Exhibitors Herald World (Jul-Sep 1929)

46 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD September 21, 1929 New York Showings "THE GREAT GABBO" NEW YORK, Sept. 17.— "The Great Gabbo" came to the heart of NewYork's theatre district last week with such a fanfare as few pictures have evoked. The Selwyn theatre was jammed to the ears with a smart, dressed-up crowd. The street was packed with sightseers, so that it was almost impossible to get to the theatre even with the aid of police. Lights flooded the lobby and a radio announcer stood on the sidewalk telling a palpitating world that Miss or Mr. So-and-So had just made a spectacular entry. Up Broadway a few blocks, a human signboard announced the arrival of the new screen opus. A huge spider web stood in the glare of arcs on the top of a building at 45th street and Broadway. A hero of the cinema, in the guise of a spider, occupied the center. Excited maidens climbed up and down the piping just out of his grasping reach. It was all very exciting and to say that Broadway was jammed to see it all would be putting it mildly indeed. "The Great Gabbo," bringing the screen a fascinating performance by the extraordinary Erich von Stroheim, turned out to be an unusually fine picture. What's more, it made use of every trick of the new medium combining sight with sound; it was a picture that could not have been made silent, nor could it have been shown with success on the dramatic stage. The story of a maddened ventriloquist, fashioned by the versatile Ben Hecht, was made to order for the talking screen. On several occasions the thread of the story was completely dropped to bring in a number of song and dance numbers in color. This was not particularly novel to a New York audience, though it may help in advertising the picture in other centers. James Cruze directed. —P. V. "FLIGHT" The army and the navy last week attended the premiere of Columbia's "epic of the air," dedicated to the Marine Corps at the George M. Cohan theatre. Admirals and military men were sprinkled through the orchestra, marines lent color to the lobby, Ralph Graves and Jack Holt attended, were not recognized by the majority of the audience, were mildly amused at themselves upon the screen. The picture itself is notable for many splendid flying sequences. While the story is slender that is all it has to be. Lila Lee does not have a large part but she handles what is hers in the conventionally appealing manner. Ralph Graves gives a sincere characterization of a gawky, awkward, likeable kid with a knack for putting his foot in the soup at critical moments. Needless to say, he crashes through in the final sequence. Holt, the hard boiled sergeant, plays his role well. Bits of "business" between the two are amusingly managed. "Flight" is the best air picture we have ever seen. The aerial photography is better than that in "Wings," long considered the criterion of flying films, an indication of how rapid has been the improvement in this exceptionally difficult line. Sound is good throughout, the roar of motors very effective, bombing and ground straffing with machine gun fire emphatically realistic. In "Flight" Columbia has a great picture. And much of its greatness is due to the intelligent direction of Frank Capra. Ralph Graves, by the way, wrote the story. — D. F. "THE LADY LIES" In this picture, "The Lady Lies," made quite recently at the Paramount Long Island studio and now playing at the New York Paramount, there is presented to appreciative New York audiences the most charming personality that we have yet seen on the screen. Her name is Claudette Colbert. She has long been a luminary of the legitimate stage. And her voice and personality are beautiful. She runs away with a sophisticated picture. Walter Huston, in his first feature length picture role, gives a capable performance and Charles Ruggles supplies the most delightful comedy in just the right places. Most of the credit should go to Hobart Henley for a masterful piece of direction. Critics here have hailed the film as the best to come to the Paramount in many months. It's a smooth, sure piece of work holding your attention from start to finish and while it deals with a delicate subject which has been over-emphasized by thousands of publicity seeking preachers and frustrated moralizers in every corner of the country, it is handled with a deftness which ensures its appreciation by an audience willing to accept both intelligence and beauty in pictures. — D. F. "OUR MODERN MAIDENS" "Our Modern Maidens," M G M sequel to "Our Dancing Doughters," is a holdover at the Capitol. We went in the morning and when we emerged just before the lunch hour there was not a spare seat in the orchestra. So that while the picture cannot be said to equal its predecessor it is certainly darn good entertainment with four stars who pack an S R O wallop. They are HOLLYWOOD, Sept. 17.— Louise Fazenda sings in her latest Warner Brothers production, "Wide Open," but she has no chance to show how well she might do it. It is a comedy song and has to be sung so badly that it breaks up a party. # • • Marcel Silver, Fox director, is awaiting the arrival of Don Jose Mojica, singing star of the Chicago Grand Opera Company. Silver will direct Mojica in his first picture, as yet untitled. Harlan Thompson has written the scenario and dialog, also collaborated with Dave Stamper on the lyrics and music. Edward Royce will stage tie numbers. * • • Benny Rubin, who has been doing all sorts of things in pictures since he quit as master of ceremonies in Hollywood theatres, will play a comedy baseball role in the Van and Schenck audien, "Take It Big." Benny will be teamed with Tom Dugan to supply a hilarious background to an otherwise perfectly good baseball team. • • * "Lord Byron of Broadway" has started production at the MGM studios. Charles Kaley will play the "Lord Byron." This much discussed comedy romance of a New York singer and song writer, beloved by six women, is directed by William Nigh. The voluptuous "Ardis" of the story will be played by Ethelind Terry. Cliff Edwards, Marion Shilling, Gwen Lee and Mary Doran are in the supporting cast. The Albertina Rasch dancers will appear in one of the big show sets of this production. • • • Abner Silver, who is writing the music for TiffanyStahl's picture, "Painted Faces," has added another number to the program. It is "Bashful Baby." Dorothy Gulliver will sing it. Another number by Silver is "Somebody Like You." Earl Burtnett and his Biltmore trio have been engaged to supply the music for the forthcoming Mae Murray audien, "Peacock Alley." George Waggner and Abner Silver have written "Everybody's Gal" and "In Dreams You Still Belong to Me," which Mae Murray will sing. The scores for this picture will be published by Leo Feist, Inc. Anita Page, Joan Crawford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Rod LaRocque, listed in the order of their excellence. Miss Crawford has the main part in an inconsequential jazzed-up story and plays it will. But Miss Page sneaks in and steals the picture. Fairbanks does some amusing characterizations and LaRocque, while emotionally sincere, fails to fit in an ambassadorial role. Sets, while not so magnificent as in "Our Dancing Daughters" are impressive in the modern manner. And as for the parties, we have never seen their like outside of pictures. Perhaps, that's because we don't know just the right people. And, by the way, it's a silent picture — packing them in in spite of it. — D. F. JAL OLSEN If you want to see and hear a swell burlesque on the singer of "Sonny Boy" take a look at Jal Olsen in "Dimples and Tears." Jal is quite black and is worked by strings and such. He is one of the Gorno marionettes, under the direction of Jack Harrison. These Italian Marionettes whose origin goes back to the Middle Ages are operated by an old Venetian family whose ancestors have been marionettes for 385 years. The Gornos have made three pictures for International Photoplay. "Dimples and Tears" is the latest. The synchronization is excellent and the action well worked out. The first of the series, "The Haughty-Cultural Quartet" has been commented on in these columns. The second "Allez Oop" is nothing to rave about. "Dimples and Tears" is a riot. The novelty of the thing alone, should be enough to put it over. — D. F. Two of Broadway's famous celebrities, Al Jolson and Irving Berlin, occupy neighboring offices on the Warner lot. Jolson has "plugged" Berlin's songs and Berlin has often written music for Jolson's shows, but both are actually collaborating on a production for the first time. Jolson is making "Mammy," from an original played called "Mr. Bones," written by Berlin. Berlin will supply the songs and music for the picture. * • • John Murray Anderson, producer of the New York revue "Almanac" and for the past six years creator of the Greenwich Village Follies, has been signed by Universal to build the revue for the "King of Jazz." Paul Whiteman and his orchestra will be starred in this picture. • • • Gus Edwards has written two new theme songs for M G M. They will be used in a production for which Phillip Dunning, author of "Broadway," has prepared the script. The songs were written by Edwards with the collaboration of Joe Goodwin. They are "He's Good Enough for Me" and "When the Roses Bloom Again." Sales reports indicate that Edwards has scored another butlseye hit with his theme song for "Our Modern Maidens." It is "I've Waited a Lifetime for You." # * • One of the most versatile of writers in Hollywood is J. Keirn Brennan. Besides being a playwright he is one of the best lyric writers. He wrote many of the songs that John McCormack made famous. Brennan collaborated with Ray Perkins on "My Sister," the number that the sister actresses sing in the "Show of Shows." On the Ted Lewis picture Brennan wrote the dialog and worked with Ray Perkins on "In the Land of Jazz," which Lewis is featuring in the picture. Outside of that he has composed a song that Nick Lucas sings called "The Only Song I Ever Knew." * • • Speaking of Perkins, his number in "Fast Life" called "Since I Found You" is making the grade. Another is "Smiling Irish Eyes," the theme song of Colleen Moore's latest picture. Songs of Hollywood