The Film Daily (1931)

THE Monday, March 2, 1931 DAILY A LITTLE from "LOTS" Ot KALfH W1LK HOLLYWOOD "TAY GARNETT, who with Tom Buckingham has just completed Sais next original screen story for Pathe, has evolved a novel method 5f building up the big dramatic sequences of the story with the aid of appropriate music, much as the silent pictures were enhanced by the huge orchestras in the fine theaters. * * * Harrison Wiley is designing the sets for "The Miracle Woman," which Frank Capra will direct for Columbia. Wiley also designed the sets for "Subway Express" and "Dirigible." * * * Frank Sheridan will have the featured part of Father Dan in Radio's "Big Brother," in which Richard Dix stars. * * * Ken Thompson has signed a contract to write for Radio. Franklin Pangborn and Harry Sweet are again teamed as comedian and director respectively, in RKO Pafhe's "Rough House Rhythm." * * * Lita Chevret and Valma Valentine have been added to the cast of Radio's "Madame Julie," which Victor Schertzinger is directing. * * * Bert Woodruff and Edward Peil, Sr., have been signed to complete the cast of Columbia's "The Fighting Patrol,'' a Buck Jones special. * * * Freddie Fleck has been appointed assistant to Victor Schertzinger, directing Radio's "Madame Julie." * * * William Scott, Catherine Clare Ward, Dorothea Wolbert, Alfred James and Lewis Sargent have been added to the cast of "Too Many Crooks," which William Seiter is directing for Radio. * * * Radio Pictures has purchased "In the Mexican Quarter," a romantic story written by Tom McGill. * * * M-G-M has secured the screen rights to George White's "Flying High," which will be directed by Charles Reisner. * * * Rose Hobart will have the femme lead in "We Three," which First National will produce. Short Shots from Eastern Studios By HARRY N. BLAIR , Our Passing Show: George Fitzmaurice, Cedric Gibbons, Bartlett Cormack, Solly Biano and Jay Chapman attending the Los Angeles Tennis Club tournament; Sarah Y. Mason studying French. * * * Mark Sandrich's initial picture under his new contract will be a Ned Sparks starring comedy. He directed eight comedies for Louis Brock productions, RKO release, last year. * * * Louis King, who directed Buck Jones in "Desert Vengeance," for Columbia, will direct an underworld story for Columbia. * * * Larry Darmour is all smiles these days. The fan mail for his little comedian, Mickey McGuire, is increasing by leaps and bounds. * * * Metropolitan studio sound engineers are becoming authorities on thunder. By placing microphones on the top of the studio during a recent storm, they were able to secure two exceptionally good peals of thunder. These will be added to the comprehensive library of sound and voice files maintained at the studio. * * * More Passing Show: Al Cohn, Ross Shattuck, Edward Woods at Margaret Ettinger's party in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Tryon; Kubec Glassmon and J. Grubb Alexander motoring to Burbank; David Mendoza lunching at First National. * * * Harry Fraser, who directed Daphne Pollard in "Bare Knees," will direct Nat Carr in "Open House," a Pathe comedy. "pAGLIACCl," produced at the Audio Cinema studios here, under the direction of Joe W. Coffnian, is attracting much attention at Leo Brecher's Central Park in New York, as the first opera to reach the sound screen. One of the most difficult assignments recently handed out ivas that of lighting the enormous area of Madison Square Garden for the first of the Vitaphone "Sportslants" series, which stars the New York Rangers, hockey team. Ray Foster was chief cameraman on the job and the results are surprisingly good. George Folsey, chief cinematographer at the Paramount New York studios, together with Charlie Ruggles, has challenged Harold Sugarman and Don Laurie, present studio ping pong champions, to a match which will shortly be played out at Windsor Towers, Tudor City. Frank Ormston, who has just returned from Italy where he photographed some interesting sights for a xinique travel series, has been pursued by the figure "13" all through his journey. Leaving New York on Dec. 13, it took exactly 13 days for him to cross; his address in Rome has 13 letters; he wot away for 13 weeks; sailed from Cherbourg on Friday, the 13th, and was presented with a copy of the 13th edition of the Film Daily Year Book on his arrival here. Jack Pearl, musical comedy comedian and former partner of Ben Bard, has been signed to appear in a one reel Vitaphone comedy, Burnet Hershey is now at work on a story to be built around the comedian, whose chief humor lies in his heavy accent. Unusual Weather RKO-Pathe planned to shoot a London mist scene one evening for ''Lost Love," using a special system with finely perforated pipes to deliver a typical soft and gentle Lunnon mist. And doggone if the California weatherman didn't deliver a deluge of real rain and spoil the show. These Californians overdo everything. Here and There: Carl Laemmle and Phil Reisman conferring at Universal; Paul Perez motoring to the Wilshire-Ebell theater to attend the Will Durant lecture. * * * Out of six pictures starring Ann Harding, made since she started in pictures two years ago, three have had premieres in either Grauman's Chinese or Carthay Circle. The pictures are "Holiday," "Condemned" and the current attraction at the Carthay Circle, "East Lynne." * * * Josephine Lovett, screen writer, is writing the adaptation of "Stepdaughters of War," for Paramount. It will serve as Ruth Chatterton's next starring vehicle. Miss Lovett recently adapted "Corsair," which will star Chester Morris and which will be released by United Artists. * * * Charles Grayson is the author of a new novel, "Spotlight Manners," which is attracting much attention in Hollywood. It deals with the intimate life of a motion picture ac tor and has won praise from Rupert Hughes, Adele Rogers St. John, Jim Tully and other writers. * * * Sarah Y. Mason, M-G-M scenarist, who recommended the purchase of the motion picture rights to "Thej Man in Possession" when she saw the play in London last year, is now1 writing the adaptation of it for M-G-M. * * * Benny Rubin has returned from a personal appearance of 14 weeks,, during which he shattered several house records. His most successful engagement was at the Mastbaum; Philadelphia, where he broke the house record by several thousand dollars. * * * "Paul for all— all for Paul," is the slogan created by Chuck West; campaign manager for Paul Snell, who is a candidate for vice president of the Wampas. "If he's a Paramount candidate, he's the best candidate in town" is another slogan from West's typewriter. * * * "'Dear' Wamp: (If ineligible to vote, eliminate 'dear'"), is the salutation from Chuck to members of the Wampas. * * * Geoffrey Kerr, Broadway and London stage favorite, has arrived in Hollywood to make his talkie debut with Radio Pictures. The latest of his many successful Broadway plays, "This Is New York," has just completed its run. "Honor Among Lovers," with Claudette Colbert and Fredric March co-featured, which was recently completed at Paramount's New York studio, is the current attraction at the New York and Brooklyn Paramount theaters, following "Stolen Heaven," also made here. Among the unsung workers vital to the sticcess of any studio are the projectionists. Warner Vitaphone has two of the best in the business, Frank Friedman and J. H. Castle, who operate under the supervision of Bert Frank. Ernest Zatorsky, mike control engineer, began work on "The Smiling Lieutenant" on Friday, the 13th, and this was the 13th feature with which he has been associated since joining the Paramount New York studio Bert Wilson, assistant to Bert Frank, Vitaphone 's supervising film editor, made his entry into the business as studio manager of the Cranmer Court studios in London, owned by his father, Rex Wilson, who later sold out to DeForest. Taxis Sell "Reno" Reading, Pa. — Manager A. B. Lewis of the Park tied up with the local taxi company to have their 53 taxis carry a sign on the spare tires in the rear: "We're Going to 'Reno' I" Twenty odd indie cabs with their stand at the depot also plugged the Sono Art pix to travelers arriving in town.