The SCREEN and its STARS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 13092, 13 February 1937, Page 10

The SCREEN and its STARS

SHIRLEY TEMPLE FOURTH YEAR AS LEADING' FILM ACTRESS HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 21. Shirley Temple, the million-dollar baby they found in la. five-cent picture began her ifourth year on December 19 as a. contract actress. Three years ago, December 19, 1933, she was urn unknown little girl working bn a week-to-week basis in a series of one-real baby pictures. On that day she came with 149 other children—most of whom also had dimples and curls—to try out for a brief song and dance bit in the musical film “Stand up and Cheer.” I’o-day she isj the No. 1 box-office attraction of the motion picture world. Her box-office stature is twice that of Garbo. Executives of Twentieth-Century-Fox studios estimate 240,000,000 people—a. number twice the size, of the! population, of the United States l —have paid to. see her on the screen. They claim her popularity is still growing. They cite the lukewarm reception she used to receive in Paris, and compare it to a recent situation in) tho French capital, when her pictures. wore playing in five, different theatres the same day, all to capacity audiences. American theatre men voted her the leading box-office attraction for 1936. She is the only player of either sex or any nation to get it twice in a row. In England she outranked even the. reigning native favourite, Grade Fields, in the opinion of British Theatre mop she is the only American ever to receive this rating. She has made 12 feature pictures. Studio heads estimated each film cost an average of £IOO,OO0 —cheap as features go—and grossed £600,000. Her original contract stipulated a £3O a week '.salary. To-day, usiially well-informed sources say she is paid per picture at £15,000 per film. It is estimated she has earned more than £425,000 in studio salaries, perhaps a, third as much again in advertising "tie-ups.” She will he eight years old on April 23.

DANCING IS NOT EVERYTHING

CHORUS' GTRLS MUST HAVE BRAINS

“The chorus girl of to-day has to use her head to make a living with her feet,”

Dave Gould, whose career as a dance director, both in Hollywood and on 'Broadway, has brought him in contact with thousands of chorinc-s, says that the last live years of musicals have made it necessary for dancing girls to have educated minds as well as educated toes.

“The first, musical pictures called for tlic girls to do' simple time steps, which took about a. day to learn. The routines were learned in less than a week/’ adds Gould.

“Now the girls are called upon to do the same steps as the principals and for that reason must practise many weeks before they begin to learn the routines. I’ve had one group of girls working with Eleanor Powell for the past month, for us tons of the seven extravaganza numbers, in her latest M.G.M. musical, “Born to Dance. '

“Drastic changes in camera- and sound equipment" have made it possible to put on intricate and elaborate numbers' that were unheard of in initial daysi of the musicale. Now ft is possible for ia camera to swoop down from a, distance of a hundred feet and go bac-k again all in a. few seconds, making ft possible to photograph every detail of the dance.

“Changes in ■ music have also made it necessary to havfe educated girls who have a basic understanding of arrangements and timing, and this is especially true in ‘Born tq Dance,’ where the music of ,Cble Porter is being featured. Th© dancers must understand his style of timing in order to execute! their numbers.

“And, last but not least, the new plan of making every dancer a ‘danc-ing-a(dress/ in the hopci of discovering new dramatic talent, has narrowed the present chorines down to the ‘brainy’ type concludes Gould.

CINEMA MADE OP PETROL TINS F'ilmgoers take the supreme com, fort of to-day’s cinemas in their stride. Deep in upholstery' they lie back and watch Jessie Matthews or .Anna Lee. on the screen and take it all for granted. But film; fan's in other parts of the world are not iso fortunate, and, although the same films are shown, the surroundings would make the favoured film-goers of this country clamour for the manager. A isighaller. in the Essex Regiment stationed in the Soudan wrote to Nova Pilbeam to say he thoroughly enjoyed “Little Friend,” which was shown in | the desert cinema... Their cinema had its walls built up of empty petrol tins and.four sheets sewn together for the screen. Far out in. Singapore Anna Lee’s army fans Tally t© see her pjctureis. in thpir battalion open-air. cinema, but, cjuite, often a rain storm puts an. end to the show and they have, tp holt for cover. Jessie Matthew's’ films have been shown .in many strange cinemas. .An American battleship arrived in Engandi complete with cinema, and showed .the sailors “First a Girl” while anchored in the-harbour, causing many requests for photographs •to afrivp at the Gaumont-British studios. “It’s Loye Again” was shown in the world’s largest ciii6n£a which is on a giant opien space in America. A huge fecreen towers into the sky, together with' ehormocs loudspeakers, and patrons avmply drive up; switch off their ©hgine's and ' watch the film from/ their cars. ■ " L r '

CORONATION FILM On October 9, 1911, a. film of the Coronation of King George V. waspresented .to the Dominion Museum by the theatrical firm of John F'uller and Sons. This film is new stored at the new Dominion Museum, but there is doubt wether it can be screened again, other films of historic interest having become too old and brittle for use, says the “Dominion.” Actually the museum has not lost a unique record of. the 1911 Coronation, for at the time of King George’s Jubilee celebrations the British Government presented to tho New Zealand Government a film depicting the life of tho King. This includes Coronation scenes, and is, of course, in an excellent stage of preservation. It lias been screened several times in the new Dominion Museum cinema. When enquiry was made at the museum it was explained that although modern methods of preserving enabled film to be kept in good condition indefinitely, the films presented in 1911 had not had the benefit of this treatment. The old Coronation film had not had been, tested in the museum projector, but others of the same period had been tried unsuccessfully, and the chances were that the Coronation film would be no better. One difficulty was that old film, unless specially treated and preserved, developed shrinkage and became brittle. When run through the projector it wa-s opt to break. It was believed that film in this condition might be washed, rewaxed and “brought back,” but this had not yet been attempted in the case of tho old Coronation film.

BRITISH FILM CRISIS Recent cable news from London reported that British film-producing companies had suffered serious losses during the past year. It was stated that, more than £2,000,000 had been lost through the production of unprofitable films. 1 The manager of the New Zealand branch of United Artists, who are the world-wide distributers, for Alexander Korda-London Films, lias been advised by cablegram from bead office in. New York that Alexander KordaLondon Films are in no way affected by tho failure of other British film companies. Alexander Korda, who presides over Loudon Films, advises that no changes whatever will be made in the policy of London Films production. Korda’s plans for producing during the current year will involve an expenditure of £2,500,000. Each picture is bring designed for world-wide distribution, and many of the pictures 'will feature stars of! international fame -supplied by United Artists American studios.

NOTES AND NEWS Mary Ellis, who was with Walter Pidgeon in “Fatal Lady,” was first discovered hv the famous impressario Gatti-Casazza and catapulted to fame in American Metropolitan opera. * * « Clark Gable trained under a. former boxer,, Harvey Perry, for his role of a fighter in “Gain and Mabel” with Marion Davies. Pie did four miles of road work every morning before starting gymn., and dropped from 250 to ISolhs before the picture started.

Sir Guy Standing, grand old man of the stage and screen, follows a •rigid regime while on the set- refuses all engagements, has no visitors, and retires early. Daughter Kay Hammond is fast rising to the top of the legitimate stage tree.

What is believed to he the champion fan letter of all time was received recently by Charles Boyer from Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A. It was written, by .a. high school girl. Meticulously .penned, its 10,0C0 words run 79 pages. The Wagner .star’s ardent admirer reveals that she has- seen most cf. his pictures; at feast ten times.

Marlene Deitrich, after experiencing the direction of British.'studio heads, does] not consider that the tempo of making films in England is slower than in Hollywood. There are slow directors and quick directors, she considers, both in Britain and in Hollywood. Questioned by ,an interviewer how she liked being mobbed by her fans each time she went out in' London, the actress confided that it was amusing for a while, hut she would not like it always. One of the blessings of Hollywood was that nobody bothers about film people there; they can go. where, they like, dress as they please, and, above all, the climate, she states, is perfect. Mrsg Deitrich was at the time of the interview still searching for a suitable school for her daughter Maria. The school s were either for older of younger girls than Maria.

* * • Douglas Fairbanks, .Tmv, is credited in .an English paper with calmly chewing gum all the time; he was in court during the hearing of a ease in. which he was concerned. Mrs. Russell (Peggy' Crawford in the films) claimed damages for injury, to her eyes diiring the. filming of “The Amateur Gentleman,” which he starred with Elissa Landi. Mrs. .Rnsseli said that in the studio the lights yvere so. powerful -that her eyes, were seriously affected and her arms apd . shoulders wqre burnt. She stated that .she had asked the director if she could move, and was told to |gp back to .her position. The next day, she could hapdly see, ,and as well as the pain, she suffered mental agony at the idea that perhaps she would lose her sight, . Apparently ;Dqujglas .chewed .calmly., until the rising of phe jCoji;rt when decision • was reserved. ’ • . '