The SCREEN and its STARS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11915, 8 April 1933, Page 10

The SCREEN and its STARS

W (By tlie Moviet Fan).

REGENT THEATRE /To-day, - 2 p.m. 5 p.m, and 8 p.m., Monday and Tuesday “Money Talks”—British Comedy, featuring Julian Rase, Gus AlcNaugliton, Jimmy Hodden, Judy Kelly and Kid Berg. Wednesday and Thursday —“'Devil -and the Deep”—Melodrama, featuring Tallulah Bankhead and Charles LaughtonGood Friday— No screening. MAJESTIC THEATRE TJa-daya 11 a.m. 2 p.m., and 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday—“ Hold ’Em Tail”— Comedy, starring Wheeler and Woolsey, Edna. May Oliver, Boscoe Ates and Edgar Kennedy and “My Pal the King”—Western Melodrama, starring Tom Mix. Wednesday and Thursday “The Crooner” Melodrama, .starring David Manners and Anne Dvorak. Gjon'cV/Friday- No screening. SCREEN KIDS SEARCH FOR- TALENT Hollywood, ever anxious to discover! a now 'Jackie Coogan or -a new Jackie Cooper, has keen carrying on a baby-hunt for years- It was a twosided affair, with the parents even nforc avid in their quest than iho -fearehers from the studios. This is true even though the path is not- an easy one for the fortunate youngsters discovered.

Once the little Mallory or Baxter ii.<4 discovered in someone’s home the greatest worries of parents and studios alike begin. A perplexing maze of ironbound rules and regulations mustbh‘ fulfilled before the youngster is. allowed to begin Ihis film career. To use children in pictures, the studios must first get a. permit from the welfare department- of 1. 0.5 Angeles. This necessitates the written permission of the parents, or guardian. The youngster must then he examined by a reputable physician and declared to ho in perfect-health. The studio must at all times! furnish a- closed oar to transport the youngster and his mother or nurse to and from ( the studio.

Tho studios must also provide a complete nursery on each set- using votv yoning children. Tins takes in the necessity of providing sterilised sheets, towels, 'and other requirements, all under the supervision or a registered nurse. Tire nurse is required even if the mother accompanies her baby. A young baby must- at- no time he exposed to the lights -of the scene for more than, thirty seconds, and not foi more than two minutes out! of any two hours. And these two hours constitute the youngster’s full working day. , . Each major studio has a. schoolhouse >and licensed instructors- One studio has Had to provide a portable schoolhous.s which travels about- from stag eto stage during the betweenseene periods, when the children ai e required by law to stir cl j.

NEWSREEL ltsts all the The Paramount newsreel, which foi -;h e past, several years has claimed nn unbroken record for the greatest number of news •“coop;' P"- nrt rum, seems to have outdistanced the field again in 1932. During the last Twelvemonths, it reached tho nation’s Theatres first with nine of the biggest pictures of the year. These included; —• The bombing of Shanghai by the Japanese— Ala,jor Doolittle breaking a trans-Continental aeroplane record in netting this to New York. ” Exclusive shots of the earthquake in- Santiago—Paramount sent- its own r-rew to Santiago in a chartered ship. Exclusive and amazing colourful scenes from India, showing the riots which resulted from the arrest and hunger strike of Mahatma, Ghantli. Opening of the Republican National Conventions—Russell Bonrdman, the famous speed flyer, was the hero of these scoops. In the first trip he fought- a cloudburst and a dense fog. In the second flight lie broke the speed record from Chicago to Newark. Amelia. Earhenrt’s trans-Atlantic flight was another clean win. The company was far ahead of the other reels and broke even with New York newspapers on the stories of the Lindbergh kidnapping and the finding of the murdered child. Every camera-t-rew in the East was put on the ease, the men working in three shifts for more than a month in ore.or to keep pace with developments! AIISS GRETA GARBO. Aliss Greta Garbo has renewed her contract with Atetro-GoldwynAlaiei on 0. basis which not only gives her the right to select her own stories, her own leading men, and her own directors, but also gives her the right to say in what country her films will he made.

Air. Walter Wanger, who presented a series of films at Covent Garden some years ago, and who was recently a production supervisor with Paramount, is to be in charge of the unit allocated t-o Miss Garbo. He is now preparing the scenario of “Christina the drama of seventeenthcentury, Sweden, which will he Aliss Garbo’s next film, and on which five writers have so far worked unsuccessfully.

It is not yet known whether Miss Garbo has secured a labour permit allowing her to return tp work in Hollywood, which she left last July saying she would never return, If Miss Garbo decides to work in Europe, Mr. Wanger, with a complete „ technical unit, a company of supporting players, and a director who may he'Mr. Clarence Brown or Mr. Chas,

Bra-bin, will come to Europe

This would he the first occasion 111 film history on which a European star instead of going to Hollywood, compelled Hollywood to come to her. ESCAPE FROM DISABLED SUBMARINE. AI.AR.VEL OF MODERN WORLD PROVIDES'THRILL. ’With the active development of heavier than air and under water craft in modern times, has come many inventions for the safety of those who drive them. Unfortunate accidents have befallen submarines, and the brains of the world have tried to devise means of rescue for those trapped in the disabled submarine lying helplessly at the bottom of the sen. In “Devil and the Deep.” the dramatic offering from Paramount, coming to the Regent Theatre, there is a submarine deliberately wrecked nr collision b v the insane commander. And then 'the thrill of the triumph of modern brains is seen making d possible for the trapped survivors to escape, adding to the thrill and drama of the picture. 'Taken in association with experts from the department of iho Navy, the actual scenes of the inside of a si,bum vine were built faithfully on ibe vast stage of the Pavmonnt studios and then Hooded. The men are under the same conditions as they would lie at the bottom of the >oa, excepting perhaps the depth would, not lie quite the same. Having shown you in detail the preparations of the men for their escape, and the men in the hatches awaiting the evening of the pressure of the sea above before releasing themselves, patrons are then taken to sea.

Scenes of the escape of men from a sunken submarine were tfken at practice by a unit of the navy, and b v the use of a special diving boll, which enabled the photographer to o-ctAhe pictures of the men coming from the submarine and raising themselves by the buoy to the top. The players are Gary Cooper. 'Tallulah Bankhead. Charles Laughton and C'ary Grant. FI I.M CENSORSHIP. Censors are costing the international film business over .£500,000 a year, according to recently-published statistics. This huge figure includes the cost of films banned in part or in entirety. besides the foes paid by producers for having their pictures submitted for inspection.

The most heavily-censored country is the United States, which to-day supports n° fewer Than 400 hoards of censorship. Of this number 125 are “parish” censors wlm have sprung into existence during the past twelve months, attracted, it is said, by the profit-making possibilities nf censorship fees. 60 grave has become the menace of this army of local censors that Hollywood producers now maintain an expensive organisation to combat- the “racketeering” demands of small-town jack-s-in-office. Censorship experts are also retained by the loading studios to watch pictures in the making which might offend moral Or racial prejudices at homo and abroach Probably the sanest and most economically-conducted, censorship system in tho world is that oi the British Board of Film Censors, which examines some 7,000,000 feet of film annually at a cost to producers of only a few thousand pounds.

OUXAIEX BTJfVY. PANIC IN HOLLYWOOD. “Your money or your life’’ is the threatening demand heard here too often nowadays for the peace of mind of the film stars, writes the Hollywood correspondent of the “Daiiy Mail.” 80 many daring hold-ups have been reported to the police that- tho film colon v is on tho verge of panic. Detectives are. in great demand as protectors of film stars, their homes, and their children, for despite several ronnd-ups by the Los Angeles police, robberies with violence continue. Aliss Betty Compson reports the latest. She, says that while she was playing cards with Air. Aleshin, her nrodvotion manager, a gunman entered' her home and robbed her of jewels valued at £IO,OOO. bound with piano,wire. When the door-lioll rang she answered. and was confronted with revolvers held by a man dressed as a messenger. He bound Aliss Compson and Air. Aleshin in the actress’s bedroom with piano wire, and swept lier dressing table of rings and other jewellery.

The film star was the first to get free, and she telephoned to the police. The gunman’s threat, was: “T. know in y business. ,If you squawk I will bum the house down.” 1

The uniform of the messenger hoys is a- favourite disguise of Hollywood robbers.

The list of criminal activities in filmland in recent months is startling. Quite recently, a man who had pestered Miss Bebe Daniels for months was sent to an asylum. He told the court that he acted' in a film marriage in Mexico when Miss Daniels was the bride, and he argued that the marriage was valid; \ ; BEATEN IN HIS OWN CAB. ‘ ' } ~ .. ; On the last day of* the' old year Miss Irene Dunne was robbed when

she stepped out of a, motor-car to enter her home.

For some time the police concealed the fact that Miss Mae West, the Broadway actress, who came here f°r the production of her own play, “Diamond Lil,” had been p-obbed of £4OOO worth of cash and jewellery. She was held up outside her homo, 111 the same way as was Miss Dunne, by an armed man.

Until his recent departure, Mr. Josef von Sternberg, who was Miss Marlene Dietrich’s director, was always accompanied by a bodyguard after lie had hcen beaten and robber,’ in bis own motor-car.

KIDNAPPING THREATS

Not satisfied with robbery, the desperadoes fattening on the film colony are constantly threatening to abduct- the children of famous stars. Miss Marlene Dietrich has protertion not only for herself, hut also for her child Maria, aged six.

Kidnapping threats forced Miss Anno Harding to adopt the same measures for her daughter Janes. The Chaplin hoys, Charlie jnn. and Tommy. are also under the personal care of a detective. Air. Richard Arden "as chased home in his motor-ear by two men in a fast car. Alis.s Jeannette MacDonald lost her jewels and Miss Marion Davies received a bomb by post. Air. George Bancroft, Miss Ruth Chatterton. Aliss Joan Crawford, and others have been threatened with trouble. NOTES AN D NEWS . Movie stars, male and female keep tliter age well, despite the- worries of producers and the alleged gay life •in Hollywood, in iwliich perforce, it is assumed tile majority of the leading players must to some extent, at any rate, participate. George Arliss is 65 years of age. Louise Glosser Halo 63. Tom Mix 53, Douglas Fairbanks and Thomas Afeighan 49, Wallace Beery 47. Olivo Brook 40, Harold Floyd 40. Ruth Chatterton 35. Nonna Shearer 29, and Greta Garbo 2R * » » Kid Berg, the popular boxing champion, makes, his screen debut ns a suitor for Julian Rose’s lovely daughter Rosie, played by Judy Kelly. the fascinating B.UP. Australian protege, Kids rival being played by Griffith Jones, another newcomer. One of the highlights of “Money Talks,” to he screened at the Regent to-day, is a terrific seven-round boxing contest in which the “Kid” and Jones fight- for Judy’s hand-

The newest- /innovation in Hollywood parties; is a bicycle festival, -loan Crawford is the originator of this idea. Aliss Crawford plans to gather together all her friends who are cycle enthusiasts, and on, the first moonlight night set out -on their bicycles for ai marathon. Refreshments will he waiting at the end of iho ride.

Lqviise C-losser Hale, famous for her sternlv humorous characterizations. has been assigned the role of Alyrna Loy’s chaperon “The Alan on tho Nile.” The strife between Aliss Hale and Novarro, tho latter attempting to circumvent her chaperonage of Aliss -Loy, provides many laugh moments.

No one can. accuse George Arliss of not. be versatile for during the time he has been making talking pictures for Warner Bros. First National ho has portrayed various characters including a statesman, business man bnd a musician, and now in tho latest picture; “The King’s Vacation” he takes tho part of a king- This picture deals (with the political troubles of a small European kingdom during a. period of strife and depression. Contrary to the usual -stories of this type Arliss gives up his throne in this •picture in favour of the Republic, aha cl leads the life of a retired gentleman, from whence the picture gets its) title. In support of Mr Arl’.ss is his wife (Florence Arliss.

Few actresses who have attained the age of 35 will accept the risk of playing a. young girl’s part on the screen. Not- so (with Ruth Chatterton. Sho has dared the merciless exposure of calcium lights to play tho Title of a girl of seventeen, 'in the early sequences of “Frisco Jenny. The first lady of tho screen has a singularly youthful) face, free, of the marks of time that come to most women even in their early thirties, llc.r figure, while a little fuller than those termed boyish, is still slim and trim enough for the young, girl just blossoming into womanhood. In “Frisco Jenny” a tale oi- the. old Barbary Coast from before the San Francisco earthquake, when bright (lights blaze forth their glitter and shame, to the present, Aliss Chatter,ton, in the title role passes through a quarter of a century of time. So, while the story opens with her as a very young girl, she has become a matured woman before the picture closes. She is supported by a largo least included in which are Donald CJ'ok, Helen. Jerome Eddy and Pat O’Malley.

Shortly to he released by Warner Bros- First National Pictures: is “I Am a. Fugitive from a Chain Gang, starring' 1 J lll Muni. The stoiy, which was, authored by Robert E'Burns, who is .still in hiding from tho chain gang police, shows men driven to desperation by the terrible tortures, poor food and excessive labour of the chain gang. Panl Aluni, as ,a fugitive, makes a sensatiqnal esca.pq and crosses the country into another./ state. After years of struggle ho makes good under an as sumled name, but a woman discovers his past-, and in a fit of jealousy, hcjtrays him, He is returned to the chain gang only to escape again. There is no more touching figure than this fugitive, a man yearning for love and a home; an ex-service man skulking from place to place, not daring to show his face, tillable to marry the girl he loves devotedly, just a man without a country.