Exhibitors Herald World (Oct-Dec 1930)

42 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD October 4, 1930 W THE SHORT FEATURE Sophisticated Audiences Tired Of Slapstick, Says Mack Sennett "The old, broad slapstick comedy is a dead issue today," declares Mack Sennett veteran comedy producer, who is changing his production formula to meet, the need of sophisticated comedy for sophisticated audiences. Newspictures Sennett points out that the country is in a new cycle of comedy, an era which has passed beyond the silly gags of the slapstick days when audiences doubled up with laughter over a pie-throwing act. "Theatregoers demand a reason for their laughter today," says Sennett. "Characters must be legitimate and natural. They must be living people — the kind of people who live next door to you — people you know in everyday life, and I am trying my utmost to develop human instances, current and news topics as the subjects on which to mold stories for future productions. Makes Comedy on Rackets "We have just finished a two-reeler called 'Racket Cheers,' based on the humorous side of racketeering. To me, it sets a new standard in short comedies. The characters portray persons you actually know in life." To Sennett's way of thinking, there is no more important element in current comedy production than preparation of the story. He relates how in the old silent days, a director, with a few notes written on his cuff, went out to make a picture, developing his story and gags as he went along. "Today the producer, director and members of the story department labor for weeks on the scenario," he says, "striving to bui»ld up humorous situations. The actual shooting, however, requires only a brief time. An Era of Comedy, He Says "We are now in an era of comedy. This is plainly evident during the run of almost any feature length production. The big pictures, whether they be drama or melodrama, lean toward comedy. After all, the public would rather laugh than cry. We know that true entertainment is laughter and, believe it or not, it is more difficult to make people laugh than it is to make them cry." Sennett also believes that feminine legs are, like the slapsticks, losing their prestige as box office attractions. He does not deny that feminine beauty is admired by the public, but insists that bathing girls are no long a drawer card. "What we need, he says, "is witty, clever, sophisticated situations. The legs, the slapsticks and the grotesque characters are all passe." UNIVERSAL NEWSPAPER NEWSREEL No. 78— Ambassador Dawes inaugurates pageant for railway centenary in Liverpool — Eucharistic Congress Congress convenes in Omaha — New York blind institution installs new games — Lack of gas foils German scientist's balloon trip to the moon — Newest New York modes revealed in fur show — Tibetan natives dare desert perils to hunt salt — Crack West Point marching corps struts in honor of Fidac warriors, foreign war vets. KINOGRAMS NO. 5644 — Yale trims Maine in football opener — Lipton says he'll try for cup again — Jersey City sees track stars in action — Thousands ask old age pension in New York — Society sees close finish in oldest hunt cup race — Schooners prepared for Gloucester fishermen's races — Bobby Jones wins U. S. amateur and now holds four major golf titles. KINOGRAMS No. 5643— Gen. Dawes opens England's railway centenary — 1,000 cowboys gather in California rodeo — Philadelphia and New York girl nines play for female baseball title — 12-inch railrailroad mortar guns tested at Ft. Hancock, N. J. — Massachusetts firemen turn to polo — Monkeys have their own heaven in Milwaukee. — Foreign soldiers visit West Point — Penrose memorial unveiled in Harrisburg, Pa. UNIVERSAL NEWSPAPER NEWSREEL No. 77— Vincent Richards downs Kozeluh for professional tennis title — Sacred ram's horn heralds arrival of Jewish new year 5691 — Japanese sword dancer stunts for Nippon children in Los Angeles — 35year-old harrier wins "Leg of Nations" walk in England — 36,000,000 cast votes as Fascists and Reds make amazing gains in Germany — Canine aristocracy at Connecticut dog show — Harold Ferguson wins outboard regatta on Schuylkill river. PATHE SOUND NEWS No. 81— Society rides in big steeplechase at Lake Forest, 111. — Gymnasts star in German festival at Boston — Boy tooters toot in tooting drill in Mount Carmel, Pa. — Indians attack covered wagons in Washington, D. C. — Wizard Thurston reveals magic in a big way — Grade A gypsies stage road show in Roumania — Tommies hit their war stride again. PATHE SOUND NEWS No. 82— Bobbv Jones golf champion — Lipton gives United States farewell message— Catholics hold solemn festival in NebraskaHarvard set for football season — Statue_unveiled in Illinois to the memory of Abraham Lfric ol n^Englishman builds automobile shaped 1 ike R1 uu— Pick champion among Richmond typists — Whitney scion weds debutante. HEARST METROTONE NEWS No. 200— Uncle Sam tests New York defense — Champion axemen meet in Australia — Noted Irish poet pays us a visit — Stealing a march on Broadway — Backstage at Ziegfeld's newest show — Metrotone visits great German zoo at Hamburg — Bobby Jones leads as golf war opens. HEARST METROTONE NEWS No. 201— Bobby Jones captures major golf title of year at Ardmore — Montana cattle herded back to ranches after summer of grazing in forests — Hot time in old German town as natives dance to fete arrival of autumn — Al Jolson tells the sound camera about himself — West Point eleven routs Boston University 39 to 0. Ready for action with the new RCA Pluttophone sound truck being used by the Metropolitan Motion Picture Company, Detroit. Among their other activities, the operators of this outfit produce regularly a talking newsreel for the Detroit Times. 8 Jones Westerns Billed into Midland Chain by Columbia The Fox Midland circuit has contracted for the entire series of Columbia's eight Buck Jones outdoor specials. This marks the second major circuit into which the Jones Westerns have been booked solid, Publix having recently billed the group in 11 towns of the New Orleans territory. Two of the Jones specials, "The Lone Rider" and "Shadow Ranch," have already been released. The third, "Men Without Law," will go into the exchanges next month, while the fourth, "Dawn Trail," is now in production.