MOTION PICTURES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19828, 30 April 1927, Page 15 (Supplement)

MOTION PICTURES

C’iia3EZSSi^4li3EEs3L. “HINEMOA” A GAUMONT FILM “SHOT” AT ROTORUA. . The following is what David Fair weather thinks of “Hinemoa,” a Gaumont film “shot” at Rotorua by Gus lave Pauli. He writes:— “Here a Maori legend has been i used to form the basis of a veritable film masterpiece. “Hinemoa" aroused the unqualified praise of all who saw the trad© 'show. It describes theromance of Hinemoa. Princess of the Arawa tribe. and contains somej thrilling incidents of tribal life. The. Haka. or war dance, is an amazing ; affair with its stamping of feet and swaying and shouting, and the Poi. a dance performed by women during < important feasts, is another interest , ing custom shown in the picture. A : wonderful idea of the scenic beauty 1 and grandeur of New Zealand is ob- 1 tained. and there is a dramtie scene | v. hero the boro is condemned to pass | through the Valley nf Fire, with its j ■ i-i springs and sulphurous smoke, i Those who iook for novelty in their film fare should not miss “Hinemoa.” •‘THE SORROWS OF SATAN” AIMED AT THE HEART OF THE MASSES SAYS JESSE L. LA SKY “Had Marie Corelli been born | twenty years later, she’d have been me of the greatest box office writers of her time.** So says Jssse L. Lasky. first vice-president in charge of Paramount production. “ 4 Box office’ be it known ” cor tinues Mr Lasky. “is the term used when describing things that drew people toward the theatres. Picking titles for pictures is believed Io he one of the most important, elements which determine their success or failure. Exhibitors ask for short, snappy titles, the kixwi that can be set in electric lights. “While not confronted with that problem. Miss Corelli seems to have picked the right ones instinctively. 44 When David Wark Griffith told ne of his desire to film 4 Sorrows of Satan,’ I was immediately struck by tho title. It sounded euphonious, stirred one’s curiosity, appeared intriguing and sounded dramatic. 4 ‘All you have to do.’’ says Mr Lfutky. 4 4 is to look over the sales records of her novels. Aimed right at the masses they were 4 box office’ before that term was invented.” Adolphe Meniou as Patan, Ricardo Cortez, Carol Dempster and Lya de Putt: • arc featured in 4 4 Sorrows of Satan. ’ ’ “MICHAEL STROGOFF” APPROVED BY PRINCE OF WALES It all happened on the night of February 19! Europe’s most charming prince was in Loudon. Universal’s most stupendous production was at the Capitol Theatre. The prince was eager to see thi« production the whole Continent was talking about. So he

bought tickets for “Mighty Michael Strogoff. ” Of course, his appearance maua quite <i-r. In fact, it caused his surprised asher »o-s© all semblance of her for nier < M aiiibrium. and she toppled most iiadign. i ledly over the balcony stairs. With his renowned gallantry and gra the prince assisted the delighted maiden to her feet, and proceed ©« • his seat. 3 . out the screening of the picture, the Prince of Wales sat • - thralleu. When it was over U.viecs tbit “Michael Strogoff’ made another conquest: for the prince’s enthusiasm provoker! him to unhesitatingly declare it m be “a wonderful picture; one that truly thrilled me.” “KING OF KINGS” SCHILDKRAUT'S ROLE Cecil B. de Mille’s epic tale of the afe of Christ, entitled “The King of Kings.” promises to be an unusually in ‘cresting production. The cost includes meh famous players as Rudolph SchildKraut. as Caiaphas, Joseph Schildkraut is Judas Iscariot. Jacqueline Logan ::S Mary, and Ernest Torrence as Simon, called Peter. Rudolph Schildkraut, a well-known German actor, was last seen hen* in 44 His People,” a wonderful Jewish Speaking of Schildkraut to the writer, Maurice Moscovitch said 44 Re is much older than I am. but he is strong as a bull. He will be acting when I am gone.”

SCREEN PARS (RANDOM “SHOTS.” “The Lodger” has enjoyed a highly I successful run at the Marble Arch Pa- • vilion in London, and its general release is eagerly anticipated throughout I England. This is a genuine thriller, full of brilliant photography and unusual touches. The director. Alfred Hitchcock., has won golden opinions for ' his work in this film, which has ; been compared favourably witji the L best American and Continental productions. The plot concerns a series of ' ghastly murders that mystify the i don police, and the method of treatment makes the film the most terrify- !! ing affair since Barrymore’s “Jekyll “ i and Hyde.” Ivor Norvello. Marie ' Ault and Arthur Chesney contribute ■; sterling performances. ♦ ♦ * * J Robert Hichens’ novel of Sicilian I love and revenge, “The Call of the I Blood,” has been filmed by Stoll Pic- ! tures. with Ivor Novello and Phyllis • Neilson-Terry in the leading parts. The : ' film, taken partly in Rome and mainly 1 j in Sicily, contains some delightfully ! i picturesque shots, but dramatically it 'is somewhat ineffective. Ivor Nor voilo’s performance suggested that cos tume parts are essential to his success on the films. * * * * Staving in bed all day was the work done by more than 100 orphans during the filming of “The Fire Brigade. So lung as these children could run around and be entertained by Charlie Ray and May McAvoy, the featured j pkiye.rs, they enjoyed themselves. But ; when the director, William Nigh, made them go to bed for the dormitory shots i they did not like it so well. '! ’ * * * * . Mario Carillo, who plays a part in I Constance Talmadge’s picture, 44 Venus ■■of Venice.” is a count and an LL.D. ’ Flo uses neither. He is the son of the ■ Dake of Mileti. and he is entitled to i br called Count Mario Caracciolo. He i served for thirteen years in the ■ “Black Dragoons” of the Italian j Cavalry. He won twelve decorations [in the World War. He was wounded [four times, and wrote a volume of • short stories, which was published in ' French and Italian. Tn France it was 'called “Soit a Pied. Soit a Cheval.” jin 44 Venus nf Venice” he appears os , a pathetic bridegroom, who, at his own • wedding, is robbed through a ruse pcr- • petrateci bv a mischievous little c.anai I gamin, portrayed by Talmadge. f ! If anyone wants a motion picture wind-machine in good condition he can i find one at tho bottom of Payette ’iLa-ke, near McCall, Idaho. During Ihc ! filming of exterior scenes for the T’ni- ! versal-Jewel production. “Prisoners of the Storm.” the company dragged a wind-machine, consisting of a powerful gasoline motor and a huge propel lor, across the surface of the lake, which was covered with ice. The windmachine found a thin spot in the ice I rind, crashed merrily to the- bottom. , House Peters plays tho starring role in J this picture. * • Two hours of patient effort are re- ' quired for Emil jannings to apply the ■ i make up ho uses in his first Paramount starring vehicle. “The Way' of All Flesh.” A full board is the most ; : difficult feature of the charactorisa- ' tion an.l the greatest Continental ; actor, refusing to sacrifice appearance ■[for the sake of time, applies his hir- ; sute adornment tuft by tuft to his chin J and cheeks.

“PASS GRAFTERS” PRESS AGENT’S PEST CRASHING THE GATE. It was Marshal Foeh who said of ’,he enemy, “They shall not pass!” ; and about four years ago Wells Hawks, vhen press representative for Sam H. Harris, was stirred to adopt the same ‘attitude toward the pestiferous enemy ~ f press agents, the “pass grafter.” I There is. as is well known, a strange kink in the natures of many men and women that impels them to go to the | extremes of dishonesty and misrepre- | sen tat ion to come into possession of ! passes for the theatre. • As in parentheses and while on the -übject of “Annie Oakleys” (as passes I arc often called in the show business), iit may be stated that an unidentified ; press agent of a religious turn of mind : ; iia. dug from Holp Writ the following' 'Statements that are pertinent and posi-1 ‘ “Thou sbalt not pass.”—Numbers ixx. 18. “None shall ever pass.”—lsaiah ixxxir. I'L “Suffer not a man to pass.”—Judges “The wicked shall no more pass.”— i Nahum i. 15. i “This generation shall not pass.”—i I St. Mark xiii, 30. ‘•Though they roar, yet they shall 1 not pass. ’ ’ —Jeremiah v, 22. 1 “So he paid his fare and went.”—j .Jonah i, 3.

THE AMATEUR ACTOR SHOULD PLAY ONLY MASTERPIECES. NOT A SPARE-TIME -JOB The amateur actor seems to me a very privileged person, writes Mr S. P. B. Mais, in the London “Theatre World.”) The amateur author is regarded with loathing and contempt. As Doctor Johnson said, or something very like it, “The man who can’t write for money can’t write for anything else. ” If a book is not worth paying for it was not worth writing. The man who sinks low enough to refuse money for literature is only one degree less despicable than the man who pays a publisher to print his tushery. The laboured is worthy of his hire, and the less nonsense that is talked about aesthetics being their own reward, the, better. The amateur artist impedes the advance of art more even than the amateur author. Popple will go on painting in spite of a complete absence of knowledge and talent, and being unable or unwilling to sell their work, fob them off on expectant nephews and nieces on the occasion of their wedding. How one detests a rich maiden aunt, who paints “just for the fun of the thing.” Wall space that ought to be,

occupied by real pictures is covered with grocers’ almanacks and chocolate box covers. A Prodigious Conceit. Amateur actors, however, are in a quite different category. They almost always have a prodigious conceit of themselves, induced by the quite undeserved meed of praise which they receive. They are usually good company off the stage, for they have the satisfaction of knowing that, but for the calls of the Stock Exchange, the pulpit, the Bar, or whatever profession it is that calls, they would be serious rivals l ■ Henry Ainlcy, Sir Gerald du Maurier, or Godfrey Tearlc. Everybody tells them so and they believe it. They act in the cause of charity some two or three times in the year, and a professional critic’s hair stands on end as he watches and listens to them. Surely, he feels, there is some limit to the endurance of even the most hardened audience, but no! Indescribably villainous is the hero, and too, too heroic and “genteel” the indescribable villain. One scans the programme to make sure that the comic valet or bootboy is only a baronet. He speaks ducally, as if he lorded it over countless acres. It is worse, far worse, than listening to a coster taking the part of Richard 11. Fool-Proof Plays. The mistake amateur actors make is in acting amateur plays. It is almost impossible as Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch j said, for any sort of actor to fail over ! “Hamlet.” It is fool-proof. Amateurs ; should be allowed only to act theworld’s supreme masterpieces. Then there is at least a chance of the play ■ carrying the company, instead of. as ■ so often happens on the professional i stage, the. company carrying the play. , Auoth'.r mistake which amateurs indulge in is demanding an audience. It : is sheer nonsense to pretend that they ; are acting for the cause of charity or for the good of tho community. They act solely because they like acting, which is after all their only excuse. If they find that they cannot act in

ian empty hall, let them secure ar an ' enormous cost an audience of expeni sivc critics like the girl who wrote [“Fanny’s First Play.” Let these , critics be fed richly and well nourish|cd with good wine before the curtain s goes up and then told to behave preI ciscly as their instinct prompts them. ! Their advice to tho players might bo I couched in the language of Hamlet, but 1 ' their insistent clamour for the remo- •! val and sudden death of some of the '; weaker performers would be more re- ' j miniscent of the. patrons of the King ’- in Blackfriars or Whitechapel’s Prc- ' ' mierland. Tell Them the Truth. I It is very good for amateurs to act i *•; so long as someone tells them the truth J j about themselves, and so long as they , " are determined to be as good as the, ■ ’•professionals. But Mr Agate is right, 1 when he suggests that amateurs should 1 ' ; realise that it is for their own good, I ' i and their own good only, that they act. ’ ; This is not an age in which one can ‘ j afford to excuse comparative proficiency 'I on the ground that the amateur needn’t ‘ i try as hard as the professional. 1 ! One docs not want to think on ]ook'[ing at a picture or reading a book or i ‘ I even, if it comes to that, on looking | •| on at any sport, whether it is an ama- j O'teur display or a professional one. It j •j is to bo judged solely on the grounds I r -1 of intrinsic excellence. '■ The average schoolboy, before he be-j 5 j comes self-conscious, is an admirable :

actor, and I have seen Shakespearean performances given by the boys of l.ynam’s at Oxford that would put to sham© many professional shows. So with tl’.e Westminster Latin, Bradfield Greek, and Denstonc English plays. I remember light nights at the “Footlights” in Cambridge, and heavier ones with the “ O.U.D.S. ” at Oxford, where I have come away completely convinced of the absolute talents of the actors. I think of Jack and Claude Hulbert at the one, and of Giles Isham, John Gielgud and Robert Speaight at the other. The truth is that acting “is a peculiar gift seldom encountered even in paid performers” and among a thousand amateurs one is lucky to encounter one who can act. Reading Plays I am a tremendous believer in the reading of plays, and if people cannot extract the sweetness and strength of a play in the quietude of their own studies, perhaps it is good that they should sit i.n a circle and read the parts out loud. The minute that they get. up and think themselves into a part their spirits may well mingle with that of Caesar, but their limbs remain the ugly uninspiring limbs of Mr Lux, the grocer, or Mrs Dux, tho farmer’s wife. Acting is not solely an exhibition of memory, not even that of a clear musical voice. Like boxing, it entails the perfect control and quick manipulation of hands and feet. It is much more a dressing of the intellect and the soul than a dressing-up of the body. PfiPj pie who act for the sake of the costumes should confine themselves to charades or fancy-dress balls. When the amateurs hitch their waggons to the professional stars, there will be hope for them. At present no amateur ought to be allowed to act in public unless he has been licensed to do so both by St. John Ervine and Mr Agate. Let him, until he has passed the bar of their judgment, play the fool nowhere but in his own house. The world is too full of politicians like Poionius who act —in their spare time. Acting isn’t a spare-time job. Mr Bourchler’s is tho nobler gesture, that of the actor taking to politics in his off hours.

THEATRICAL TOPICS THE GREEN ROOM MIME AJND MUMMER PARS (By ‘ l Upstage Angus.) After achieving a run in London of very nearly three years. “The Farmer’s Wife” finished at the end of . January. Tho Court Theatre re-opened ■ with another Phillpotts play, “The Blue Comet.” This is a more serious ■ work, the theme dealing with the behaviour of a family living in the expectation that a comet will strike the 1 earth on a certain day. i** ’ * * Harry Green, who amused us all so •much in “Give and Take,” is playing . this farcical comedy in London. Edward do Tisne, who played with him in New Zealand, is still in the company, | and Dorothy Seaeombo plays the part i of the typiste. * * * * I Ashley Dukes, author of “The Beggar on Horseback.” has written a mod- ! ern comedy in blank verse. Entitled “One More River,” it deals with a pri- ! vate hotel reserved exclusively for peo-

ple of both sexes who are waiting for their decrees nisi to be made absolute. * ♦ ♦ # Many people have wondered what company is meant by the M.E. Ltd., which is to be found presenting “My Son John” on all the Shaftesbury Thea- ■ tre programmes and posters. As this j musical comedy is announced as Billy j Merson’s first venture into manage- : ment for himself, the question may I well be asked. Actually it stands for i“Me,” Ltd., which is the way Mr Merson presents himself under his own ! management. ❖ sis ♦ ♦

J The present grand opera season at Garden is to be the last unless [public support convinces its sponsors Hint such seasons can be run at a profit n the future. The most interesting ’em r-.n this year’s programme is the •fiction of Puccini’s “Turandot.”

AVERY HOPWOOD SPARKLING PLAYWRIGHT ‘ ‘The Best People,” which will be produced in Wanganui on May 10, is the work of Avery Hopwood, probably the best writer of light farce in the English-speaking world. In the mood of a worldling who looks upon life as a cynic pleasure and entertainment, he is a very sparkling writer indeed, and he can make the English language perform prodigies of expression. [ Ho was responsible for “Fair and | Warmer, ” which has been presented ; here under different managements, and j he has got off other diversions which j have made the Broadway theatregoer bound in his seat with glee. In collaboration with the fateful Mary Roberts Rinehart ho has been guilty of much ready-made stuff, and is trying to live down the notoriety of having been part parent of the “Bat,” though it has earned him a fortune.

'-j “THEY LIKE NEW ZEALAND” J SAYS AMERICAN ACTOR 5 Mr John McCabe, the noted Amcri- ‘ can actor, who plays the part of Patrick Murphy, the irascible, but lovable . Irishman (father of Rosemary Murphy) /in the record-breaking comedy “Abie’s ■ Irish Rose” to be produced at Wanga- . inui on June 13. 14, and 15 has played •; the same part for four consecutive I years, so there is nothing he doesn’t I know about it. He also knows a gocwl > deal about the world, and its peoples and is a very keen observer. Asked by a New Zealander as to , whether the people of the United States knew much about the Dominion, or ■ took any interest in our public affairs: “I’ll say they do”, he replied. “Our - people know more about New Zealand , i than they do about Australia. Everybody, by that 1 mean everybody who knows anything worth knowing—knows about New Zealand without go- , ing to an atlas to see exactly where it ,is. The tourist traffic from* our couni try to your wonderful little island is II growing tremendously. They like New ■Zealand, they like its people, and adJmire its wonderful and varied scenery.” > I j T OLL OF THE MOTOR > ( MANY STREET ACCIDENTS 1 NEED FOR GREATER CAUTION ( ! There is some gratification in the Jfact that the returns for the first I ; quarter of this year show a decrease ini street accidents in Auekalnd, says J the Auckland Sun; but not much, for • the number of pedestrians who have ’ been involved is greater. In some ui these cases the fault may be attributed wholly to the careless ' pedestrian, but it may safely be in--5 ferrod that the majority of *all accidents in which motors are concerned is caused by excessive speed. The craze for speed does not seem to be confined to the racing track; there arc many motorists whose pace is restricted only by the fear that traffic inspectors may observe them, and verv often their impatience exceeds their caution. Cars are permitted to travel at far too great, a pace in the city and. subi urbs. The speed limits do not. sufli- ' ciently protect the pedestrian, whatI ever motorists may contend under the i fret of restraint. Thirty miles an hour on the concrete is common: forty miles is frequently indulged in. A ear doing thirty miles an hour cannot safely be pulled up in less than fifty yards, anfi that is a dangerous feature. No vehicle should he permitted to travel along busy roads, cut by many intersections. at. a speed beyond that, in . which it could be brought to a stand- | still in a very few yards. The Difference. j “Are you sure,” wrote the snobbish, parent to tho headmaster, “that y boy will acquire good manners while he is with you?” “Madam,” was the reply, “your son has every chance with us. At present ho has no manners nt all—only customs.”