Exhibitors Herald World (Oct-Dec 1929)

38 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD November 30, 1929 Chesterfield Completes Musical Film at RCA's Gramercy Plant Norman Foster Is Featured in Production — Connelly Finishes Final Comedy in Series for Radio — Chevalier Starting Picture in December — Vitaphone Continues Shorts By DOUGLAS FOX NEW YORK, Nov. 26.— "Love at First Sight," a full length all talking and musical feature, was completed last week at R C A's Gramercy studio by Chesterfield Productions. Norman Foster, actor and playwright, is featured in the story of a playwright's tribulations in the song and dance profession. One hundred and fifty are included in the cast. Night club sequences are lightened with the Chester Hale girls and Paul Specht and his orchestra. Lester Lee and Charles Levison are responsible for the continuity. Direction is by Edgar Lewis. Others in the cast are Doris Rankin, Suzanne Keener, Dorothy Adams, Hooper Atchley and Bert Matthews. Prior to the production of the above, Marc Vitaphone Variety, "Then and Now." Their Connelly completed the eighth and final comedy of his present series for Radio. It's called "The Rounder," and deals with the adventures of a Babbitt and his pal who seek a speakeasy in the hour between the end of their convention and the departure of their train. It's typical Connelly satirical humor. Sally Long Returns to Hollywood and Pictures 175 Grand to the Good (Special to the Herald-World) HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 26.— Sally Long broke into pictures three years ago and now she is breaking in again. In 1927 she left Hollywood after she had been in the theatrical business here and in New York for ten years. She returned to Hollywood $175,000 richer than she was when she left it. The 175 grand is the returns and profits on investments she made in stocks in the past year and a half. During her picture career she became a Wampas star but she says she didn't make the rent part of the time. While she was away from pictures a number of other stars and producers invested their earnings. But Sally Long's Eastern friends told her when to sell. previous Vitaphone number, "Hot Tamales," is one of the most popular in the Warner Brothers' catalog. LeMaire Comedy George LeMaire has completed "Love, Honor, and Oh, Baby," at Pathe Sound Studios, and Harry Delmar, who has produced a series of short musical comedies for Pathe, is back at the shop making a two reeler, "Her Hired Husband." The comedy is from the farce by Margaret Echard and Al Bridges. Among those in the cast are Noel Francis, Ziegfeld beauty, who made her talkie debut in LeMaire's "Turkey for Two;" Ethel Norris, Jerry Norris and Austin Farnam, headliners of Vincent Youman's recent "Great Day," and James Coughlin and Harry McNaughton, well enough known in their own particular lines. Production on Maurice Chevalier's "The Big Pond," will not start until after Thanksgiving — which probably means the second week in December. Meanwhile Eddie Cantor, Lee Morse, William and Joe Mandel and a number of other people, fairly well known, have been appearing before the Paramount cameras and microphones in one-reel talking features. The first of Cantor's was "Getting a Ticket," the second has been tentativelly titled "The Vampire." In the latter he is supported by Veree Teasdale, popular in legit vamp roles. Lee Morse, blues singer, did "Her Records" under the direction of Monte Brice. The Mandels filmed "Actions Speak Louder Than Words." Sturges on Dialog And there's this on the Chevalier number: Preston Sturges, author of "Strictly Dishonourable," current stage hit, has been assigned to write the dialog. Albert Carroll came down to the Eastern Vitaphone Studios in Flatbush last week, to appear in a Vitaphone Variety under the direction of Murray Roth. Carroll's impressions and imitations of celebrities have been a feature of the Grand Street Follies for seven years. Al Trahan, vaudeville headliner, appeared in a Vitaphone Variety called "The Musicale." Trahan was educated at the New England Conservatory of Music. During the war he was a naval aviator. For the past ten years he has appeared in vaudeville both in America and abroad, and upon his first appearance at the Palace, New York, was held over for three weeks. He has appeared in concert, in musical comedy, and in vaudeville. Billy and Elsa Newell, international comedy vaudeville team, appeared in their second Al Cohn Is Elected (Special to the Herald-World) HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 26— Alfred A. Cohn has been elected honorary vice president of the Authors League of America. It is the first time since the election of Rupert Hughes that a Western author has been selected. Cohn is president of the Screen Writers Guild. He is under contract to First National. Le Baron Signs New Three Year Contract With Radio Pictures (Special to the Herald-World) HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 26.— William Le Baron will guide the destinies of Radio Pictures for at least three years more. Le Baron's new contract was accepted in the east after David Sarnoff, Hiram S. Brown and other officials of the R K O and associated companies had viewed "Rio Rita." Under the new contract Le Baron becomes one of the highest salaried executives in the film industry. Scott Heads Cruze Sales (Special to the Herald-World) HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 26.— Harry Scott has been apointed general sales manager of James Cruze, Inc. He will supervise sales and exploitation of all Cruze pictures and contacting managers of theatre chains as well as individual exhibitors. He will have headquarters in New York. Estabrook to Pathe for One Original and Dialog (Special to the Herald-World) HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 26.— Howard Estabrook has been borrowed by Pathe from Paramount where he is under contract. He will write an original story, the picture version and dialog. Estabrook will move to Pathe upon the completion of "Slightly Scarlet" which he is now writing. "Show of Shows" NEW YORK, November 26. WARNER BROTHERS' "Show of Shows" opened last week at the Winter Garden theatre in a blaze of pomp and glory. The audience applauded time and again — so much so that occasionally what was said immediately afterward could not be heard. Famous people of the screen, so far as we could see from the sidelines, followed each other in unending procession. From our angle (that is from a seat on the outer rim of things) they all appeared to be very slim and very tall. Lloyd Hamilton looked as if he'd been on a diet and others were positively emaciated. And the blare of the music was so loud that we were glad to get out into the comparative quiet of the Broadway traffic tangle. But the audience liked the picture. Never had they seen so many stars in a single evening, never had they seen larger or more impressive choruses strutting their stuff on sets that were truly gorgeous to the blare of what sounded like seventeen regimental bands gone Ted Lewis. Technicolor throughout was perfectly splendid and it was obvious that excellent taste had been used in achieving color harmonies. It would be untruthful to say that the film represented a new departure in motion picture showmanship. It was simply bigger, noisier and more glittering than its predecessors. Its cost must have been something staggering. The premier performance of the evening was Mr. John Barrvmore with a soliloquy from Shakespeare's "Richard III." Beautifully yet simply designed was the set on which the great tragedian contemplated, for the first time, the murders which, as the misshapen Richard of England, he would later commit. Superior to the same sequence on the legitimate stage almost ten years ago was Mr. Barrymore's acting on the rainbow screen. And the closeup which the screen made possible made his voice the more telling since you saw the craft behind his eyes before his tongue made you a party to it. "Show of Shows," a musical revue in Technicolor, is easily the largest thing of its kind ever attempted. It was directed by John Adolfi with dances by Larry Ceballos and Jack Haskell. Music and lyrics were by the Warner Brothers staff writers. Principals included John Barrymore, Frank Fay, Richard Barthelmess, Beatrice Lillie. Ted Lewis and his band, Alice White, Nick Lucas, Georges Carpentier, Winnie Lightner, Irene Bordoni, Dolores Costello, Grant Withers, Loretta Young, Ben Turpin, Lupino Lane, Jack Mulhall. Bettv Compson. Lila Lee, Patsy Ruth Miller, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Louise Fazenda, Myrna Loy, Marian Nixon. Sally O'Neil and Chester Morris. D. F.