The Film Daily (1930)

THE Monday, June 30, 1930 Timely Topics A Digest of Current Opinion —€)— The Director Reveals His Side of It 'T'HEY say that since the talkies swept the country and the entertainment world, actors and actresses are so busy learning their lines at night and speaking them during the day that there is no longer any time for Hollywood parties. If that's so. consider the case of the film director, who since the talkies have arrived does at least twice a^ much as he ever did before. If players are kept busy, what about the man who must memorize all the lines, study all the costumes, check all the sets, psycho-analyze all the parts? It isn't the mechanics that bring more work for the directors. It's the fact that improved photography, sound, color and other film improvements have made the mechanical side so real that the story side, acting side, and directorial side must be much more realistic than ever before. To get this realism we must do more in a shorter space of time than is necessary in preparing a stage play. Despite the real flesh-and-blood characters on the stage, stage presentations arc less real than motion pictures because of the closer view. more varied and intimate angles, and greater detail that in the talkie give the spectator the illusion of walking around among the film characters. . — Mervyn he Roy One-langauge projection is not sufficient in Switzerland due to the variety of nationalities there. '%2?k DAILY Along The Rialto with PhilM. Daly J7NCOURAGING NEWS to exhibs and those gents who are selling sound equipment comes from the wilds of Pennsylvania J. Dean McCloskey of Wilkinsburg bought a semi-cluck house, if you get what we mean, and was all hot and bothered about this Summer Slump then along came a representative of RCA Photophone who threw in a service crew over a week-end, installed the sound equipment, which worked a Monday morning wonder, so to speak J. Dean sez: "Biz picked up with the first performance" the name of the theater is Regal, and just before the Miracle happened things looked so tough that Mack was seriously figuring on reversing the name of the house and changing his show to match the new monicker TOHN McCORMICK is in town happy in being 25 pounds lighter than when he last weighed in here before checking out Those AMPAS have selected a committee to elect a motion picture industry judge who will be one of seven international judges to decide the winners of the Galveston Pageant of Pulchritude the committee that will pick the Pulk Expert are Martin Starr, Leon Bamberger, Joe Tine, Ed Finney, Tom Gerety, Paul Gulick, G. R. O'Neill, Bert Perkins and Charles Lewis Dave Bader writes from Lunnon that John Drinkwater is immersed in the biog of Carl Laemmle, and adds: "London resembles Broadway with so many of the New York boys here — still I like London immensely." A DOLPH ZUKOR was inadvertently held up from seeing a private showing of Fox's "Common Clay" last Friday due to a mixup on the print which failed to arrive on time some mysterious voice on the phone put in a call for the print and jazzed the whole works they are still on a hunt trying to find the miscreant A/fAH GOODNESS, man, that sunkissed boy what calls his self Stepin Fetchit shure am steppin' these days- he's gwine shuffle them big dawgs in pusson right across the Arkayho stages in town for a hull week hot diggity, kin you all flash that blackberry akshually workin' countin-you-ous uninterrupted fo' seven days? am this yere exponent of the cullud fraternity tryin' to popularize Work after loafin' through two fillums which are now showin' on Broadway? Look yere, Stepin, fust thing you know these Hollywood directors will hear 'bout it, and if they get you all akshually workin', what excuse is there fo' the director an' his indeedy-yes-men to loaf? man, dear, yo' shure hab stepped in a helluva fix dis time- * * * * Py W. GRIFFITH has smeared grease paint on his face for the first time in over 20 years he is appearing personally in the talkie prologue of "The Birth of a Nation" Willard Mack's stag eplay, "That Casey Girl," has gone into rehearsal for an opening in Boston, and it will hit into New York in the fall the songs are written by William Jerome and Jean Schwartz During the filming of a war scene, a director spoke thus sweetly to his mob of extras: "When I was a little tot I lost my wooden soldiers and grandma said, 'Don't cry, dear, some day they'll come back to you' — and as I look at you heels, I realize she was correct as 'ell!" T-)AUL WHITEMAN, while speeding in his car to a midwest theater where his band was playing, was stopped bv a cop "Dontcha know me?" asks Paul, "I'm THE big band leaders" and the cop sez: "Aw, g'wan, Rudy Vallee's a little runt." T'HEY SAY Babe Ruth prays better when he's in a tight spot so do a lotta film men. EXPLOITETTES A Clearing House for Tabloid Exploitation Ideas € Newspaper Gives Short A Big Break A three-column ad, thirteen inches deep, was the space allotted to the showing of Robert L. Ripley's first "Believe It or Not" Yitaphone Yarieties novelty at the United Artists theater in Chicago by the Herald and Examiner of that city. This is probably the biggest newspaper tie-up any short subject ever received. Under a three-column cut of Ripley the Herald and Examiner's tie-up ad proclaimed in large type: Ripley Big Hit in Vitaphone Talking Skit, "Believe It or Not" and proceeded to devote 200 words to tying his cartoons with the picture. ■ — Warners * * * Umbrella Ballyhoo With Chorus Girls f~L. GRAVES, manager of the State, Schenectady, had several chorus girls on the streets with open umbrellas, and a cloth banner with the copy: "I don't mind the rain. I am going to see 'Chasing Rainbows' at the State." The girls attracted a great deal of attention, and the stunt was a great success. — Associated Publications MANY HAPPY RETURNS Best wishes and congratulations are extended by THE FILM DAILY to the following members of the industry, who are celebrating their birthdays: June 30 Frederick Peters George Chandler Madge Bellamy C. S. Berger