THE SILENT STAGE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20705, 1 May 1929, Page 4

THE SILENT STAGE.

FILMS AND FILM ARTISTS.

By Harlequin.

Miss Anita Page, who scored her first screen success opposite William Haines in ‘‘Telling the World,” has been given the leading feminine role opposite the star in the new Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture, which goes into production shortly under the working title, “The Gob.” Dale Van Every, who wrote “Telling the World,” is also author of the new story, which Edward Sedgwick will direct. The players in the supporting cast include Karl Danes, Wade Boeteler and Laska Winters. The first full week of photography has been completed on “ Bulldog Drummoud,” the all-talking screen version of the novel and stage success, which will be Ronald Column's first talking picture. E. Richard Jones, dii’ector of “ The Gaucho,” is in charge of Goldwyn’s first venture into the dialogue field. Montague Love plays the role of Peterson, the arch criminal, and Miss Lilyan Tashman is Erma, the seductive adventuress, Others in the cast are Lawrence Grant, Wilson Range, Claude - Allister, ‘and Adolph Millar. George M. Cohan’s musical comedy success, “Little Johnny Jones,” is to be brought to the screen with the original music, songs and: dances. It will be a First National-Vitaphone picture, directed by Mervyn Re Roy, the youngest director in pictures. Lc Roy, who is a graduate of tjie vaudeville and musical comedy stage, is considered especially well fitted for this task, and an -.all-star cast of singers and dancers will be signed for the various roles. “ Little Johnny Jones” is, one of the most popular of Cohan’s many stage plays, and ,is the first to be produced on the screen with Vitaphpne. Following fast upon the enthusiastic reception of the . much-discussed pictui’e “ Dawn” at Paris, comes the cabled news of the triumph it achieved at Melbourne on * the occasion of its Australian premiere at Hoyt’s New Regent Theatre. The first week’s receipts constituted » “record” and the reception accorded the film was “ extraordinary in its fervour.” “Dawn” has now been shown in every part of the British Empire save New Zealand. A, British masterpiece in motion picture production that is causing quite a stir in film circles in England, France, and Germany is “ Tht, Silent House,” from the popular novel of that title. The London, Daily Mail, writes, of .it. .as “a picture that challenges the stage. Whatever the original play may have done to bewilder and provide shudders it cannot have surpassed this latest and greatest of screen thrillers. “ The Silent House” will be released in'-New Zealand shortly by British Dominions Films, Ltd. Jack Buchanan, the famous musical comedy star, js shortly to appear on the silver sheet in ihe latest British International comedy melodrama entitled “Toni,” from the pen of the well-known author and playwright Douglas Fxirber. Jack Buchanan, who is a perfect type of an. Englishman, is also an extremely fine athlete, and iii “Toni” his prowess has been used to the full, as the story’ contains fast moving incidents from beginning, to end. However, apart from his athletic powers, he is also a brilliant comedian and provides innumerable laughs and thrills as the young man who assumes the identity of a famous detective. The production of “ Toni ” was from the capable hands of the well-known English producer Arthur Maude, who had large Hollywood experience, and whose recent production “ Poppies of Flanders ” created a sensation in London and abroad. Kinema Art Films is releasing “ T6ni ” shortly. If demand is any criterion of an actor s worth, then William Boyd, who plays the romantic part of young Karl van Annin in D. W. Griffith’s “ Lady of the Pavements,” should be more than ordinarily proud. So marked was Boyd’s success in “ Two Arabian Knights ” that United Artists engaged him for the leading male role in “ Lady of the Pavements,” Griffith’s first movietone production. : In “Lady of the Pavements ” Boyd forsakes comedy roles for, the first time in eight months to play a romantic part. Miss Lupe Velez,: the Mexican actress, who first appeared in, “The Gaucho,” with Douglas Fairbanks, and Miss Jetta Goudal, have the leading feminine roles. The Daily Telegraph film correspondent (London)' writes:—“ Surprising claims are put forward on behalf of a new ‘ talking picture’ device, of which a public demon stration will shortly be given by the New Era Company. The apparatus, it is declared, can be installed in any theatre, without expense to the owner, in three hours, and will be kept in running order by the New Era technical experts. ,So simple is the system, which has, been, developed and perfected iu secrecy by British scientists, that tb* exhibitor. wl)o uses it will be able to show ‘ sound ’ and ‘ talking ’ pictures without incurring any additional expense whatever.” That the motion picutre has a, very great moral influence there are few will deny. In America there are 25,000 kinema theatres, and 75 per cent, of the population is.said-to resort there., France comes at the other .end of the scale with only 4000 theatres and an attendance of only 7 per cent.‘of-the total population of the country. ; "The, child'.is tlie individual.,on whorp the kincma. has the inost effect. -) It is for .that reason-that the Child - Welfare Committee of the Leagued 'Nations, has. taken up -the! question ;,of the effect of films bn t.he child mind. In the' reports on the subject -tome .details, are' given of .the number . o il case's of juvenile crime which' are directly 'attributable to' this agency. , A German neurologist has drawn up statistics of certain adventure films. In 250 films analysed be found 87 murders 51 adulteries, 19 seductions,. 22 abductions, and 45 suicides. The chief heroes and heroines were as follow:—One hundred and seventy-six thieves, 25 prosti: tutes, and 35 drunkards. To describe robbery and .crime so frequently is to suggest to the plastic mind of the child that its is the right thing for the grown-up ” to do. The efforts of the-League of Nations have been devoted in the first instance to collecting information as to what steps Governments have taken to regulate the type of film shown to minors , and what regulations there arc as to their admittance to kinema houses. In many countries the children are not admitted till they are a certain age. In others, as foxinstance, . Roumania, up till ,18- or 19, youngpersons are only allowed to see “ instructive or educative” films. In Los Angeles no children can attend a kinema after 9 . p.hx;, and in the Scandinavian countries not after 8 p.nx.: The censorship regulations are various hut nractically every country has 'some form of censorship, though, as in the case o( Great Britain, the United States, :.ml France, it is non-official, and the board's verdict has only ; a -.moral value. Those documents of the League are most interesting. and touch on a very important topic. Like so many of the efforts of the League of Nations, they have not received the attention that they deserve.