SYMPHONY OF NOISES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21332, 5 November 1932, Page 11 (Supplement)

SYMPHONY OF NOISES

NEW CHEVALIER FILM A symphony of noises has been introduced into the Maurice Chevalier film, " Love Me To-night." The introduction of (his symphony is one of the novel ideas worked out for tlio first time by Rouben Mamouiian, who developed startling innovations in " Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," " City Streets " and " Applause." The picture opens on a silent, empty Parisian street. The first sound is the gong of a clock, signifying the hour of 7 a.m. A street worker comes into view and begins hammering on a cobblestone. This is done in rhythm. The camera travels to a tramp, asleep in a barrel and his snores trade rhythmic beats with the sounds of the hammer. A janitor comes out to sweep the step of a house, and the rustle of the broom mingles with the other sounds in perfect tempo. Windows open, rugs are beaten, horse hoofs pound and other sounds combine in an unusual symphony rising merely through sounds. A taxi drivfts up and the driver toots a musical horn. This is the first musical note in the picture. In a window, a girl starts a phonograph which picks up the nct.es of the taxi horn. Little by little, the orchestral background is added to the symphony of sounds, and the picture thon swings to the room of Chevalier in which he puts the symphony into lyrics with " The Song of Paris."