STAGE AND SCREEN

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 139, 15 June 1933, Page 16

STAGE AND SCREEN

Wellington Repertory Theatre. . New Zealand, dramatists have been' few •nd.-far,: between,; so that it is an. event of •: •unusual interest when a play by a locair author, is staged at the Grand Opera House... This will happen on Monday, July;-3,.when the Wellington Repertory THeatre ■ will perform Mr. Victor S. Llpyd's,comedy, "A Quiet Weekend!" for a .season of three nights. The title suggests! all: sorts of ■ comic possibilities, but few.,.could imagine the hilarious developments" that take place. The story of the playis taken'from a novel by C. K. R. BroVne, the famous English humorist, and Mr, Xloyd has developed his theme cleverly. The members of_ the- cast get excellent acting opportunities, for the characterisation is skilful. The cast includes several favourites, among them b«!ing Miss Louise Hall. Miss Beryl Earle, Messrs. R. E. Pope, Vryn Evans, George Copper, and A. D. Priestley. Mr. F. G. Hayes Towns, a clever comedian, plays his first big role with the society, while Miss Marjorie Murray and Mr. Norman Hannah make first appearances. The production is in the hands of the experienced Mr. W. S. Wauchop. "Contraband." Anthony Kimmins, the actor-author of "While Parents Sleep," has contracted to write and play for 8.1.P. It is expected that; the first film to claim his attention will be "Contraband." This will also be a Pathe-8.1.P. production. Dietrich Remains. John W. Hicks, jun.. vice-president of Paramount International Corporation, has cabled-to the effect that, despite rumours to the contrary, Marlene Dietrich definitely ■'. remains with, Paramount, having just signed a new contract. The new agreement calls for two pictures to be directed bji-Josef yon Sternberg, the first of which will • start production in September. "Meet My Sister." - ~Ai Pa the picture produced under the. aegis of 8.1.P.-will go into immediate production at Welwyn Studios, entitled "Meet My Sister." This will bo directed by; "John Daumery and will star Clifford Mdllison and Constance Shotter. "Halleluiah, I'm a Tramp." Madge Evans is a most appealing feminine lead, and; other women in the. cast of "Hallelujah, <I'm '.&'. Tramp," .include; Dorothea Wolbert and, Louise Carver. Theypair up with Bert Roach, Tammany Yountr, Tyler Brooke, and Edgar Connor. "Hallelujah, I'm a Tramp," is a Lewis Milestone production.

Globe Trot. ■ With their new' comedy finished as. the ;• studio slanguists phrase it, Bert Wheeler i" and Robert Woolsey, RKO Radio comedy i team, have left Hollywood for a swing , around* the world. The comedians, whose ' funny pictures have made them popular, will make' personal appearances in Hawaii, 1 Japan, China, India, and the principal ■ cities of Europe on .the globe-trotting tour, > which will .-require four months', time. 1 This is the; most extensive personal ap- : pearanee tour ever • undertaken ■by any star or team. of stars.',. '.' :'■■ Hardened. • ' -Accounts of England's, volatile climate ..reached Constance Cummings before her arrival in Britain, but since playing in scenes for the new 8.1.P. film "Heads, We Go!" in which she makes lier British film debut, she' is prepared forl the worst weather can do. In this film she "blows" a legacy to take a holiday in Deauville and arrives on a stormy night without the precaution of booking rooms in advance. The scenes which show her introduction to the famous French seaside resort were shot in a violent rainstorm which lasted for two days and she declared to Monty Banks, the director, that if this sequence was not soon over, she and the rest, of the unit would be webfooted. ' -.■'■' : ' ,' Ayres to Sing. Lewis Ayres, singer and banjo player in dance orchestras before he Avon fame ■ in "All Quiet on the Western Front," will soon have a chance —for the first time—to demonstrate his musical ability in pictures. "In the Money," Ayres's' next starring vehicle for Universal, will be more or less sprinkled with tuneful melodies. The story was written by Murray Roth. The fact that music will bcincluded in the Ayres's picture is fur- ; ther evidence of the faith the Laemmles are- placing in the' now screen musical cycle. Breathless. The easiest way to appear out of breath is to have plenty of it, Sidney Blackmer told Verna Hillie the other day in coaching the young player for her first featured role in "From Hell to Heaven." Blackmer recalled that for his one-line , stage debut he ran up and down a flight \ -of'stairs;fdur .times, itlienvrushed on to the scene so completely winded that he could ' not speak a word. Richard Bennett ' taught the young actor to take a deep i breath when playing "breathless" parts, 1 and. Blackmer passed on the advice. • . i

Joan Crawford. Joan' Crawford,' who; won Superlatives from critics-for her work in "Grand ■Hotel" and "Letty Lynton," is ca6t as a member ,of a British ambulance unit in "Today We Live," which is described as the experiences of a ■woman and three men during the World War. Gary Cooper in the principal male lead as an American aviator, follows up. his performances in "A Farewell to Arms," and the other members of the-male triangle arc played by Robert Young and Franchot Tone. As Diana, an aristocratic English girl, Miss Crawford receives word of the death of her father at; the front on the day in which her brother, Franchot Tone, and her childhood sweetheart, Robert Young, join the British Navy. Zane Grey. Zane Grey broke a literary rule of thirty years' standing when. he agreed to write his first sophisticated literature" for Paramount's "The Woman Accused," on which he collaborated with nine other well-known authors. He was assigned to a chapter that dealt with life aboard a sailing vessel. Grey not only has a large yacht, but spends half his time on the high seas. The Mantle of Genius. ' .Young Philip Hargrove, the ten-year-old Australian piano prodigy, is a deep lover of Bach and Schubert. During his Australian tour he has amazed his hearers with'his playing of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata, Schubert's B Flat Impromptu (with its left-hand intricacies), Bach Fugues, Beethoven's "Andante Favori," Ludwig's quaint rondo "Rage Over a Lost Penny," Schubert's "Momenta Musical," Chopin's "Fantasie Impromptu" and "Minuet Waltz," and Czerny's "Chromatic Study." The boy's small fingers and boyish arms seen* invested with a strange power for the difficulties of certain-of the old composers' works; his mature judgment is uncanny in one so young; his degree of;; musicianship and intelligence ia uncommonly high; and his intuition is remarkable. Philip's phrasing and accent have astounded, his critics, who have come to the Conclusion that Australia, particularly Adelaide, his native city, has every reason to be proud of this lad of whom his teacher and guardian, Henriette Garnaut, and the Australian public, hope great things when he goes abroad. Philip's extreme youth, is forgotten immediately he begins -to pplay.* pie will tour New Zealand.under the aegis of Messrs. J. and N. Tait before leaving'for Europe and the Continent, and it. is said that he is certain to electrify;audiences here as he has done in his own country.

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Random Notes. The Auckland Catholic Repertory Society is staging Barries whimsical play, "Mary Kose" towards the end o£ next month.' Full of delicate sentiment and fantasy, it is a popular selection of amateur companies. The Playhouse Players in the same city are presenting Shaw's "The Philanderer", on July 22, and the Amateur' Operatic Society the delightful Planquette light" opera, "Les Cloches de Corneville" early next month. "K.U.R.," the much discussed Robot play by Karel Kapek, translated from Czechoslovakian into many languages, will be staged by the Little Theatre Society. "R.U.R." stands for Rossum's Universal Robots. Herbert Browne, the sliver tenor of several Williamson successes, is appearing with Romola Hansen (of "Desert Song"), in revivals by the firm in Victoria of "The Merry Widow," "Floradora," and "Katinka.", The Dunedin Strolling Players put on "Three Wise Fools" this week with Anita Winkel'as the ward of the three guardians, played by George Salmond, Russell Napier, and Douglas Dall. Angus Borria had the romantic lead.. The farewell performance of "Maid of the Mountains". at the Sydney Her Majesty's (to be transformed into a Woolworth store), was booked out. Gladys Moncrieff, as Teresa Norman Wister as Baldasarre; and Phil Smith, in his old part of Tonio were cast, with Sydney Burchall as Beppo, and Arthur Stigant again as the Governor. Members of the cast of "Waltzes from Vienna," awaiting casting in the new musical play "Music in the Air" (for which Sylvia Welling and Frank Sale have arrived under Williamson engagement), also took part in the farewell night, including Miriam Sabljage, Henry Wenman, Dorothy ; Stanward, Les Donaghey, Jocelyn Yeo (of Auckland), Frank Bradley, :and others. "King of Ja*z." One of the most unusual and talked-oi musical compositions of the century, "The Rhapsody in Blue," is dramatised with musical accompaniment, in "The King of Jazz," Universal's new re-cut and reprinted version. For "The Rhapsody in Blue" a huge piano, forty feet long and seven feet high, was constructed to contain the entire Whiteman orchestra. Then a tree was built of crystal, and sixteen girls toe-danced the number on the gigantic piano. This was all coloured in various shades of blue. "After the Ball." ; A sparkling comedy of diplomats' doings at Geneva, a gentle, good-humoured dig, "After the Ball,", is a lightsome piece of entertainment, full of bright dialogue, with comic situations brought about by a wellconceived story, and a cast that includes Esther' Ralston, Basil Rathbone, Marie Burke, and Clifford Heatherley.

. Baxter When* Warner Baxter completes a lead ' ing role opposite Elissa Landi in "I Loved You; Wednesday," he will be1 cast in "Paddy," co-starred with Janet Gaynor. Miss Gaynor will rest for several weeks following her work in "Adorable," wrth Henry Garat.i and then begin preparation for her next vehicle. Harry Lachman, . who directed-"Face in the Sky," will do as much for "Paddy," which was adapted to the screen from the play by W. Gayer McGay and, Robert Ord, based on Gertrude' Page's novel. " '■■ ■ ■ ; ' "While Parents Sleep" for New Zealand. Though no definite- dates for the New ■Zealand premiere of the Anthony Kim-mins.comedy-drama "While Parents Sleep" have been'arranged, Mr..H. Stringer, New Zealand representative for Messrs.. J. C. AVilliamson, is hopeful that the exhilarating, light-hearted play will be here in July or August. The wit and brilliance of the dialogue delighted Londoners, as it has done Australians, for the piece had a sensational success at Home and was hailed by critics as a masterpiece of plot and construction.. Anthony Kimmins, the ex-naval officer who- "perpetrated the comedy, to use his own expression, while convalescing after an accident, has-been playing an important part in an advisory capacity in British films, and has also become an actor in : one ;of his own film stories.' He promises to be' a- prolific writer, for he has written another play, as well as screen adaptations and originals. In the Australian version of fhis naughty comedy of indiscretions Mona'Barlee played a prominent part, and with her •were associated Harvey Adams (the uncle of "Journey's End"); Agnes Doyle, who was in "Sons o' Guns," John Wood, a sound performer of -much experience with imported stars,-Noel Boyd, a clever character actress, and Tim Hudson, an Auckland boy who has made good on the Australian stage after'amateur experience in the northern city. "While Parents Sleep" will delight New Zealanders with its insouciance. "Ten.Minutes Alibi" willalso be played.' This ran at the London Embassy for a lengthy season, and was a big draw, with its romance and elements of mystery. "Men Must Fight." One of the most unusual pictures to come out of Holly\yood is ;Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Men Must Fightj". ■It offers a glimpse ahead to the year 1040, when, say the authors, the United; Stntcs may be plunged into another war. ,Bnt it is not intended as a war picture; rather, it seeks to'warn of a horror1 which the-future may bring upon those .wh.o> remain at hoiue when the warriors o£" the. Country go ' to the front. ■. ..' Peter Dawson Honours N.Z. Composers. ' A navy recruitingsong for which a Wellington resident, Mr. H. Coventry, wrote the music to words by Mr. J. J. Stroud, of Gore, has been sung and recorded in London by Dawson, the genial* bassbaritone who .was. recently in Wellington, and is now touring in the South 'with his brilliant associate, Senor Arnaldo TapiaCaballoro. The song js "The Bosun's Advice." A previous song written by Mr. Stroud, "Who But a 1 Sailor," has been sung by Mr. Dawson, and has won a large measure of popularity. "The Left Bank." Before beginning work on Universal*) contemplated special production of "Gulliver's Travels," Karl Freund, the European cineuiaphotographer and director, will take over the directorial reins of Elmer Bice's play. "The Left Bank." Fvreund's new. assignment came as the result of ■ the highly successful work he did on "The. Mummy," the Karloff screen play which marked the cameraman's debut as a director. Between directorial assignments Freund recently returned temporarily to his position behind the camera +o photograph Universal's forthcoming picture.,,. "The-: Kiss. Before., the - Mirror." •

[ ■' !'■■' ' ; "Where Is This Lady?" . i Franz Lehar, the'wprld;renpwned com[i poser of "The Merry: Widow," "The ■ Count of Luxembourg," and other equallyfamous musical scores, ■,specially, wrote the melodies of "Where Is ;Tliis Lady?" which is coming to the Regent Theatre next . week, and this ..fact alone.is ,a guarantee of rareentertainment; delights. In a charming setting ', of "modern Vienna the story ,of "Where Is This ■Lady?" delightfully unfolds 'midst laughter and gaiety, while golden melodies, skilfully interwoven, with ' the action, invest the production with richness, and added,happiness. The charm of the music is further enhanced by the manner in which' the songs' are' sung by the leading lady, Marta Eggert. Miss Eggert' is a newcomer to the screen, but in "Where Is This Lady?" she makes a remarkable debut/ She is beautiful, "a clever actress,; and has a;glorious voice. Fritz Kreisler-discovered her, and on his word she is a world celebrity. Production. ■ ■ . Ah' imposing production schedule is that which immediately comes into operation at the 8.1.P. Studios, with five outstanding, pictures due to take the floor in quick succession. ' Each film is of considerable, interest from the point of view of newly-:acquired talent and subjects ■of wide appeal. "She Wanted Her Man," with the scenario by Clifford Grey, is to be directed by Paul Stein, the eminent director newly signed byifß.LP. Bebe Daniels, the.world-famous', American: artiste who has just completed work on an M.G.M. picture, will leave Hollywood this week en route for Elstree to star in "She Wanted Her' Man,"'HvTiich ■ will give her in addition to a fine acting part, musical numbers which will provide an oppprtun-. ity for: her glorious voice which so delighted all who saw her in "Rio Rita." "The Kiss Before the Mirror." In "The Kiss Before the, Mirror ."which Universal will ■be releasing shortly. James" Whale, the celebrated British director, produces a drama of love and jealousy, mistrust and betrayal, entirely different from pictures, he ,has handled in. the past. It contains a theme which will appeal to every class \of-people, and it asks a question of every, man and woman. The picture contains ' photography; • such' asonly the f.imo.us. cameraman, Karl Freund, can record, nnd the star cast . includes Xancy Carroll'. Paul • Liikas,' Frank ' Mor-' gan, and. Gloria ..Stuart. .:...., J. and N. Tait Plans. >Sir Hubert Wilkins the famous explorer, wlio was born "in South Australia, will commence a lecture tour of Australia, and New Zealand, in September, under Tait management. Illustrated,by moving pictures!,' his lectures should be thrilling and fascinating, for his exploits'as a traveller and explorer have carried him into many strange adventures on, land and sea, as welh.as under the sea. A., notabje- ICngjish grand . opeia artist and conceit prima Horina', Miss '" Maggie Teyte (pronounced Tate),)will open a tour in the.Melbourne Town Hall on July. 8.. The importance of her visit' will be; added to by the. fact that islie is; being •accompanied by the prominent English operatic and concert tenor, Tudor-1 Davies. Miss Teyte has appeared, in the leading opera houses of Europe and America, and has scored.many, triumphs at Covent Garden. Her biggest successes. have been as Cho-Cho-San in "Madame Butterfly; Mimi in "La Boheme," andMelisahde in, Debussy's "Peleas. and Melisande^" The opportunity of hearing two such famous artists together will be an unusual one for Australians and New Zealanders. The-pair; have postponed a season-in New York and: have rearranged their plans to make the visit possible-at this date. Their niost success? ful operatic roles will provide > entertninment of a. high, standard,.and, they will be ]icard.iu-s6losl'as'.wolLas.'.duotsjv :■. ~x ■, ■■-:

v Companies for the Dominions • . The London manageineht of -Messrs. J. C. Williamson., Limited,. .have' engaged Miss Isobel Elsom,.the well-known West End actress,,for a tour in Australia and New Zealand. She will play lead in "When Ladies Meet," by Rachel Crothers, which has just been- put on' at the Lyric Theatre; also, in "Double Harness" (by E. P. Montgomery), and in "Another Language" (Rose Franken),-writes the London correspondent of "The Post" on May 12. Miss Elsom will have as her leading man Mr. George Barraud, who was formerly' in Australia. Mr. Carl Harboard will also take ■■•■ prominent parts in the cast. The company will be augmented by artists- already in. Australia. Miss Elsom, Mr. Bnrraud, and Mr. Harboard sailed by the "Maloja."--The-season will last for about six months in Australia, after which the company will go on to.New Zealand. Mr. J. N. Tait has engaged Miss Sylvia Welling to take the leading part in the musical play "Freda." She will also, play lead in "Mublc in the Air," a new musical play by Oscar Hammerstein, the music by Jerome Kern. " This has' been a great success in New York, and it is to be put on shortly in London at. His Majesty's Theatre.. Miss Welling took the leading part in "The Dubarry" after the death- of Miss Army Ahlers, the' German actress. She will probably appear in this play and also in a revival of "The Desert Song." Mr. Frank Sale, the operatic baritone from Covent Garden, will: play ; leading parts in' the same musical pieces.; After a season in Australia the company will tour New Zealand. ■ Dramatic Treat In Store. Rose Franken's delightful, family story, "Another Language," is a study of family life, and concerns the Hallam-family-eleven of them—father, mother, four ■grown-up sons, and their wives^ and save for the youngest, with families of their own. The clannish family custom forbids individual development, and the ; wife of one son, haying rebelled, is drifting from her husband. A nephew falls in love with his young aunt, and is not entirely discouraged by the lonely woman who sees in.the lad the qualities her husband once had. Compromising circumstances bring about a climax, and it is then that the husband rebels and takes sides against-his tyrannical family, finally coming to an understanding of his wife's needs. It is :i real and moving play, and will strike home to many "in-laws." Another play to bo presented by the Elsom-Barraud company, '"Dinner at-Eight,"■'requires a revolving stage, as it presents a panorama of smart society life, aiid is a scathing indictment. There are over ; thirty characters, from the kindly host arranging liis dinner party for guests who fail to materialise,'-to .Carlotta'.'Vance, a oncefuiuous atuge beauty.', "The Love Nest." Thomas Bentleyjias commenced his production of the new B.LP. comedy starring vehicle for Gene Gerrard, "The Love Nest." The completed cast, which is headed by Gerrard with Camilla Horn and Nancy Burne in the feminine leads, also includes Amy iVeness. Garry Marsh, Charles Paton, Gus McXaughton, and Marion Dawson. Disney. • ■ Mickey Mouse was recently, thrown out of his stride by news from Edmonton, England, that Walt Disney had been knocked out in a prize fight. Even after it had been explained that the victim was, as Samuel Goldwyn would put it, a "Masquerader," Mickey was still ..too .disturbed to work. According'to.-the. newspaper account, - Disney, a welterweight fighter, was hit so hard in the last round of a. Id-round bout that, he was. out three minutes,1:, : ... . --.:■.". .. i. '