Screenland (Nov 1929-Apr 1930)

10 SCREtNLAN D New York chorus girls who have flocked to Hollywood expecting to find an 'easy snap' in pictures are rapidly becoming disillusioned. They find that the work is much more arduous than playing in a single production on Broadway, and that their rehearsal hours are never ending on the studio lots, although, of course, their actual hours of daily work are limited. In other words, while a girl may go to work at nine in the morning and finish at five in the afternoon, or go to work at two in the afternoon and finish at midnight, she may be dancing in five different pictures at one time, and must know thoroughly the routine for each dance in every picture. In a Broadway show, once the routines are learned, a girl is usually 'set' for the season, and her hard work of rehearsing is over. In Hollywood she is rehearsing every day, sometimes under different dance instructors and almost always in different pictures. At the First National Studios in Burbank, Calif., for instance, about ninety girls and fifty boys are now under contract for singing and dancing pictures. While playing in "Sally," starring Marilyn Miller; "Little Johnny Jones" with Eddie Buzzell and "Paris," starring Irene Bordoni, they were rehearsing dances for "No, No, Nanette" and other big musical pictures about to start. These chorus people are directed by Max Scheck and Larry Ceballos. noted New York dance directors. Both Scheck and Ceballos have a dozen assistants to aid them in rehearsing and staging the dance ensembles. When working in a picture the boys and girls have a nine o'clock 'call.' That means they must be in the rehearsal hall in their work clothes, ready to start rehearsing at nine in the morning. Which in itself is quite a task for a Broadway chorus girl, used to late hours and seldom rising before noon. The rehearsal rooms at the First National Studios are equipped with sound-proof walls. The floors are constructed of a special hard wood, suitable for tap dancing. In each rehearsal room is a loud-speaker, so that a choral number or dance can be 'played back' to the chorus immediately after it is recorded for practice purposes. In this manner the boys and girls can hear their voices, or the sound of their tapping feet, and have their mistakes pointed out by the instructor. For the preliminary reheasals, when the song or dance is not recorded, the end of any available stage my be used. Here, with the huge doors open to provide ventilation, the girls go through their routines with a crowd of workmen standing in the doorway watching the proceedings with extreme interest. It's a far cry from Bryant Hall, in New York, where many New York chorines attended their first rehearsals. A lone pianist sits at a piano providing music for the rehearsal. She must be a musician with an accurate sense of time, and she plays, from the first script, the actual music which will be used in the number. This music is written on the lot, by the staff of song writers. The director sits on a low stool in front of the chorus, his eyes on a level with the girls' knees. The girls and also the boys wear an assorted, nondescript conglomeration of costumes. The girls are dressed in bathing suits, rompers, shorts or even street clothes. The boys wear sweaters or sweat shirts. Their costumes look grotesque, as compared with the elaborate, tinseled garments they will wear when the picture is made. These reheasals may continue for several days, covering a dozen dancing numbers and several productions, before the girls appear in a single scene before the camera. And each dance routine must be letter perfect, for the slightest slip before the allseeing lens means a scene retaken, and the loss of a considerable sum. It is only fair to say that in the records of 'talent breakdown' which the Vitaphone engineers apply to mistakes of the actors, causing a 'retake,' the chorus errors are greatly in the minority. * * * Elsie Janis, affectionately known as 'Sweetheart of the A.E.F.,' American musical comedy and vaudeville star, has been signed to a contract by Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation 'to contribute material, ideas and talent and to supervise production of a super-talking, singing and dancing production with every star and leading featured player under contract to Paramount in East and West Coast studios taking part.' According to Mr. Lasky the full resources of the company's writing, acting, directorial and technical departments will be placed behind the picture; each director and writer contributing his or her share to the preparation plans. * * * The modern chorus girl is bearing up as Will Rogers in "They Had to See Paris" submits to osculation. But he doesn't like it.