THE USE OF COLOUR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22262, 9 November 1935, Page 13 (Supplement)

THE USE OF COLOUR

, ALEXANDER KORDA'S VIEWS READY IN Sl* MONTHS Bearing his American triumphs with modesty and humour, Alexander Korda returned to London recently with his fellow-director, Sir Connop Guthrie. While in Hollywood he engaged Mai-lene Dietrich for one picture. The director will not be Josef von Sternberg, who has made all her pictures since "The Blue Angel" except one. Mr. Korda heard the most flattering reports of two British pictures—his own "Scarlet Pimpernel" and the GaumontBritish thriller, "The Thirty-Nine Steps." "The Scarlet Pimpernel" will earn 25 per cent more in England and America than the record-breaking "Henry VIIT." British actors are highly popular in Hollywood, he said, but complain bitterly of having to pay both British and American income-tax, ■which takes,' with agent's fee, about £7OOO out of an income of £12,000. Mr. Korda has come back as enthusiastic about colour as when he went away. "If our laboratories were equipped I would start using colour now, in 'Cyrano de Bergerac,' " he rfaid. ''As it is, it will be six months before we are' reacly. After that I expect to make no more pictures in black and white. "There are stories, of course—our 'Lawrence of Arabia' is a case in point f—that .look very well in black and white. • But I 'am convinced that there are very few subjects .that do not look letter in natural colour. We shall have to find men , with a flair for colour design,, and use colour as we now use

filters and otlier devices in black and ,white —etylise it to fit mood and iempo." " 7 Mr. Korda does not agree with certain other producers that safety lies in producing economical commercial pictures. "The only economy," he said, "is to make good pictures. 'Ben Hur cost £BOO,OOO and brought in £2,200,000. Was it an expensive picture or a cheap one? I only wish I could make one a year like it." Mr. Kprda says that Chaplin's new picture, "Modern Times," is the best lie has ever made, and that Chaplin will come to ; England next year to produce a

ELISABETH BERGNER'S ROLE The sensational success of Elisabeth Bergner in the stage version of " Escape Me Never " is »till a byword in England, and lovers of dramatic acting will be gratified Jo know that the film version will -#• : shown at the Civic Theatre shortly.