Hollywood Filmograph (Jan-Jul 1930)

22 July 12, 1930 ! l NEW YORK JULY 12, 1930 SECTION Companies Making Wide Film Pictures Big U To Make Summerville' Gribbon Series Looks Like They Are to Make Exhibitors Change Screens With Fox Films, First NationalWarners, Paramount, RKO, United Artists, Pathe, Tiffany and Columbia all using wide film for most of their spectacular productions, exhibitors are going to have to widen their screens and change their projection machines, according to word we have at hand right now. A check-up of the situation among the producers of what was formerly 70-millimeter films discloses that they have cut their film down to 65 millimeters, taken a little off of their picture frame, built new sound tracks, and will be able to use the wide film process to better advantage than Fox Films did on "Happy Days," which recently showed at the Carthay Circle. 1 i i Why do films fail? A complete answer to this question would take many pages, but one reason which is very obvious, and perhaps because of that so often overlooked by producers, is the lack of a good story, says Herbert Thompson in Film Weekly. "I have seen four films during the past seven days. Two of them were American and the other two were British. Two had good stories and two had no story worth mentioning. I must say that I was entertained very considerably by the two films which had a story, but I cannot be enthusiastic about the others. "I saw 'Song o' My Heart' and it proved to be merely a thread for the singing abilities of John McCormack, the Irish tenor. I am afraid the film left one cold. McCormack certainly has a magnificent voice, and its recording and reproduction by Western Electric have never before been equaled. One trouble with the film, in addition to its lack of story, is the fact that McCormack sings much too much. There is some pleasant humor in 'Song o' My Heart,' some good acting and some sentiment that is not too thickly laid on, but nevertheless, it is a concert more than a film, and I believe it would prove more successful in the concert halls than in cinemas." Tlh© Br©aiiway S©a?®@im By Frank Vreeland Harpo and Chico Marx, half of the Four Marx Brothers, have been valiantly finishing the new Marx picture, "Animal Crackers," at the Paramount studio here, in the face of severe physical d i s a b i l i t i e s — and Harpo's harp hasn't been so well, either. The faithful adherence of the two brothers to their job is an outstanding illustration of the actor's devotion to his slogan, "The show must go on," whether he is playing Shakespeare or just cutting up generally. Harpo came out of the hospital a few days ago after an operation required by an enlarged gland in the neck. Chico is suffering from a painful kidney complaint. Yet each one insisted on finishing their scenes in "Animal Crackers," clowning through their parts on the stages as if there were no such things as glands or nerves in the world. Between scenes they have been resting in their unique dressing room, made in the semblance of a window barred country "hoosegow," conserving their energy and trying to laugh off their ailments. "We had to finish the picture on schedule," Chico explains. "Otherwise it would have haunted us." Harpo has had to use up a little of that precious energy outside his performances in nursing his ailing harp. The harp has become indisposed likewise because of the humid weather New York has had lately. Sultry weather means sulky harps, according to the comedian. "A harp isn't at its best in the summertime," he said while tinkering with his prized $12,000 instrument. "The strings and frame develop artistic temperament on hot, muggy summer days. Sometimes I have to spend an hour in tuning up before I can play in such weather. "But you should hear her on a cold winter night when there's a brisk fire in the grate and your fingers snap with electricity after you've crossed a rug. She sings like a siren then, and music like that is certainly a foretaste of celestial bliss." Harpo hopes they have a cool, crisp atmosphere in the hereafter, otherwise the angels must have trouble with their instruments and the heavenly show can't always go on. He has no desire to go to the other place because of the effect on his harp. ■JX -Jt 3, Motion pictures have had their influence traced in various directions, with effects claimed for them in fashions, interior decorating, landscape gardening, health, propaganda of all kinds and even table manners. It has remained for Marie Dressier to discover a new influence for films. She told friends when she reached New York after her recent trip to Europe that she made this discovery on the homeward voyage. During the first day on shipboard she noticed a shadowy sort of woman who seemed to recognize the noted comedienne, stepped up as if to address her, then paused, changing her mind. When Miss Dressier set forth on a deck promenade this shadow trailed her. For several days the shadow went faithfully in Miss Dressler's wake. She began to feel that she was being trailed by detectives. Finally she couldn't endure it any longer. She approached the lurking woman and said: "Madam, did you wish to speak to me?" "Yes," said the woman ^.agerly. "I've been waiting for a chance to tell you that you've done my liver more good than all the medicines I've ever taken." ^5* t&* «<?* Willard Vander Veer, who worked with Joseph T. Rucker in taking the Antarctic film epic, "With Byrd at the South Pole," has had his hardest job since he came back to New York. That has been taking charge of the various personal appearances of the members of Rear-Admiral Byrd's party in connection with the showing of the picture at the Rialto on Broadway, and this has proven an arduous task because each distinguished person was liable to slip away at the last moment, summoned to fulfill some obligation which he could not refuse. The other day Vander Veer was to introduce to Rialto audiences none other than Bernt Balchen, famous pilot, who steered the Byrd plane Eddie Gribbon Al Ray Is Engaged to Direct Comics in Two-Reelers This seems to be the season of teams in talkies, for Universal has signed Slim Summerville and Eddie Gribbon to appear in a series, which Al Ray has been engaged to direct. The success of Slim Summerville in "All Quiet on the Western Front" gained a fiveyear contract for him with the big U, and the teaming of the funster with Eddie Gribbon by Carl Laemmle, Jr., means that he feels that it is the public demand for names that are known in feature productions in the "shorts" of today. over the South" Pole. At the last minute he discovered that Balchen had been imperatively called to Washington by plane, and only by luck managed to get hold of Capt. McKinley, also a participant in the memorable flight, to appear instead. Balchen was able to fly back from Washington in time for the scheduled appearance, but such is the congestion of New York traffic that once here, he couldn't reach the theatre in time. tt?* (*?• fc?* Bobby Clark, who has lately been appearing in R-K-0 two reelers, has lately developed into an avid student of philosophy, with the kind assistance of Dr. Will Durant. In the middle of a midnight revel in a Child's restaurant he will suddenly startle his friends, as well as the nearby diners, by saying loudly, "But you take what Socrates says, now!" — ■ Another of his recent flings at culture is the development of an ambition to play Cyrano, and he has learned large passages from Rostand's illustrious play, which he will recite at the drop of a hat — or without the drop of a hat.