Motion Picture News

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 10450, 3 December 1927, Page 4

Motion Picture News

PROGRAMMES FOR NEXT WEEK. EVERYROD'Y’S THEATRE. Tliis Afternoon.’and To-night: ‘‘The " '.Notorious; _ Lady’’—-First Nation- " aD-featuring Lewis Stone and Barbara Bedford. Also “The Outsider”—Fox—featuring Jncquolirio Logan and Lou Tellegan. Tuesday and Wednesday: “The Dnnger . Signal'-'—Columbia—'featur- : ,ing Jane ;Novak' and Gaston Glass. ' Thursday • and ;Friday: “The Fight- : ing peacemaker” Universal—featuring Jack Hoxio. PA’LA®THEAT] !E. Thlis.Afternoon and To-night: “Ya-l-onoia” —■ Afetro-Ooldwyn-Arayor —featuring .Mae Murray, Lloyd • Hughes and Roy D’Aniy. Also ■ “Senorita”—Paramount — featuring Bebe Daniels, James Hall and William Powell. Monday: ‘The Clinging Vine'—First National featuring Beatrice Joy. Tuesday and Wednesday: ‘The City’ /■—Fox—featuring .May Allison and all-star cast. Thursday and Friday: “Knock-out iteii ly ’ ’ —Pa ramo u in— fen t uri ng Richard Pix, Alary Brian and - Jack Renault. SCREEN NEWS. Buster Collier the famous son of a famous father, is giving his father “a chance.”, it was William Collier, senior, the well-known stage comedian, who first put his son, then a curly-haired kid of six years, into a stage play. Now, however, having attained Lime, Buster is planning to return the compliment and give Ins dad a chance in pictures. :i : : : *• - Vilma jßanlcv states that she is pure Hungarian—this in reply to one who said her fair beauty must owe something to one of tier ancestors, who must have boon a daughter of the Vikings. Lya.de Patti is Hungarian. Brown-skinned, black-eyed, and raven-haired is Miss de Rutti. But Miss Banky is the palest blonde. Her skin is pink and white, her eyes are an intense blue, and tier hair is iho color of flax. “Of all ipy family j. am the only one so. All the others are brown,” she said. Really staggering are the figures of the insurance that some ot the film people have taken out for themselves. In a list which was printed in an insurance publication it is shown that Gloria Swanson is insured lor 2,000,000 dollars, approximately £400,000. John Barrymore, 2,000,000 dollars, ■Norma • Talmadge, 1,250,000 dollars ; and Erich won Stroheim, Douglas Fairbanks. Charles Chaplin, Constance Talmadge, Will Rogers, and Alary Bickford, each for 1,000,000 dollars. Babe Ruth lias been and gone, and is said to have left a very dignified impression of himself on the screen, in the film entitled “Babe Comes" Home." Babe has a great penchant- for olives, and whenever he was invited to a ,party in Hollywood the host-ess always saw to it that lie had a nice large supply of them placed. in his vicinity. Babe has been known to eat the contents of a quartcan at one sitting. Perhaps this olive habit- has something to do with his flair for home runs. .:: : : : Bill Hart’s pet hobby is collecting guiis used by famous killers ot thd early west, and he has a great collection. The latest piece to be acquired, and one of which Bill is proud, is that used so successfully by Billy the Kid, undoubtedly the greatest slayer of the south-west. The kid who mot a violent end at the age of 21- years, had 21 notches on his gun. one for every year of lus short life. And these were all white men, for the Kid refused to count Mexicans. Ramon Xovnrro is going to become a great tenor, the real successor to Caruso, according to many Tn.US.ical-authorities. Among them is Louis Graveuro, one of the most famous singers and teachers in America. Ramon is devoting his entire tims-to the study of nuisic now. anC says that eventually he is going to give up the .screen for tho operatic and concert stage. Imagine hearing some of our operatic heroes divinely sung by somebody that looks like Ramon, instead of the disillusioning fat gentlemen who usually appear. Toni Alix is seriously talking of disposing of his historic old Alixville. Where for many years lie made his nictures. There are two plans that he is considering. One is to have the place sub-divided into lots and puton the market : the other, to make, it a public playground for children. Tom . is inclined to favor the latter plan, since, after all, ho is very rich, and the acquiring of a little money through n real estate' enterprise would mean little to him. Also, he is very fond of children, ns is shown in his complete devotion to Thoniasina, his little five-year-old daughter. Whoever heard of an actor who did not want to bo a star? Such a one, however, is Charlie Murray, the famous screen comedian. “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown of stardom.” says -Murray. "Once having attained the height of screen fame, all the zest of achievement passes, and a star man always expects to be a point of attack for any self-styled critic. The peak of perfection once attained, the star is always expected to do a little hotter in each performance. Oblivion is always yawning close by and one never knows when the slip will come.” : : : : is It is a curious, but none the less interesting fact, that 85 per cent of the most famous screen players, and stars are members of good-sized families. Ramon Novarro is bn© of a family of ten, while Sally O’Neil has three brothers, and two sisters. Victor AlcLaglen has seven brothers, while AA’illinm Haines is the only hoy in a family of four. Norma Shearer’s sister, Atliole, sought a screen career, but married and gave up pictures. Aliss Shearer also has a brother, Douglas. Roy D’Arcy, famous villain, is really 1 a family man, .with .three brothers and a sister. Alany screen stars must- divide their fame' with their ! brothers and sisters The famous Barrymore family—Ethel John, and Lionel—is an example. Alnreeline Day lias a famous sister, Alice; and Ziori Myers the brother of Carmel, is a director. Dorothy and Lillian Gish share screen honors, JAin Chaney’s brother produced a play, witli- him in Colorado Springs, but .left the theatrical business a vear-or- so later. Renee Adoree ‘has a-sister, Alira, a stage actress. The sisters; of Clairfe. Windsor arid Dor-, othy -’SebastianMare rion-professional. groan Crawford has a brother., John . Gilbert'is ono of the few “only children.”; A Lejv Cody, is another who has no brothers .or sisters, ■ • ‘

By The Movie Fan

Some girls excel at tennis, others are masters of indoor baseball, but Janet Gaynor has an accomplishment peculiarly her own. She loves to run —and she can run. She proved this by defeating all challengers at San Francisco's Polytechnic High School.

John Bowers, who has the; lead opposite Corinne Griffiths in “Three Hours,” evidently believes in speed. During the production, of the. picture he purchased he racing car with which Tommy Alii ton won the world s dirt track record. John also owns a yacht and for a hobby .engages in yacht racing in the Pacific off Los Angelos. Another of his pastimes is Title shooting.

A cast- of New Zealand stars appear in ‘The Tc Kooti Trail,” a production which is shortly to be seen in Auckland (says the Auckland “Herald”). Little" Aliss .Billie Andvcasson lias one of the principal roles and other loading parts are taken by A list Tina Hunt, a favorite with every visitor to -Rotorua, Captain IT. Redmond, the Rev. Jasper Cafiler, who managed to spare a little time from, his missionactivities to appear before the* camera. Robert Yandall, Tom McDermott and Arthur Lord. There is an excellent story running through the picture, which is said" to abound in beautit til glimpses of New Zealand scenery. Little Wendell Phillips Franklin will capture the heart of every man and woman who sees him on the screen as> Sonny, in “The Fourth Commandment,”' He is unaffected before the camera, and although this was his first picture work, he portrays his role with the sureness of a veteran. Wendell objects to being ealola “a find.” Xeverheless, Emory tJohnson considers him one of those rare and talented children who really are “discoveries” in the parlance ot the cinema world. Belle Bennett, who is his mother in this production, prophesies that the little actor will some day be as famous as any player on the Screen. Compared with oilier Australian films of a similar kind “The Rushing Tide,” winch was shown privately at the Afajestie Theatre, marks a distinct- advance in Australian moving picture production (says the “Australasian” of October 2D). Spectacular scenes like those successfully depicted in “For the Term of His Natural Life” were not attempted in this film, which represents an endeavor by o new company to produce an ordinary “feature” film. .Efficient and pleasing photography provides tin's film with an attraction that is niton sadlv lacking in Australian-made pictures. The story, although it contains some improbabilities, holds the interest. The coastal scenes have charm, and the indoor scenes are photographed tastefully and with care. 1 hero is convincing and sincere acting by a large east. WAS VALENTINO MURDERED? DIAMOND DUST THEORY, REJECTED AVO.MAN’S REVENGE. Sensational stories that Rudolph Valentino's death was caused by a beautiful woman whose advances lie rejected, arc published in a local paper, “11 Sooclo.” states a Alilan cable to an Australian journal. The paper states that it is alleged that she administered to her victim diamond dust, which gradually perforates the wall of the stomach. An American detective's wire is quoted as being responsible for discovering the crime. She says she saw Valentino at a Broadway night club spurn the advances of the girl, whose passion for the 1 film star was well known. * When the rejected girl left the club she went arm-in-arm w ith a fiim magnate with whom Valentino had consistently refused to cater into contracts. The strangest part c.f the story.is that in which tho detective’s wile says site saw the girl noil to tw o men who whispered “The Indian method is infallible.” According to the theory advanced, one can mix diamond dust in a drink and thereby bring about a death without the doctors being able to diagnose the correct cause. BATTERED BY BREAKERS FILM PARTY’S. ADVENTURES. RETURN TO SYDNEY. Two months crammed with adventure — Attacks by an alligator and poisonous snakes, and a narrow escape from being wrecked were among some of the stirring incidents related bv members of the Seven Seas Screen Production'Company, who returned from Papua to Syctnev by the Alorinda. The eompanv set cut from Sydney last July for Papua with the object of producing what was described as “a- romance of the Empire." The title of the picture is “The Unsleeping Eye.” and depicts native life in a favorable light. The adventures began when, in a barque, they started to cross the Gulf of Papua. Heavy seas carried the little craft on to a sandbank where she lay for hours, battered by heavy breakers. The seas swept aboard and Baby Laurel, aged three, was almost drowned in her hunk before other members of iho party could wade across the wave-washed decks to her rescue.' Just as the party had given up all hope, a wave bigger than the rest, washed the battered vessel over the bank into the calmer waters beyond. On another occasion one of the partywars washed overboard and but- for the timely assistance of Air Sully;, the cinematographer would have been drowned. A Sydney artist. Aliss Wendy Osborne, took the leading part. At first it was thought that the journey into the' heart of Papua, would -fie too hazardous for a- woman, but Aliss Osborne made light of all danger, although cn one occasion she narrowly missed being bitten by a snake. N Other members cf the, cast are Lcn Norman, David Wallace and Baby Laurel. The film was produced by Alexander Macdonald, F.R.G.S.. who, with Air. AV. H. Sully,, directed it.