Hollywood Filmograph (Jan-Jul 1930)

HOLLYWOOD FILMOGRAPH 31 Moran and Mack Director Writes From Japan By RICHARD WALLACE (Editor's Note: Richard Wallace, Paramount director, is now on a tour of the world with his wife, after completing direction of Moran and Mack in "Anybody's War.") KOBE, Japan. — The major part of my life has been spent in what most people call "the world of make-believe"— the motion picture studios of Hollywood. It is curious that, after all of that, I am now having the most interesting time of my life as I see other countries first hand. Japan has proved extremely educational. When we arrived in Kobe a week ago, we took a drive through the city and then caught the afternoon train for Kyoto, which is about two hours away. En route, we passed Osaki, the largest city in Japan which grew to terrific size after the quake destroyed Tokyo. At Kyoto, which is the old capital of Japan and the birthplace of the new Japan, we saw the coronation palace, the jiu jitsu and fencing school and many Buddha and Shinto Temples. The most popular temple is that of the Fox, which is worshipped for business success and good journey. The shops in this colorful old city have international fame. This city boasts of being the birthplace of Emperor Meiji. In motion picture parlance, he "put Japan over." He is the grandfather of the present emporer. Japan has had 125 emperors, the longest line of one blood known. From Kyoto, we motored to Nara, the beautiful. It is a resort with many temples. A great bronze Buddha stands more than sixty feet high. Avenues of stone lanterns, the offerings of well-to-do people to the spirit, lead to it. Most interesting of all were the 800 tame deer which follow you around and nip at your clothing. We motored to Lake Biwa, a summer resort. At an ancient rock temple we had our fortunes told. It was predicted that we would have an unpleasant and dangerous experience. It later came true, as I shall relate. We took the night train to Tokyo. The sleeping cars are much the same as the Lark beds excepting on a small scale. For military reasons, the train is of narrow gauge. The dining cars are open all of the time. In the morning, we left the train to see what the quake did to Yokahama. The town is building up rapidly. We motored to Kamkura, a spot of worship, where we were impressed by suddenly walking onto a fifty-foot Buddha seated among cherry trees. The idol once had an ornate housing but that was washed away by a tidal wave in 1400. Motoring back to Yokahama, we took an electric train to Tokyo. A large and rapidly-growing city, it has the imperial palace and other official buildings. We stayed at the Imperial Hotel. It was designed by Lloyd Wright and carries out the spirit of Japan. At first, it looks like a madman's dream, but you grow to like it. The rooms are large but your first impression is that you are in a doll-house. We had a beautiful Geisha dinner that night and on the following day were entertained at a Sukyak. This is a dinner where you cook your own food over charcoal burners and you must remove your shoes. We left Tokyo on a night train to Shemonseki, where we were to take a ferry to Fusan in Korea and thence to the town of Seoul. From there, we were to go to Mukden and finally to Pekin. At Shimonseki, we boarded the ferry immediately. It turned out to be a small ocean liner. We requested luncheon, which is known as Tiffin here, at one o'clock but were informed by the steward that we had better have it at 11:30 since we might encounter rough weather. We did as he advised. We were just pulling through the heads on our eight-hour voyage when things began to happen. The sea suddenly went mad and for three hours it was impossible to either stand up or lie down. The boat took turns standing on its head and its tail. It even tried to roll over. It quivered and groaned and we were bounced around until we were actually bruised and battered. The water tumbled over the bridge. It smashed against our port holes until we thought they were going to give way. In fact, some portholes on the ship were broken. Water began to pour into our stateroom from the upper deck and we began to think for a time that we would complete our voyage under water. Just as I was beginning to wonder if the publicity boys at the studio would get out a lovely obituary about me, the steward staggered in to apologize and say that the captain had decided it was too dangerous to attempt the trip and was going to turn back to Shimonseki. We got back to port at 2 o'clock. We were the only white people on board but everyone who came up on deck when we struck calm water were white as you would wish. This was the prediction we had learned of at the temple, I guess. When we anchored, the crew expressed sorrow at not being able to make the trip. They would try it again at dawn if we wished, they said. We declined. Believe it or not, it would have thrown our plans out of order and we couldn't have made boat connections at Shanghai had we gone across and lost the two days' time which were necessary. Anyway, that's my story. We have just learned that the railroad between Pekin and Shanghai is in the hands of bandits, so it was a bit of luck for us that we didn't make the trip successfully. Our friends in Kobe already knew of our experience when we got back there that evening. It is one of the strange things that happen in the Orient; everyone always keeps tab on you wherever you go. 111 Lester Cohen, well known novelist, has been added to the Columbia Studio's staff of writers. He comes to Columbia from Paramount where he worked on several of that company's chief productions. Among theme was "Dangerous Curves." Cohen joins such well known writers as Jo Swerling, Paul Hervey Fox, James Whittaker, Jack Bechdolt, Joseph Lilly and Edgar Waite. WHILE IN "MONTE CARLO" WE FIND JEANETTE MacDONALD AND JACK BUCHANAN AT WORK That mecca of the moneyed, we learned a count had fallen in love with a countess; and his traveling companion, Tyler Brooke, was greatly annoyed over the luck he was having. While the air was crisp, Brooke took Jack Buchanan out for a stroll that he might question his methods. After a few steps the dapper little comedian broke the silence, "If I only had your luck. How do you do it?" he questioned. "Nothing to it," Buchanan replied, and went on to explain. "I got a system that can't miss. If there's a brunette standing at my side, I bet on red. If I'm standing next to a redhead, I bet on black." "But suppose you are standing next to a blonde. What do you do then?" Brooke inquired. Buchanan gave a merry laugh. "What do I do then? I ask her where she lives." This gave Brooke the shock he least expected. Ernst Lubitsch's smile indicated the scene was great, but someone from the sound station announced there was too much wind. "Well, we'll take it again with a little less wind," said the director with a chuckle. But the wind had been waiting long enough around the set and wanted to get its song in before lunch time. It was then that we had an opportunity to see Buchanan's lovely blonde countess, Jeanette MacDonald, do a little bit of light comedy on the side. She called her little 2A Brownie into service and had her director pose with her, which he didn't mind in the least, in the gay atmosphere of the French Riviera. "Monte Carlo," written by Ernest Vajda from Hans Mueller's "The Blue Coast," is a rollicking, royal romance with music; a tuneful expose of what happens when a count falls in love with a countess in one of Europe's most colorful resorts. A successor to Lubitsch's most recent success, "The Love Parade," in which Jeanette MacDonald was featured with Maurice Chevalier. In "Monte Carlo," with its lavishness of setting, Jack Buchanan heads the cast with Miss MacDonald. This very charming new sensation on the screen is said to have the most beautiful singing voice on the Paramount lot, according to Jerome Kern. And while we were listening to a hammer and whistle chorus, a party of convention visitors were granted permission to take a look at the "Monte Carlo" set and delighted when Miss MacDonald very graciously greeted them and posed for pictures. The two bright-eyed children in the party capturing her interest. Buchanan is to London what Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor are to America, and what Chevalier is to France. He has been identified with the greatest musical show successes of the London stage for more than 10 years and is almost as well known to Broadway. He made his American stage debut in 1924 with Gertrude Lawrence and Beatrice Lillie in the original Chariot's Revue, and most recently played there in his London hit, "Wake Up and Dream." LET US INTRODUCE SAM B. COHN, PUBLICIST Evidencing his faith in the future prosperity of Hollywood, Sam W. B. Cohn, well known local publicity and advertising man has removed his offices to larger quarters in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel after having been located in the Taft Building in the film capital during the past six years. The change was made necessary owing to the expansion program planned by the publicist and which is to be effected during the ensuing year. Besides handling the advertising and publicity account of the Roosevelt Hotel and several other prominent firms and individuals of Hollywood and Los Angeles, Cohn has planned and executed numerous publicity campaigns both local and national during recent years for various outstanding activities including the tour of Mei Lan-Fang, China's greatest actor, whose appearance in Los Angeles is currently proving an event of civic and social importance. Among the numerous motion picture folk who have entrusted their personal publicity representation to Cohn during the past several years are George Bancroft, Billie Dove, William Beaudine, Gus Edwards, Percy Marmont, Ken Maynard, Geo. Irving, John Robertson, Josephine Lovett, Reaves Eason, Robert Edeson, Denison Clift, Evelyn Brent, Edmund Breese, Guinn Williams and many others. Theatres and motion picture studios which have employed Cohn on special publicity and exploitation campaigns during reecnt years include the Biltmore, United Artists and Paramount, and the Universal and United Artists studios. Cohn is a member of the Wampas, Hi-Hatters and other organizations having as their motif the advancement of truth in publicity and advertising. 111 During the next year notable but not radical improvements may be expected in the sound recording of alltalking pictures, according to Carl Dreher, head of Radio Pictures' sound department. Among the prospective improvements is a tendency to move the microphone as far from players as possible. This will give players more leeway for dramatic effects and also will facilitate production. While Mr. Buchanan is playing before the cameras in Hollywood, his own theatre is being built in London as the realization of a dream he has held since earliest youth. The house, which will be opened in the fall of this year, is called the Leicester Square Theatre. The additional dialogue in "Monte Carlo" is by Vincent Lawrence and the musical numbers by Frank Hading, Richard A. Whiting and Leo Robin. David Percy, protege of Emma Ames, pupil of Louis Graveure and a young baritone known by a vast radio audience, will carry an important operatic role in "Monte Carlo." The supporting cast includes: Zasu Pitts, Albert Conti, John Roche, Claude Allister. MAIDEE CRAWFORD.