The Film Daily (1931)

THE 12 £*& DAILY Sunday, April 12, 1931 52 Two-Rcelcrs Completed by Educational — 10 to G' Program of One-Reelers Also Well on Way to Conclusion With 40 of its comedies completed, and six more practically done, only 10 two-reelers remain to be made on Educational's 1930-31 line-up of 62 two-reel comedies. "Cowcatcher's Daughter," one of the most ambitious comedies made by Mack Sennett, with an all-star comedy cast, including Andy Clyde, Harry Gribbon, Marjorie Beebe and Frank Eastman, just completed, is' the 16th comedy produced by Sennett this season. In the final stages of production now are "Speed" and an untitled comedy. Activities at the Sennett studios are at a peak, with eight more comedies on the comedy producer's program of 36 still to be made. The Lloyd Hamilton series completed with "Ex-Plumber," the Educational studios have in production the last in the Ideal Series, which will also be the third in the series of Hollywood Girl comedies. The new one, tentatively titled "The Lure of Hollywood," will feature the same three girls who appeared in "Crashing Hollywood." "The Back Page," a newspaper comedy, featuring George Chandler, Virginia Brooks and Wheeler Oakman, has just been completed at the Educational studios, and will be released as the seventh subject in the Mermaid series. The eighth and final Mermaid will shortly go into production. At the Metropolitan studios, several Educational-Christie units are working at full speed, the Gayety unit now shooting a new Ford Sterling comedy, tentatively titled "The Foolish Forties," the direction of which has been assigned to William Watson. June MacCloy has been signed to appear in the feminine role opposite Sterling, while others selected for the cast are Alyce McCormick, Stella Adams and Eddie Baker. The comedy is from an original story by Frank Griffin. A new • of "Golf Lesson" herald issued by RKO Pathe in connection with showing of Farrell golf series. Excellent theater front display, featuring the Educational Romantic Journey, "Honey-Moon Land,'' used by Harry J one, manager of the Orpheum, St. Joseph, Mo. Universal's "Strange as It Seems," a Charley Chase comedy and Metrotone News also are played up. Vanity Comedy Vehicle is also under way at the Metropolitan studios, with Harold Beaudine at the directorial helm, and Glenn Tryon in the starring role. Neal Burns, as assistant director, and Bobby Vernon as special comedy writer, are also working on the picture. Betty Lorraine has been signed for the leading feminine role, while the support. ng cast includes Vernon Dent, Eddie Baker, Glenn Lavender and Jack Henderson. Shooting has started on the new Tuxedo, titled "Don't Divorce Him," and starring Clyde Cook. Work will also commence soon on the sixth and final Tuxedo. On Educational's program of onereelers, Frank Moser and Paul Terry have completed 19 Terry-Toons, with seven more to go to complete the series of 26. Production is being speeded up on the Lyman H. Howe's Hodge-Podge, of which "A Flying Trip," "Over the Air." "A Medley of Rivers" and "Speed Up" have been released, while in the series of Mack Sennett Brevities, there have been released 'fake Your Medicine," "The Bluffer," "Strange Birds" and "A Poor Fish." The William J. Burns Detective Mysteries and the Romantic Journeys, two series of one-reelers taken on after the opening of the current production season, will continue to be produced through the next production season. INDLE N0VEL1Y PRODUCERS MERIT CIRCUIT SUPPORT Because novelty and diversity are of vital importance to the short subject program, and because this type of picture usually can be turned out better by independent producers owing to the time spent on them and the big overhead that a national producer-distributor would be obliged to charge against one-reelers, theater circuits should consider it a duty to support the indie producer who is trying to make first-class novelty shorts, says Ira H. Simmons, general sales manager of FitzPatrick Pictures. "The present situation for the independent producer of shorts is not as promising as it might be, owing to the subsidized subjects now being released," Simmons declares. "The producer of shorts today must continually create new novelty ideas, carefully conceived and intelligently produced. In the days of the popularity of vaudeville, the successful showmen, such as William Hammerstein, and Percy Williams, were noted for the perfect arrangement of their vaudeville bills. The same principle applies to every type of picture theater in arranging their short subject program leading up to their feature production, which presentation is based on the same principles." Reviewing From Juvenile Ang'e Almost as a direct answer to the exhibitor's prayer for the return of the younger element to the picture theater, "The Open Road for Boys," a magazine with a large juvenile circulation, is inaugurating the policy of reviewing motion pictures with special recommendations made from the juvenile angle. This is recognized as an effective stimulant for the boys of the country in motion pictures, and the best possible value should accrue to exhibitors from reviews which will send the boys to the pictures they are sure to like, insuring satisfaction to this part of their patronage, which is certain to rebound to the benefit of the exhibitor. NAMES VITAL TO SHORTS SAYS A. H. SCHNITZER A. H. Schnitzer, recently appointed short subject sales manager tor RKO Pathe, believes that "names" are just as essential to two reel comedies as they are to features. "When the first of the comedy talkers came out they got over on sheer novelty," sa'id Schnitzer. "\ audeville and musical comedy material was re-enacted or worked over, the stars meant little or nothing to the draw. With the depletion of ready-made stories, the two reel comedy star began to come into his own and today' production officials are matching original stories and costly backgrounds with big names. "Witness the signing by Charles R. Rogers, production head of the RKO Pathe studios, of James Gleason to write for and star in tworeelers of the Rooster brand. Few names are better known to the stage and feature field. Then RKO Pathe has just added to its roster of comedy names that of Frank McHugh, prominent stage and screen comedian, to be starred in a series of six featurettes on the new program. A third comedy player of feature calibre to join the company is Benny Rubin, who has appeared in numerous pictures for the leading distributing companies. "Certainly the come-back of feature stars must mean the use of dominant names in short comedies." One of a series of full pane, full-color mafiazinc ads to appear in "Ladies' Home Journal," "Delineator," "Good Housekeeping" and "Woman's Home Companion," carrying an Our Gang tie-up.