FILMS AND THE STUDIOS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 840, 7 December 1929, Page 30

FILMS AND THE STUDIOS

FDrc.ir/O-V-iL riLM Features of the petroleum refining industry are pictured in an educa- i tional fourM'eeler, “Refining the Crude,” recently completed under the ! supervision of the United States ■ Bureau of Mines. The scenes show 1 general views of a big modern oil re- i finery which might almost be de-1 scribed as a city within itself. The intricate processes by which the j crude oil is converted into the mini- | erous products used by men are shown both by views of the actual : refining processes' and by use of uni- ; mated drawings. /MCA' To STACK With the start of the winter theatrical season, many stage players are turning back to the footlights—not per- j manently in the majority of cases—taking advantage of a lull in studio production, announces a Hollywood dispatch. Pauline Frederick at the conclusion of her San Francisco engagement in “The Queen Was in the Parlour” will take the play to Chicago. F/L.ir.S' FOJ{ ,N-1 /./: According to the London “Daily | Telegraph,” the problem of “Where do j old French films go?” has been settled I

with tlie discovery in Paris of a second-hand film market. It is a place where it is possible to buy old films at 10 francs the meter. ' They are bought by travelling showmen, and the managers of cinemas in out-of-the-way places. A complete picture play, a short one, it is true, can be had for about six francs, while more ambitious pieces, such as “L’Homme a la Rolls-Royce,” which has a roll of film extending to 1,200 metres, can be bought for about 12 francs. "THE LOVE PARADE." Maurice Chevalier's latest picture, “The Love Parade,” was privately previewed recently in New York. Introduced to American audiences in “Innocents of Paris,” Chevalier is destined to score again in “The Love Parade” according to predictions. Supporting Chevalier are Jeanette MacDonald, stage prima donna; L u p i n o Lane, acrobatic comedian, and Lillian Roth, late featured singer and dancer of Earl Carroll’s “Vanities.” STROHEIM ACTS' Erich von Stroheim has left directing behind him for a time and is acting in “The Great Gabbo,” directed by James Cruze. This unique personality, Von Stroheim, has been one of the high lights in pictures for a decade, and all that time directing and acting in the pictures he directed, beginning with “Blind Husbands,” which was a fine picture for its time. REAL GOLD HEEDED Sound and colour have brought odd problems to the makers of moving pictures. There was a time when some gilded counters would have served perfectly for a display of golden ducats, but today there is a demand for realism. In the picture, “In Old Madrid,” it was necessary in a tavern scene to make a lavish display of gold coin. So the director appealed to the president of a Hollywood bank to secure him 300 goid pieces to be tossed about and to register the proper monetary value, and to fall with the proper clink.