The Film Daily (1931)

Timely Topics A Digest of Current Opinion — €— Studios Returning to Star System JJOLLYWOOD is returning to first principles in the matter of starring vehicles. With the advent of the talkies, all major studios attempted to put out pictures with so-called "all-star casts," but these are now being relegated to the limbo of forgotten things and the star is coming back into his own. Walter Huston, Marie Dressier, Ruth Chatterton and a few others are players whose every picture sheds new light on their versatility, but for each of these there are a dozen who, in role after role, succeed admirably by "playing straight" — just being themselves. Robert Ames has made about half a dozen films since "Holiday," but in all of them he is simply Robert Ames — with a different name and different problems, of course, but still Robert Ames. Richard Barthelmess, even in his "Son of the Gods," in which he was supposed to have Oriental blood, is always more or less the same character. Richard Dix, until he played Cravatt in "Cimarron," has been like Barthelmess, a distinctive type. For Cravatt he necessarily used extensive makeup, submerging his own personality in that of the character, but in other pictures he has been unmistakably Richard Dix. The same is true of Charles ex-"Buddy" Rogers, George O'Brien, Anita Page, Richard Arlen, Mary Astor, Eddie Quillan, Mary Brian, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and a host of other players of varying types who, on the pure strength of personality, have come into demand. They all can act, but their acting is, in most cases, secondary to their natural personalities. — Evening World Approximately 500 features and 1,500 shorts were produced by U. S. studios in 1930. • • • HOW THEY got their start in motion pictures is a perennially popular subject with the press agent searching for something to write in the way of copy about a particular star they know it's the sort of material the fans eat up so do the newspapers and fan mags the result of it all is that about every third gal and boy in these Youessay gets the bug to go to Hollerword and crash the golden gate, sooner or later it's a safe bet that a big percentage of fans patronize the movies because of their yen to be a screen actor destroy their hopes that some day they will have their name in marquee lights on their home town movie house, and the chances are they will cease to be picture fans then1 what are they gonna use to fill the orchestra chairs with in place of these would-be screen stars? so you see, it's a tough problem but it's even tougher out in Hollywood, where they are ceaselessly trying to cope with it so the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, through its prexy, William C. de Mille, has been forced to broadcast a message to newspaper editors telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about the would-be-screen-actor situation of 17,500 extras registered at the Central Casting Bureau during 1930, only 833 averaged one day's work per week only 95 worked as much as three days per week if the work could be equally distributed among the 17,500, each actor could be furnished One part every THREE YEARS less than 1,000 actors are now required to do most of the work to the average casting director it looks as if the audience wanted to be actors and the actors are forced to be audience De Mille sez: "It's sheer suicide for youngsters to try and break in." but todav seventeen publicity stories will be broadcasted to the fans telling how as many different screen players rose to stardom after getting a lucky break in Hollywood and those published "yarns" will start about 17,000 hopefuls trekking to the film city from little hamlets and big towns all over the nation confident that they can click, too, IF they get a lucky break so it goes and will continue to go as long as they make pix for hope springs eternal in the human breast and press ageys spring the eternal applesauce about the "star who got a lucky break" whenever they have nothing worth while to write about • • • ROWLAND BROWN, author-director of Fox's "Skyline," was a member of the labor gang at the studio a few years ago, the pressagey informs us and THAT yarn will provide Hollywood with a few thousand hopeful new directors by the end of the week looks as if Mister de Mille oughter send his warning to the p.a's who furnish newspapers with these yarns in the first place but probably nobod'* in the Academy of_ M. P. Arts and Sciences ever though of that ; Bob Shapiro, former assistant treasurer of the Rivoli. is now treasurer of the Brooklyn Paramount Teddy Walters, the dazzling blonde who was femme foil for Eddie Cantor in yaude, has been signed by Warners Frank D. Ormston is in Italy making a series of travelogues The Fox bowling team trimmed the Paramount boys three straight games last week * * * * • • O TODAY'S FAIRY STORY Mary Pickford sez in an interview that if she had her life to live over again she wouldn't want a movie career "I'd want to be a consumer instead of a producer," sez she but Mary sez it after she's had all the fun and millions of being a producer like the kid who told his ma he didn't want any jam after he had cleaned out the jar in the refrigerator «C <€ « » » » EXPLOITETTES A Clearing House tot Tabloid Exploitation ldt><*.< e Special Radio Talk On "Min and Bill" J-[AROLD KAPLAN, manager of the Century Theater, Minneapolis, Minn., included radio announcements in exploitation campaign, on "Min and Bill-" "Min and Bill" announcements were made on the air for a week previous to the opening of the picture at the Century, on stations KSTP, WCCO, WRHM and WDGY. Al Shean, the announcer, made two special announcements during the regular station broadcasts, and told the listeners to be sure and see it. During another broadcast, Shean gave a special talk about the Midnight Show. — Century, Minneapolis * * * Window Displays Boost "Passion Flower" RUSSELL LAMB, manager of the Fisher, Danville, 111., arranged for a vigorous exploitation campaign on "The Passion Flower." In return for the use of an institutional trailer in the theater, Lamb received t h e consent of the Governor's Relief Commission, to place interesting window displays on "The Passion Flower" in each of the five vacant stores which they used to solicit funds for baskets for the poor. Each window had an art display cut-out on the picture and several stills mounted on cardboard frames in addition to window cards which contained copy on the picture and plavdate. —Fisher, Danville, III. MANY HAPPY RETURNS 0F Best wishes and congratulations are extended by THE FILM DAILY to the following members of the industry, who are celebrating their birthdays : February 17 Sol Lesser J. Harold Murray Mary Brian Milton R. Krasner