, '".Yes, bring me a hot roast .be.ef sandwich!":

Double Role.

Mr. Roland. I'ertwee has gone back to London. Ho experienced, in Hollywood, that strange _a rt <i somewhat sickjsh feeling of seeing himself scraped off the premises before lie had received the "pink slip" which told him he would be dismissed. Roland Pertwee was off week-ending when the happy news went round that some eight hundred people would be cut off the staff of the studio. There. had been a great dear of joking back and forth among the literati of the studio. Pertwee thought for a bit it was just another of. Arthur Caesai-'s nonsensings, and took it in the nonchalant way .'he had- learned to take the practical jokes of Hollywood. He went into the office and sat down to work. Along came "Bill" Miznei', and Pertwee discovered .that "Bill's" things had been piled out in. the hall because someone just couldn't wait to get into his room and to work*' ■

Jetta Goudal. is making a come-tiack in pictures. She has been signed by the Fox F r ilm Corporation to play a featured part in. Will Rogers's picture, "The Plutocrat." The film will be an adaptation of the Booth Tarkington story, -which was also a stage play. Many of the scenes are laid in Egypt. Several months ago Miss Goudal retired from the screen.to become an interior decorator. However, the opportunity to act in a Rogers picture was. sufficiently interesting to-lure her back to the movies. . ■ . . •

"Politics."

The fact that the North-west Mounted Police always get their man does not prove , that the man they. get is always guilty. "River's End," a,, dramatic story of the Canadian.: North-west,, by- the famous 1 author,-James Oliver Curwood, is based on .- such, a possibility.l . Charles ■ Bickford J, famous; es ■ a ■ portrayer of' vigorous young manhood, plays: a double1' role in ■ "River's ( End"—as fugitive^and pursuing '■ officer,'! principals1 in alman hunt through the Arc- , tic wastes .of Northl America. .■" ■■ "' "Mother's Millions." ] As the "she-wolf" of Wall Street, who ' defeats financiers at their own game, ( Harriet. Breen was a woman to marvel at. At least so thought James Hall, whd plays the part of • her' secretary in "Mother's * Millions," a Universal 'attraction. ' May • Robson, a New York stage favourite, plays j the part of Harriet Breen, a hard-headed, ' hot-tempered, lovable woman • who fights ' to bring to the farmers a reasonable price ] for their wheat. Lawrence Gray, as her ! son, Tom, and Frances Dade,' as her daugh- c ter, Fayre, have all her love and.affection, 1 though she conceals it under a crusty man- ' ncr and fights with her son' on every occa- , sion. But she gambles her fortune on the boy's love for her, and wins in a J climax as thrilling as has ever been seen on the screen. .. Beards Galore. 1 Three' bushels of artificial hair for beards! Two gallons of skin colouring for make-up! These are some of the ingre- . dients that went into one of the most difficult make-up jobs. Over one hundred ' and •thirty-five "extras" had to be given native appearance for one of the big scenes , in "Son of India," Ramon NovaTro's ( latest starring production under the direc- < tion of Jacques Feyder. To handle this f tremendous job was a real problem to be j solved by.the studio make-up department j under the direction of. Cecil Holland. All , of i the principals in cast had to have , their "calls"- so arranged that each one , would have his make-up complete before j the next one arrived. , Ramon Novarro , had to have a full skin colouring applied - that took . almost an ■'. hour to obtain the " blended shadings to give a realistic effect, i Ricardo Cortez. .'.!,'.' ' Ricardo Cortez has been cast for "Dance, : Gigolo, Dance" and "The Vulture," two of the Radio pictures scheduled for the com- ' ing season; according to1 an announcement by William Le Baron, production head. "Dance, Gigolo, Dance" is an original story by Wallace Smith,' who 'recently wrote the screen version and dialogue for another Radio pi-oduction, titled "The Sphinx Has .Spoken." "The Vulture" is also an original, and was written by James Whittaker. Wallace Smith, will adapt this and. write the dialogue. , Cortez was last seen in Radio's "Behind Office Doors." He has just completed an "other man" role in "White Shoulders," featuring Jack Holt and Mary Astor. ..-: No Make-up. Make-up was not listed among the thousand and one necessities when cameras started grinding on scenes o£ "Illegal," the : Warner Bros, and Vitaphone underworld < productionto'be shown here, shortly. This entire production, in which Lewis Ayres , heads the ; all-star cast, was photographed, without make-up as far as masculine members of the cast'were concerned. Even i grease paint .was taboo: "As 'the male members of the cast enact gangstei's, gunmen, racketeers, policemen, and homicide ', squad officers, their; characters on the screen are presented with much more realism than if the artists used even a, little make-up," states Archie Mayor, director ! of this film of life in gangland. ". ■ . «

Tom M'Guire, noted for his portrayal of the police inspector in "Voice of the City," will play a mayor instead of ■ a policeman in his newest role. M'Guire was assigned the role of the corrupt mayor in "Politics," MetrorGoldwyn- " Mayer's new comedy starring Marie Dressier, with Polly Moran and an elaborate cast. The new picture .is a satire on political life, directed by Charles F. Riesner, -who directed "Caught Short" and "Reducing." Karen Morley, William Bakewell, John Miljan, Roscoe Ates, Mary Alden, and others of note are in the cast. ■ Claudia Dell. ' Claudia Dell is shortly to return: to the RKO Studios, where she is under, contract. The featured feminine- role- in a William Le Baron production awaits her upon the completion of her present assignment. Several weeks ■ ago • Miss Dell was loaned to. Paramount for the second feminine lead in "Confessions of a Co-Ed." Her last' Radio assignment. ™» Bachelor Apartment," with Lowell Sherman and Irene Dunne, prior to which she played lead in the Warner Bros, production, "Sweet Kitty Bellairs." Spies. ■ ■ ; - "Men of the Sky," the First National and Vitaphone mystery melodrama of the Intelligence Service, tells the story of a boy and girl, who, caught as spies, are required to give the last full measure of devotion. Irene Delroy and' Jack Whiting are featured.as the ill-fated-lovers. '■ "Virtuous' Husband." The grounds of one of the most unusual vacation resorts in the ': world, the Norconion Club, are seen, in early scenes of "The Virtuous Husband," ■ Universal^ sophisticated farce. The California resort mi ibers a huge- man-made. lake, private fisheries, a casino, artificial gardens, and every known type of. Bport facility in its compact area, which has'been virtually carved out of the Southern ' California w untains. The club is a favourite rendezvous of the Western social elite. "The Virtuous Husband" numbers Elliott Nugent, Betty Compson, Jean Arthur, J. C. Nugent, Allison Skipworth, Tully Marshall, and "Sleep-'n-Eat," ■ the slowmotioned coloured man in its cast; Yin, Moore directed. Queen of Hearts. If fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong, it's obvious that a hundred million Americans are infallible. In other words, the verdict of newspaper readers all over the United States in recent contests to determine the most popular actress indicate that by a . wide' margin the petite Janet Gaynor is the nation's favourite. From New York, Chicago, and Boston down to. dozens, o£ smaller cities, the -magic name of Gaynor- was always at the top of the lists. And now Miss Gaynor comes along in a new talkie, "Daddy Long Legs," a Fox Movietone romantic comedy based on Jean Webster's celebrated play. Warner Baxter is co-starred with Miss Gaynor, with the priucipal supporting roles filled by Una Merkel, John Alredge, Kathlyn Williams, Claude Gillingwater, sen., and Elizabeth Patterson. "Next Corner." Wilfred Noy, British, actor and film director, has been added to the cast of Herbert Brenon's coming Radio Picture, "The Nest Corner." David Duubar also joins the cast. Kay Francis is the featured lead, with Paul Cavanaugh, Don Alvarado, Ruth Weston, and Ricardo Cortez already announced for the cast. "The Next Corner" is from the novel by Kai* Jordan.