The Film Daily (1930)

THE Tuesday, December 30, 1930 HOLLYWOOD FLASHES \By RALPH WILK\ TAMES CRUZE plans to make a J Western similar in type to "The Covered Wagon." He is lining up a cast. Reports in circulation here have Tom Mix planning to return to the screen. — A Happy New Year — Dorothy Revier. has been selected for the feminine lead in Columbia's "Phantom Hoofs," Buck Jones western. An important role in John Bctrrymore's "Svengali" has been assigned to Carmel Myers by Warners. — A Happy New Year — Frances Hyland has been assigned by Tiffany to handle the script on "X Marks the Spot." Puzant Thomajan, former gag man with Harold Lloyd, has been engaged by Van Beuren Corp. to originate gags for the Aesop's Fable cartoons. — A Happy Ne~.v Year— Evalyn Knapo has been assigned the romantic feminine lead with George Arliss in his next Warner picture. Pathe has completed Johnny Arthur's first two-reel vehicle, and Walter Catlett is filming his initial short comedy. The Franklin Panaborn film produced under the title of "Uproar," will be released a"Next Door Ne:ghbors." — A Happy New Year — Joe Donahue has been assigned a role in Dorothy Mackaill's Part) Husband" by First National. Laura La Plante will be Fran I. Fay's leading lady in Warners' "The Devil Was Sick." — A Happy New Yeai Paramount has changed the title of Richard Arlen's "The Westerner" to "Gun Smoke." Rose Hobart will play the lead opposite John Boles in Universal'* "Seed." $3,367,160 was spent in production of advertising pictures in 1929, against $617,466 in 1927. 2£S OAJLY • • • IF THE CM\SS will come to order and stop worrying about those $20 cover charges for the New Year's Eve whoopee, we'll endeavor to go on with the lesson not that it will do you any good for two years as exchange professor of Language from the University of Aberdeen we've tried to instill into you some Scotch economy in the use of Words also Moderation in the use of verbal expression and what have you profited by it? you've gone Wild on Words absolutely cuckoo when some of you producers turn out a (wo-ree!er b'own up to a feature "epic" with splash production and a mess of kindergarten dialogue what do you say -v,„„<. ;tp <^ staggering, gigantic drama that utterly dwarfs the imagination" it does it also dwarfs the audiences, the b.o. receipts and the producer's bankroll and some day, when you really DO make a staggering, gigantic ^'-rna. wh*t are you gonna sav about it? and who will believe you if you do? the Public has grown Word W'se they know the meanings of all the high-powered adjecfives and have learned from sad experience that most of the picture adjectives are in the newspaper copy, but not IN the "'rtu-o ?nd a lotta theater managers have developed a Sexy Word Complex if they were showing an industrial nix of a s'eel mill they'd advertise it as "A Seer'ng, Red Hot Drama of Melting Passion!" but at last the pendulum is swineing back the Big Boys are growing Conservative on W^-rl<; and issuing Warnings to the ad writers to Soft Pedal what they should do is hire a bunch of Scotch ad writers thej-'d advertise a super-special as "Just a Wee Picture Nae Unco Guid and Nae Unco Bad. You've Probably Seen Lots Worse" and the Dear Public would be so startled that they'd flock to see it in Droves at least it would be a Novelty and as we've said many times before, this pix biz Starts and Finishes with Novelty so let's have Moderation in Words as we terminate this elue'dation of an intrigu ingly erudite disquisition • • • ADOLPHE MENJOU is still waging his lone crusade to take the "weight" out of the "heavy" roles Adolphe has always contended that most "heavies" are exactly that he sez their performances arc dark, somber and soggy he points to the fact that in real life the villains are only 25 per cent heavy the other 75 per cent they spend as Sunday school superintendents, Wall Street brokers, or playing the fascinating devil with women this last is Adolphe's li'l secret and the way the women go for his pix seems to prove thai he's right even the kids nowadays laugh a1 the "heavy" heavy why, one of the worst heavies we ever encountered — in real life is altogether charming he called bright and early to wish the family a Merry Xmas he is our landlord, and before he left he hung an envelope on the Xmas tree "A check! A check!" we cried as we tore it ooen it was ,,nl\ the rent receipt for January, with a Happy New Year card enclosed but how delicately done! • • • EDDIE CANTOR will be the guest of honor this evening at the meeting of the Jewish Theatrical Guild of America at the Biiou theater living up to their theatrical traditions, even the name of the theater is in the proper atmosphere A wel'-known screen player had his contract cancelled the day after Xmas he immediately went out on the lawn of his Hollywood home and replaced the Xmas tree with a raspberry bush decorated with busted bulbs Eddie Corcoran sends a New Year card boosting the "Amalgamated Apple Association" the idea is to turn every movie house into an Apple Mart the emblem of the association is Eve holding aloft a red apple and he mails the card from Appleton, Wisconsm A H'apple New Year to you, too, Eddie The Empey Salesmen are all set for their ritzy New Year's party at the Plaza only 25 smackers a couple these salesmen simply must talk Big Prices Short Shots from New York Studios ,By HARRY N. BJ.AIR i J7STELLE TAYLOR is finally achieving a life-long ambition t i spend New Year's eve in New York. And to make it even better, her hubby, Jack Dempsey is along. Estelle may make a picture in the East before returning to Hollywood. * * * With Maurice Chevalier, Nancy Carroll, Claudette Colbert, Fredrw March, Charles Ruggles and Clive Brook all set to make pictures at Paramount' 8 East Coast studio-, there is no longer any reason ft r the star-gazers to visit Hollywood. There is also a possibility cf Marlene Dietrich working here b^ca s? of her antipathy to the California climate. — A Happy Ncv Year — "The Royal Family of Broadway" is the latest smash to ' turned out by Paramount's Easi Coast studio. With "Follow the Leader^" "Laughter" and "Animal Crackers" also to the credit of the local boys, looks like a final checkup will reveal that the real money makers on the Paramount program were turned out right he*"e in little old New York. * * * Eddie Buzzell, here on a talent quest for Columbia, believes that Broadway is the logical supply station for talkie potentialities as stage braining is now an absolute requisite for talkie success. And Eddie, with twenty years stage experience beh'nd him, ceitiinly should know. — A Happy New Year — Due to his highly successful engagements abroad, Maurice Chevalier will not report at the Paramount New York studios until after the middle of January, it is now announced. Chevalier is at present scoring in London. Ernst Lubitsch, who directed him in "The Love Parade", will do similar honors on the picture in which he will be starred on his return from abroad. « « « » » » MANY HAPPY RETURNS Best withes and congratulation! are extended by ThE FILM DAILY to the following membera of the Industry, who are celebrating their birthdaya: December 30 R. F. Woodhull Wallace Smith