FILM FAN QUESTIONNAIRE

Evening Star, Issue 21933, 21 January 1935, Page 13

FILM FAN QUESTIONNAIRE

WHAT fATRDHS DESIRE The most popular male film star in this country is George Arliss, and the most popular woman Norma Shearer. The two most disliked are James Caegney and Mac ‘West (writes Campbell Dixon, in the London ‘ Daily Telegraph’). These are amongst the interesting facts revealed by the 124,837 replies to the questionnaire issued by Mr Sydney L. Bernstein to the patrons of his chain of cinemas in London and the provinces. Tho voting placed the stars in the following order of popularity:— Men.—l, George Arliss; 2, Clark Gable; 3, Wallace Beery; 4, Clive Brook; 5, Robert Montgomery; 6, Ronald Colman; 7, Jack Hulbert; 8, Lionel Barrymore; 9, Charles Laughton; 10, Tom Walls; 11, Warner Baxter; 12, Fredric March; 13, Conrad Veldt; 14, Herbert Marshall; 15, Leslie Howard; 16, Jack Holt; 17, Jack Buchanan; 18, Eddie Cantor; 19, Maurice Chevalier; 20, George Raft. Women.—l, Norma Shearer; 2, Marie Dressier; 3, Greta Garbo; 4, Kay Francis; 5. Marlene Dietrich; 6, Katharine Hepburn; 7, Gracie Fields; 8. Janet Gaynor; 9, Joan Crawford; 10, Claudette Colbert; 11, Jean Harlow; 12, Cicely Courtneidge; 13, Diana Wynyard; 14, Jessie Matthews; 15, Joan Blondel; 10, Madeleine Carroll; 17, Mae West; 18, Ann Harding; 19, Loreate Young; 20, Madge Evans. The figures show the mutability of fame. Chevalier, fifth in 1932, is .now nineteenth; John Boles, who was sixth, is twenty-third; Colman, once the leader, is sixth. ... , nno Of the women favourites in WJa, Dolores de Rio, Betty Balfour, Clara Bow Esther Ralston. Vilma Banky, Florence Vidor, and Mary Pickford do not appear in the first fifty. THE “ DISLIKES.” The order of dislikes is as follows: Aten.—l, James Cagney; 2, Lee Tracy; 3. Adolphe Menjou; 4, George Haft; 5, Ralph Lynn; 6, Joe E. Brown; 7 Owen Nares; 8, Maurice Chevalier; 9! Wallace Beery; 10, Clark Gable; 11, Ivor Novello; 12, Jack Oakie; 13, Slim Summerville; 14, Ramon Novarro; 15, Stan Laurel; 16, Douglas Fairbanks; 17 Sydney Howard; 18, Oliver Hardy; 19’ Leslie Fuller; 20, Jimmy Durante. !Women.—1, Mae West; 2, Greta Garbo; 3, Jean Harlow; 4, Joan Crawford; 5, Constance Bennett; 6, Marlene Dietrich; 7, Jessie Matthews; 8, Katharine Hepburn : 9, Clara Bow: 10, ?asn Pitts; 11, Lilian Harvey; 12, Janet Gaynor; 13, Gloria Swanson; 14, Tallulah Bankhead; 15, Myrna Loy; 16, Ruth Chatterton; 17, Gracie Fields; IS, Lupe Velez; 19, Betty Davis; 20, Carole Lombard. . c That a high position m the list ot “hates” is not inconsistent with great popularity is shown by the cases of Greta Garbo and Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, and Clark Gable. The first fact of importance is that of the 250,000 film fans who received papers, 124,837, or practically 50 per c«?nt., were sufficiently, interested to fill in and post their replies, But perhaps this is not so surprising when one realises that 54 per cent, of these fans go to the movies at least twice a week. The voting for film directors also reveals growing interest in the screen. Ten years ago most fans had never heard of a director. They believed that Tom Mix galloped and Mr Fairbanks jumped and Miss Pickford tossed her curls and Mr Bunny was funny because they couldn’t help themselves; they just happened to be like that. To-day film directors have a following, as this table shows: — 1. Alexander Korda; 2, Tom Walls; 3, Ernst Lubitscli; 4. Victor Saville; 5, Cecil B. De Mille; 6, J. Vpn Sternberg; 7, George Cukor; 8, Frank Capra; 9, Frank" Lloyd; 10, Basil Dean. The popularity of Mr De Mille would be more convincing if some of the voters hadn’t attributed to him ‘ Ben Hur ’

(Fred Niblo), ‘ Orphans of the Storm ’ (Griffith), and ‘Way Down East’ (Griffith), and there are certain obvious omissions, hut on the whole this represents a fairly intelligent view of the cinema. The inclusion of ‘ Three-cornered Moon ’ and ‘ I’m No Angel ’ in the six worst films of the year—that was not so intelligent. MANY ANOMALIES. Both the “ Likes ” and 11 Dislikes ” tables are full of anomalies. Greta Garbo, for instance, is third in the list of “ Likes,” second in the “ Dislikes ” —which presumably shows that whatever people feel about her they are seldom neutral. In the same way Jean Harlow, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Jessie Matthews, and Janet Gaynor amongst the women, and Baft, Beery, Cagney, Lynn, Cantor, Lloyd, Lee Tracy, Jack Buchanan, and even Chaplin amongst the men, figure fairly high in both lists. Some of the results are, to me, quite bewildering. You might not adore Jack Oakie, of the moonhke, freckled countenance, or Stanley Laurel, of the bemused stare, or William Powell, or James Dunn, or Gary Cooper. But dislike them above all others? Why? The replies to the question, “ What kind of film do you prefer?” are more intelligible, though many films are not easy to define. Women’s Preference. —1, musical comedy; 2. society drama; 3, thrilleradventure ; 4, love romance; 5, comedy; 6, travel; 7, war. Men’s Preferences. —1, thriller-adven-ture ; 2, musical comedy; 3, comedy; 4, society drama; 5, love romance; 6, travel; 7, war; ■ The most notable points revealed by analysis are: — The dislike of patrons under twentyone for society drama, which is top with all other age categories. The growing dislike as age increases for thriller-adventure, which is top with the under twenty-ones. The significant fact shat the under 21’s are alone in preferring war pictures to travelogues. SOME SUGGESTIONS. The question, “Have you any suggestions to make for the improvement of cinema entertainment?” brought requests for; Cast lists to be shown at the end as well as the beginning of films. Fewer news reels. »■ More news reels. No babies or children to be allowed in the theatre during the evening performance. A man of sixty-five thought it would be “ an excellent idea ” if chocolates, cigarettes, and ices could he delivered to patrons by means of a moving chute, which would also collect the necessary payment—“ thus other patrons would not suffer, disturbance from attenda,lAnother patron considered it “ rather essential ” that escalators should be installed in place of the stairs leading to the circle, and that all gangways between seats should be constructed as moving platforms “ to save people having to” walk to their seats.”