Exhibitors Herald World (Oct-Dec 1930)

34 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD October 4, 1930 ~ Jhe Sound ¥>o*~ STAR GAZER HOLLYWOOD. I DID it. It "was hard, but I did it. I saw a preview. There may be somebody reading this piece who isn't impressed — but I doubt it. It's not easy to see a preview. No siree, bob. The companies keep previews very secret. The companies don't want all the nosey critics to see the pictures before the publicity departments get in their dirty work. And if there are a bunch of hard-boiled critics in the house then the company executives can't get a true audience reaction — because everyone knows a critic can't laugh or cry. It's all very complex and there are a lot of other reasons why critics must be kept out of previews, but anyway, they're very secret. Well, it's a funny thing. I was telephoning a friend of mine from a drug store, and looking out of the window of the booth, when I saw a small dark man, with his hat pulled over his eyes, slink into the booth next to mine. He seemed so furtive I knew he was an escaped convict, or something. So I put my ear to the wall and I listened. Finally he got his number. "This Joe?" he said. "Listen, pal, I've got something important to tell you. Be sure and listen hard, because I'm gonna say it only once. There's a preview on at the Broadway in Santa Ana. Be there. Orders of the boss. Goodbye." And he ran out of the booth and into a mauve sedan, and speeded away. By this time I was perspiring. Boy, I had fallen into something Big! So I went up to my son, Doug Hodges, and I said, "Son, I know where there's a preview." He almost collapsed. "A real preview? Where?" But I was not to be cheated of my laurels that easy. No, sir. I was firm. No one would share my secret. I bid him adieu. Santa Ana is an hour-and-a-half's drive out of Hollywood. It was a smart company, to take all that precaution. They certainly were putting it over on the critics. I dressed myself up as Southern mammy, one of my very best disguises, and jumped into the Rolls and was off. You may think I was a little off before then, but I wasn't. I got there at four o'clock in the afternoon, even though the picture would start at eight, because I didn't want any of the executives to question me. I bought a seat in the balcony and saw the feature picture three times. Then came the preview. There was no music or scoring to it, the cuts weren't welded together yet, some of the dialog was out of synchronization, they transposed the fourth and fifth reels, there was no ending to the picture — but it was all right. I was seeing a preview. It was a big night for me. I knew how Doug Hodges would tell everyone how I scooped the town. How they must be envying me. I was, you might say, made. And then the picture was over. I waited ten minutes behind a fat lady so that none of the studio spies could find me, then I proceeded up the aisle, my shawl over my head. I had got half through the lobby when someone clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you," said the hand. I turned around. It was Hodges. "I want you to meet," he said, "Piggle of Photoplay, Wiggle of New Movie, Jiggle of Picture Play, Figgle of Classic, Higgle of Screcnland, Giggle of. . . . Help, help, the man's fainted !" NORMAN KRASNA. Cowan Confers in East On Technical Projects (Special to the Herald-World) HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 2.— Lester Cowan, assistant secretary and manager of the technical bureau of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is in New York City making arrangements for the standardization of release print practice, conferring with publishers on the printing of the book, "Recording Sound for Motion Pictures," and discussing other technical projects with leaders of the industry. He left Hollywood late in September and expects to return here some time during next month. He is making his New York residence at the Park Central Hotel. Projection Council Meets Cowan (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, Oct. 2.— The Projection Advisory Council will hold a meeting at the Town Hall here on Monday, October 6, to meet Lester Cowan, manager of the technical bureau of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. THE final scenes of "Ex-Mistress'' are being shot at Warner Brothers West Coast studios. "Ex-Mistress" is the story of the love of a junior and a senior partner in a business firm for an actress. Lewis Stone is the senior partner. Ben Lyon is the junior. Bebe Daniels, in private life Mrs. Ben Lyon, is the actress. We've been watching the progress of shooting on the Stage Two, one of the largest in Hollywood, on which has been built a replica of most of Monte Carlo. Workmen wind and unwind microphone stands, which look like big cranes, and must always be over the heads or near to those who are speaking. Other workmen adjust lights. The rubber tired wagon which carries the camera is groomed. There is shouting and talking and a general hubbub as the men go about their tasks in preparation for shooting. Oblivious of all the noise — unmindful of the staring of a few interloping sightseers — ignoring the extras who sprawl languidly in the imitation casino — -Ben and Bebe walk through the pseudo garden. Ben's arm is around Bebe, and Bebe's arm is around Ben. They stroll back and forth, laughing, speaking in low tones, waiting for the men about them to finish their tasks and for their director, Roy Del Ruth, to summon them to their work. They separate for a moment. Bebe continues to stroll in the garden, humming happily to herself. Ben returns from an errand, whistling. Again oblivious to all that goes on around them because they have eyes only for each other they continue their stroll. Neither is posing. "That's one romance that won't bust up," says a stagehand. The myriad lights flash on. They are called for work. The goose-neck cranes swing above them, microphones dangling. Signals flash. Work begins. They are playing screen lovers. They are acting. Or, are they? As far as love interest is concerned, "ExMistress" promises to be a natural. In or out of love, Bebe Daniels is one of the most capable women in motion pictures. She not only knows how to act, but she knows more about the industry as a whole than does probably any other woman in Hollywood. A "I get a lot of kick; watching Bebe pose for still pictures," declares George Thomas. "I've never seen anyone work with the skill she does. "Sometimes she has to pose for fashions. The gowns she must wear are brought to her. She slips into them, knows just how to wear them and strikes a perfect pose. She tells the photographer when to shoot. "The prints are turned over to her later and she indicates the retouching she wants done. She never errs. "After the prints are 'cleaned up' she inspects them. "It's my job to arrange layouts and 'plant' them in magazines. Bebe never gives me a chance. She takes a handful of photographs, draws a layout, and says, 'This one will hit with such and such a magazine,' or 'so-and-so will go for that.' She is invariably right. "You can imagine what fun I get making stills with Bebe after wrestling for hours with empty-headed flappers to get them to pose intelligently." CHURCHILL.