Inside facts of stage and screen (May 2, 1931)

Page Two INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN Saturday, May 2, 1931 POOR GRADE OF PICTURES, BOX OFFICE OFF May Sue Boasberg For "Bum Material'' Al Boasberg, writer on the Ra- dio Pictures lot, may face a suit for $750 for alleged poor and ponriirrently prepared material i -hed to the vaudeville act of Sully and Thomas. Sully and Thomas, well-known standard mixed act of the RKO circuit, engaged Boasberg to pre- pare them new material some time ago. Before entering the picture game, with its big pay and easy days, Boasberg was rated as a good vaude act writer. But Sully and Thomas have their doubts about him now, be- cause, they declare, all they got for their $750 in cold cash was a few punk gags (some ten or so) that aren't worth a hoot to them or to anybody else. Immediately upon looking over this alleged vaude material, Sully and Thomas hit the phone, muy pronto, asking either that Boas- berg write them some acceptable material or else return their money. He refused both proposi- tions, they state. Hard to talk to, these big time picture execs, eh what? GOOD LEGIT SHOWS, SO IS BUSINESS About People Musical Comedy Due For Screen Return (Continued from Page 1) gangster pictures which have held tne screen to a great extent dur- ing the past many months. From sordidness to the lighter, brighter, cheerier type is a natural pendu- lum swing, it is argued. There will be no more of the ensembles which depended more on numbers than personal appeal, the predictors state. It is de- clared that these big ensembles were what killed off the musicals so quickly, movie patrons resent- ing the hiatus in intimate contact wtiich occurred when the camera was rolled far back to enable it to comprehend the entire massive ensemble. Whereas, in those days 80 people in a spectacle was a common thing, the new type musi- cals will not use more than 24 people at the most, in a scene, it IS predicted. The song writers, who have their ear to the ground, are holding their next annual national get-to- gether in Los Angeles. It is be- lieved that within the next half year will be witnessed a return to L. A, of the title of music writ- ing hub of the universe, a title which it enjoyed when the MGM '^Broadway Melody" cracked the screen wide open tor themies, en- sembles, and what not of song and dance. The wise ones among the big lyric-and-note men are going to do a little prospecting, and that's the real why of the meeting here, it is stated. Alberta Vaughn will be oppo- site Hoot Gibson in his next Al- lied release, "Wild Horse" by Peter B. Kyne. Alan Rinehart, son of Mary Roberts Rinehart, has been added to the story department at Para- mount's west coast studios. Rine- hart will study the mechanics of motion picture writing. Mike Miggins has been signed by Miracle Pictures to supervise their production, ''Ropes of Sand." Miggins was with Fox for seventeen and one-half years, Thelma Todd has been selected for the leading romantic role in Paramount's '*Monkey Business," starring the Four Marx Brothers. Ricardo Cortez has been as- signed to five major pictures for the 1931-32 season at Radio Pic- tures. LONG JOB It would take one man two solid years to make enough drawings for a 500-foot *'Mickey Mouse" sound cartoon. CARTER AT MARQUARD'S SAN FRANCISCO, May 1.— Floyd Carter opens as vocalist at Marquard's Cafe this week, sup- plementing Ruth Heyworth's floor show. Vernon Rickard didn't come in as previously announced. West Coast and Chronicle Mix On Blurb Space SAN FRANCISCO, May 1. —Fox West Coast and the Chronicle tangled last week in one of the first newspaper- theatre disagreements in many months. Trouble started when the Chronicle shaved its theatre department from twelve to eig-ht columns and on top of that stuck in two columns of syndicated film chatter, leav- ing six columns for ads and publicity. Sheet refused to run theatre's blurbs, so Bob Harvey's FWC advertising de- partment cut down its display advertising from forty inches to a one - column - by - 10 - inch shot. Af\(>r five days the publicity wub back in and so were the forty-inch ads. Henry Hobart, associate pro- ducer at Radio Pictures studio, has been assigned supervision of "Strange Women," which is to star Ivan Lebedeff. Guy Oliver has been assigned to a part in "I Take This Wo- man," in which Carol Lombard and Gary Cooper are featured at Paramount. Every House Draws t With aass Product Berthold Viertel has been as- signed to direct Ruth Chatterton in her next Paramount picture. Helen Ware, Syd Saylor, Albert Hart and Ara Haswell have been added to the ast ofc Paramount's ''I Take This Woman." Radio Pictures has purchased screen rights to Richard Walton Tully's "Biid of Paradise," with a provision that TuUy shall assist in the production. Laurence Oliver, leading man in "Private Lives" in New York, is due next week to go to work for Radio Pictures. Hope Williams, of the New York stage, has been assigned the featured role in Radio Picture's "Pent-House." Phillips Lord, NBC broadcaster, has signed to make a series for Radio Pictures. William B. Davidson will have a role in Paramount's Marx Broth- ers picture, "Monkey Business.'* Winifred Dunn will do the screen play for May Robson's next picture for Liberty, which James Flood will direct. Rockliffe Fellowes has been cast for a part in Paramount's "Mon- key Business," starring the Marx Brothers. OPEN CIVIC REP VANCOUVER, May 1. — The Civic Repertory Players opened at the Vancouver Theatre, April 27, for a summer season. The open- ing bill was "Dear Me," featuring Mitzi Hajos. Other stars to ap- pear here will include May Boley, Florence Reed, Violet Hemming, Guy Bates Post, Bert Lytell and Joe Brown. Verna Felton, form- erly of the Allen Players and more recently of New York, will supervise the productions. A $1 top will prevail at the B.O. FLIES TO REHEARSALS SEATTLE, May 1.—May Boley, playing this week with the Duf- win Players at Portland, flew to Seattle for rehearsals Tuesday and Friday. Miss Boley opens at the Moore Theatre here Sunday for a week's engagement, as guest star with the Bainbridge-Bostick Players in a played called "Step- ping Sisters." DOING PUBLICITY SAN FRANCISCO, May 1.— Henry Pincus is now handling pub- licity at Ackerman and Harris' Ca- sino, in addition to his managerial duties. Al Williams Creator of Capezio's Famout Wing Taps Sold at All Capezio Sho« Agcncie* Those howling about the sad state of the legit in Los Angeles had something to ponder upon during the current session of shows. With five good plays on the boards in downtown L. A. and Hollywood, five houses were do- ing crackerjack business. In oth- er words, Messrs. Producers, give 'em^ something where they get their money's worth, and you'll get their money. Sid Grauman was again dem- onstrating his show business acu- men by packing them in to his ''Street Scene" at the M a a n. Total income for the week was $17,000. Dickson Morgan was likewise demonstrating his theatrical sen- tience by drawing near capacity to the Hollywood Music Box to see Mrs. Leslie Carter in ''The Shanghai Gesture." Box office here was $10,500, which is plenty good for this house at any time and particularly good for the third week of a show, which was the status of the "Gesture." An extr ashow goes in Sunday ngiht, this house heretofore having been dark Sundays. Duffy was exhibiting the regu- lar old Duffy pull at the El Capi- tan, taking in $7500 with Bessie Love and Tom Moore in "Whis- pering Friends." Kolb and Dill's "Apron Strings" at the Majestic also registered good business with a figure of $5300. Pauline Frederick, who always is good for lots of ink on the right side of the ledger, was pull- ing nicely to the Belasco on her own, garnering around $12,000. It was all Pauline, exploitation of her "Elizabeth the Queen" hav- ing been very mediocre, but her name overcoming the handicnp of this. Radio-isms M. C. AT WALKATHON SEATTLE, May l.—Dick Buck- ley and Freddie Morelock have left to join Ted Mullen in Butte, Mont. These three chaps acted as m.c.'s and radio announcers at the Butte Walkathon, which open- ed at the Shrine Temple, Friday, April 24. This walkathon is given under the auspices of the All- States Amusement Corp., owned by Cole McElroy-Beckman & Spear; Tom Curtis is the Seattle manager. MUSICAL OPENS With Homer Grun as producer, a musical show, "The Isle of Cuc- koo," opened at the Wilshire Ebell for a three-day run Thursday night. The show, which rehearsed at the Egan prior to its opening, was on a subscription plan. Tariff was $3 and $5. The H-F circuit has taken over the Boulevard Theatre at Oxnard, in addition to the recently ac- quired Oxnard Theatre in that town. Radio entertainment is in a general way, of a high order. The new technique used in presenting playlets is pleasing. The Sherlock Holmes series with the time lapses covered with appropriate music is getting across big. So is the Em- peror of Crime series. Amos and Andy are in a peculiar class by themselves. They use a simple skeleton of story and present "just niggers" effectively. Mechanical reception of orchestras and sing- ers is all that could be desired. Criticism is to be focused upon announcers mostly. With the ex- ceptions of those who please tho^o are the offenders. There is an obligation connected with radio that is not present in publishing. One may approach a news stand and take or leave any of the numerous newspapers, mag- azines and books that are pre- sented for sale. If you don't like Mencken you can buy the Four Square Gospel. Or, if you like American Mercury in a brown cover, you can pick up a copy of Scribners. Or you can pass by. With a radio set in your home you have a limited selection of stations. You have paid more or less important money for the in- stallation of your apparatus. You are entitled to satisfaction. Most of the stations are operat- ing on a commercial basis. Most of them are selling you something along with the bait of entertain- ment. All of which is okay. But it is not at all okay to insult in- telligence and offend the sensi- bilities of good taste, and that is just what a lot of radio speak- ers do. That is what a lot of wiiters do, too. But the distinction be- tween the printed page and the spoken talk is obviously different. "Uncle John" on KHJ, knows his stuff. Naturally. He is a cul- tured newspaperman. Robert Hurd (what's his other name?) on KFL is another cultured gentleman of good taste. Paul Roberts! KFI has a wonderful staff throughout. Glen Rice, out in Beverly Hills, makes the folks like his stuff. In addition to being the best football announcer in the world. Glen puts over his Hillbillies like a million. And he lacks no grace in speaking of Macmillan gasoline. Glen in- vented the Hillbillies and he has had many imitators. (Continued Next Week) FIXING UP APEX SAN FRANCISCO, May 1.— Curtis Mosby is spending a flock of dough to remodel and modern- ize the entrance to his Apex Cafe. Meanwhile business is holding up well enough, attracted there by a colored floor show and orchestra. Ensemble Is Right Term to Describe This SEATTLE, May l.^Dress- ing under difficulties was solved during the run of the "Stepping Sisters" engagement of May Boley with the Bain- bridge Players by one member of the cast—Charles Bostick, a^;sistant treasurer and son of the company manager. Charlejj is a jazz piano player and was called back stage to instruct the straight pianist in the pit in the one song Miss Boley uses. She liked his work so well that she asked he be kept in the cast. This brought the problem of a new style tuxedo which Charles did not have. Kent Thomson, house treasurer, sup- plied a coat, but the vest and trousers wouldn't do. Perc Wat- son, treasurer at the Civic Au- ditorium—but still the trous- ers wouldn't do. Then the head waiter of the Washington Ho- tel Grill came to the rescue and the jazz pianist made an effective entry. MARKS GOING EAST SAN FRANCISCO, May 1.— Ike Marks, accompanied by his wife, will leave here June 21 for New York to attend the annual T.M.A. convention, opening there July 6. They will be gone about five weeks. Offerings Lukewarm, PubGc Is Likewise Lukewarm pictures, which is the current Hollywood style, drew lukewarm response from the Los Angeles public this week. The only really good picture in town, one which had had both thought and money expended in its making, was the exception. This film, Howard Hughes' 'The Front Page," continued to do near capacity at the United Art- ists. In fact, it was doing an ex- ceptional third week, writing a record at the U. A. for this pe- riod of a run. Good news for this young producer, but those who were content to turn out the so-so product on display at other spots got only dolorous or aver- age tidings. The other run houses were taking it right smacko on the button. The Chinese had Columbia's "Dirigible" and the old airship was crashing. Jack Holt, Ralph Graves and Fay Wray had noth- ing on the box office ball, and the total that Col. and the trio could garner for the Chinese was $12,147, which, to put it kindly, is excessively mediocre. A spe- cial F. and M. Idea was on stage. Carthay Off The Carthay Circle was doing another excessively mediocre stand with Universal's "Seed," the singing John Boles gone actie, Lois Wilson and Genevieve Tobin failing to bring in more than a weak $12,631. Supporting the picture is Abe Lyman's band. Will Rogers was showing the best run picture returns with his Fox "Connecticut Yankee," pull- ing in an average $8384 for five days. This is a good laugh pic- ture, and by their box office shall ye know them. "Yankee" has both "Dirigible" and "Seed" stop- ped^ for real merit. Loew's State was having an- other off week with "A Gentle- man's Fate," John Gilbert being the gentleman in question. This gangster picture rated $21,117 at the box office, and pretty soon HollyAvood will stop making gangster pictures or else. The "North, South, East, West" F. and M. Idea w a s in support. James Hall in his second week as m.c. can be credited with a good share of the draw, word-of- (Continued on Page 11) Nude Modelling on Percentage Scheme (Continued from Page 1) the girls remained, however, and there were many others who were coming in all the time.'* The girls who were present all agreed that the 'artist' insisted that he wanted girls who had been in motion pictures, though why he did not state. Hazarded guess was that he thought they would not be so likely to squawk, though this was just a guess. 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