Exhibitors Herald World (Jan-Mar 1929)

January 26, 1929 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD 29 ST Alt T1NC TODAY KAY A. CROttftAOOll A»0 -J *i i ; THE LITTLE WILDCAT' Andrer Femi — Jarm Murray Robert Ed»o<i — Georje Fawwtt fa*aJ*OCT > Surely Ray A. Grombacher of the Granada at Spokane. Wash., has a novel method in this ad in telling his public of sound. Effective, too. Ziegfeld Will Make Movietone "Follies'9; Hits at Imitators (Special to the HeraldWorld) NEW YORK, Jan. 22— Florenz Ziegfeld is going to produce the "Ziegfeld Follies'' himself in Movietone, he announced from Palm Beach. "I will enable the entire world to see the supreme original revue that so many other producers have attempted to copy and which even now is being announced in a sound picture by a film organization that has made no arrangement with me," Ziegfeld said. "I will spend $3,000,000 to make my movietone 'Follies' the perfect record of the perfect revue that has so many ineffective imitators." Third Sound Stage Going UpatMGM (Special to the Herald-World) CULVER CITY, Jan. 22.— A third sound stage, now being built at the Metro-GoldwynMayer studios, will be 454 feet long and 86 feet wide, with a floor space of 13,400 square feet, and will make it possible to have three feature talking pictures in production at one time. With the Metro Movietone short novelties which are being made both at the W est Coast and in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Eastern studios, the talking production of the company, long prepared for, now is under full headway. M G M and PFL Films Used with Bristolphone (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, Jan. 22.— The Family theatre of Jackson, Mich., booked M-G-M's "The Flying Fleet" with sound to begin a week's run Sunday over its newly installed Sonora-Bristolphone system. The Midland theatre, Newark, Ohio, initiated its sound program yesterday with Paramount's "Interference," with SonoraBristolphone reproducing equipment. Music Placed in Every Audien Made by Christies for Paramount (Special to the Herald-World) HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 22.— Music in some form or other is being used in every Christie Talking Play for Paramount, whether the dialogue runs continuously or not, under a policy adopted in recognition of the unprecedented popularity of music attained largely through the radio, records and popular orchestras. Some studios have added a music manager to try out orchestras and singers and select fitting music, as well as to check up the publishers' lists for availability of numbers, and to arrange, as in the case of Western Electric and Electrical Research Products, for individual licenses for the particular music used. H. D. Lawler, formerly with the Victor concern, is doing that work for the Christie company. How It Works Out How music becomes an integral part of each talking picture is illustrated in the following examples from the current short Christie Talking Plays. In "When Caesar Ran a Newspaper," the opening of the picture discloses Caesar's entrance into one of his palatial offices. The start of the picture is accompanied by the martial march, "Pomp and Circumstance." Later in the picture when Marc Anthony does his burlesque dances, a nubian slave turns on the phonograph and plays bits from the "Peer Gynt" suite of Grieg, going into this theme for a bit as the end title is fading out. In "The Melancholy Dame," a novelty is presented. From the very start of the main title the audience sees a negro singing a number "Melancholy Mama," specially written by Sterling Sherwin for the picture. This continues on through the credit titles and cast sheet, when the picture starts with a hot jazz band in a colored cabaret. In this case the title material is double exposed over the picture of the singer, and gives the audience something to hear and look at while the sometimes uninteresting matter of the credit HEAR EVTRY WORD / IN THIS GREAT AMERICAN EPIC • To Possess Her ...Or To Die! Dad . . . T» L«i af *• C-U czn* » St»b» TV Ow " Cm>. Cm TW O*o. MfcwJ Ja^fe. It Tim Mud 5<n«rlf fm At M «f « CM WU HU Kmc "MY TONLV L L. ROTHAm. (ROXY) World", F«* OUTDOOR AJl-Ttlking Spectacle IN OLD ARIZONA EDMUND LOWE WARNER BAXTER DOROTHY BURGESS OncW • A. CrM M»i H ' RAOUL WALSH IRVING CUMMINGS SATURDAY. JAN. 19* Advance ad of the Roxy theatre in Sew York, for Fox's first outdoor Movietone all talking feature picture. "In Old Arizona.'' Almost free of superlatives, this well written ad paints pictures of action with short vivid strokes, and at the same time gives full information about the time, place and the type of picture. It is easy to read and to look at. What more could be asked? And, oh, yes, notice how the theme song, "My Tonio," is given a play. and cast titles is on the screen. This same stunt is being done in "Music Hath Harms" with a colored girl singing "Tain't So Honey." Strumming Banjos In this same picture, a couple of darkies are strumming their banjos in "Bud Peagler's Barbecue Lunch and Pool Room," while the dialogue and action is going on. Mosby's Blue Blowers play for the scenes in the hall of the Sons and Daughters of I Will Arise, where the grand concert of the Over the River Burying Society is on tap. This is the Octavus Roy Cohen story which revolves around Professor Roscoe Griggers, Aleck Champagne, Sam Gin and Willie Trout, those redoubtable musicians, and the champion cornet player, so of course this music is an integral part of the story. In "The Framing of the Shrew" a colored quartet will be singing while the main titles are on, and Evelyn Preer, wellknown colored actress-, will also sing a number as incidental business of the picture. This is a new number "No Fool Man Can Make a Fool Out of Me," written by Carlton Kelsey, Val Burton and Jack Stern for Irving Berlin Co., and sung at a logical spot in the picture. Chorus Girls Do Tap Number For "Jed's Vacation," with Charlie Grapewin and Anna Chanee, an opening has been arranged for the former vaudeville sketch, in which theatre orchestra music will be played, while a row of chorus girls are doing a tap number, starting with the main title and fading into the jazz stage opening of the actual picture. This is added music because the original play was only a talking sketch on the stage. In the picture, "Dear Vivian," to be made with Raymond Hatton and Sam Hardy, a musical background will be played by an orchestra all through the picture while the dialogue is going on. Numbers are being selected which, through their wellknown title phrases, will correspond humorously to the action of the dialogue sketch. For instance. "Cause My Baby Don't Mean Maybe," "That's My Weakness Now," "The Prisoners' Song" and "Kiss Me Again" all carry a special significance tying up with the thought put over in the dialogue. In the pictures which are all dialogue and in which there is no other opportunity for music — orchestra, singing or record numbers are always used during the main titles and at the end fadeout of the pictures, as "Every Little Movement" for the introduction and end of "A Bird in the Hand" with Lois Wilson; and "Three O'Clock in the Morning" for the opening and fadeout of "Post Mortems," in which Raymond Griffith is the bridge-playing nocturnal burglar. RCA Equipment Used For "Moulin Rouge" Sound (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, Jan. 22.— "Moulin Rouge," directed by E. A. Dupont and introducing the Continental screen star, Olga Chekova, will be the first World Wide picture released with sound accompaniment. R C A is now synchronizing the production under the direction of Joseph Littau, of "Roxy's," with the Photophone Symphony orchestra. It will be released also in a silent version.