The Film Daily (1929)

THE 10 m DAILY Sunday, September 22, 1929 PRODUCTION IN THE EAST WHO'S WHO AND WHAT'S WHAT IN GREATER NEW YORK STUDIOS ASSERTS CUTTERS MUST KNOW MUSIC NOWADAYS With the advent of the talkers the cutter must have a knowledge of music as well as cutting. So says James Sweeney, head cutter at the Paramount Long Island studio. "Not only must he be able to handle action but he must also be able to cope with dialogue and music," Sweeney explains. Sweeney was with De Forest in the experimental days of talking pictures. "Many people are under the impression that sound is projected before the scene because light travels faster than sound," he points out. "This is not so. The motion picture is projected with an intermittent movement or a series of flashes. Sound, of course, has to be produced in an even flow. As a result it has to be projected in advance of the following scene and not at the intermittent point." According to Sweeney, it is easily possible for a cutter to ruin the best of pictures. "Many times, however," he declares, "by intelligent timing he can actually improve them." "The inclusion of music into pictures also gives the cutter another angle to consider. He must have a knowledge of music and, as always, a knowledge of dialogue is of paramount importance." Barker Gets Photocolor Contract; to Supervise Bradley Barker has been signed by Photocolor to supervise as well as direct the 26 short subjects scheduled by that company. He already has completed two of the series. Upon completion of the Photocolor studios at Irvington-on-the-Hudson, Barker will be in charge of production. Before joining Photocolor, Barker completed "Mother's Boy" and a number of short subjects for Pathe. Tannura, Cameraman Now Director for Pathe Shorts Philip Tannura, who did the camera work on Morton Downey's "Mother's Boy" and "Lucky in Love" has been made a director of Pathe shorts by Robert T. Kane, general manager of production. Vitaphone Headliners More headliners were recorded in Vitaphone during the past week at Warner Bros, studio. Shorts included Charles Hackett, directed by Arthur Hurley; Jans and Whalen, directed by Murray Roth, director-inchief at the plant; "Fred Allen's Prize Playlets," directed by Roth with a supporting cast including Her Short Shots from Eastern Studios > By ARTHUR W. EDDY I JW. McCONAUGHY and Rob• ert Bassler are newest additions to the editing and titling staff at Paramount's Long Island studio, working under supervision of Mort Blumenstock. Bassler, who has been editing pictures for the company, is now working on the silent version of "Jealousy." McConaughy was formerly with World Wide, British National and Cosmopolitan. He is now giving his attention to "Glorifying the American Girl." Supporting Lee Beggs in his series of domestic dialogue comedies being made at American Sound Recording Corp. are : Malcolm L. Beggs, his son and leading man at the Lyceum theater, East Orange; Meta lone; Lilla Lufkin, Doris Singleton and Elliott Squires. David Butler has bag and baggaged into Manhattan to attend the premiere of "Sunnyside Up," Janet Gaynor-Charles Farrell picture which he has just finished for Fox at the Coast. The opening is set for Oct. 3 at the Gaiety. While in the East, Dave will give tryouts to various golf courses hereabouts. Jeannette Stratton-Porter, novelist-wife of J. Leo Meehan, RKO director working at the Gramercy plant, has returned to the Coast. She will at once start work on her next novel. Mark Sandrich is editing "General Ginsburg," the third in the Nat Carr series produced by Louis Brock for RKO release. In this talking short, by the way, is Herschel Mayal, whom you probably remember in numerous big productions of the past. Exterior shots for "Anna Christy," M-G-M talker, have been completed in the East under supervision of Eddie Mannix of the company's New York office. Charles Harten was the man behind the camera. Frank Zukor and George Webber have completed camera work on "Hello, Broadway," dialogue feature which Charles J. Hunt made for Raytone at Metropolitan studios, Fort Lee. Jean de Limur, who made "The Letter," and "Jealousy" at Paramount, has gone to Paris to direct Adolphe Menjou in his initial foreign-made picture. DAVE LEVY, recently of the "Brooklyn Standard," is a newcomer at Paramount's Astoria studio, having joined up to aid Al Wilkie in publicity matters. Dorothy Durham, the miss whose picture has been featured in connection with a beauty prize contest of national proportions, got her first taste of studio work the other day in the Smith and Dale short made at Paramount. H. Emerson Yorke of the casting department, engineered her into the part. Jane Jennings, who has given worthwhile screen mother performances in many an opus, has left the Coast recently for a several months' stav. H. Emerson Yorke, Paramount casting impressario, remembers when Rudy Vallee used to sing for Vocalion records featuring a band before he was in the big-name class. Among his vocal achievements then were "Isle of Moonlit Sky" and "Iona Lu." Emerson was recording manager for Bi~unswick-Balke-Collenders at the time. George Folsey and Joseph Ruttenberg are doing the camera work on 'The Laughing Lady" at Paramount. Ernest Zatorsky is in charge of sound recording. Editing "What's Wrong Now?" Editing of "What's Wrong Now?" is in progress for Eccentric Films, which has a studio at 91 Bleecker St. This short was directed by Robert van Rosen from the story by Lsjos Egri, to which Herman G. Weinberg added a satirical epilogue. Tom de Baryshe did the camera work. Resuming at Sound Studio Abandoning its plans to produce at RCA's Gramercy studio, Pathe is understood to be getting set to resume work at Sound Studios on upper Park Ave. Radin Gets Frolic Series Madie Radin is handling distribution of a series of eight two reel sound shorts, "School Day Frolics" made by Director Jack Noble, under supervision of Alfred Walker, at the American Sound Studios. The series has been booked over many of the large circuits, the first subject soon is to play on Broadway the company states. STRAIGHT VAUDE ACTS "OUT" AT E Straight vaudeville acts are "out" as far as the eastern Vitaphone studio is concerned, says Murray Roth, director-in-chief at the Warner Bros, plant. The new type of presentation will be a combination of vaudeville and screen methods, he states. "Two gag men before a drop, talking into a 'mike' no longer impress an audience as the kind of screen entertainment they want" says Roth. "Variety audiences help the vaudeville actor by their immediate response to his act and his personality. Talking into a microphone, without audience response of any kind, the actor loses half of his inspiration. It is for this reason mainly, that I am undertaking a combination of stage and screen technique in filling the forthcoming Vitaphone presentations." Bairnsfather Story Set For RKO Talking Short "Stand To," tentative title of a story by Capt. Bruce Bairnsfather, will be made into a talking short at the RCA Gramercy studio early this week, with J. Leo Meehan directing. Start of the O. Henry series, being produced by Leo Taub, will follow, under Median's direction. MARK SANDRICH Director Just completed a series of "THE MAGNIFICENT GINSBERGS" Starring Nat Carr "TWO GUN GINSBERG" Now Playing Extended Run at the Globe, N. Y. C. "GUNBOAT GINSBERG" for immediate release "GENERAL GINSBERG" Now Being Edited RKO Release Lewis Brock — Producer RCA Photophone Gramercy Studios, N. Y. C.