Hollywood Filmograph (Jan-Dec 1932)

JULY 23, 1932 pi HOLLYWOOD 1 nlmoOraprL Entered as second class matter April 13, i 926 at the Post Office, Los Angeles, California, under the act of March 3, 1879. Published weekly by HOLLYWOOD FILMOGRAPH, Inc., 1606 Cahuenga, Suite 213214. (Los Angeles, California, Post Office.) HARRY BURNS, President and Editor Office Phone, Hillside 1146 DAD SAYS Vol. 12 Hollywood, California, Saturday, July 23, 1932 No. 27 THE LIFTING HAND When you realize that you can be toppled off of your high horse within a jiffy, you will become more human and lend a LIFTING HAND to your fellow man. And whenever you do this sort of a thing you will find that THE SUPREME BEING appreciates your trying to help your fellowman and will lighten your burden, for according to the Scriptures we read — Matt. 5:5 — Blessed are the meek: for they Ps. 147:6 — The Lord lifteth up the meek. shall inherit the earth. 1 Pet. 5:6 — Humble yourselves therefore Ps. 9:12 — He forgetteth not the cry of the under the mighty hand of God, that he may humble. exalt you in due time. There is a round trip ticket to everything that you do. A sort of a boomerang. Keep your eyes and heart wide open to everyone in need and while you are giving your Brother a lift, he directly or indirectly will be helping you, if it is only in the satisfaction that you have done your duty by mankind. Moving Movie Throng by John Hall Hollywood suffers from an "under the gun" complex. It is too close to itself — mentally. • • • "We cannot, perhaps, ever know the full relation between cause and effect." Science. • • • The everlasting crudities of what the picture producers call "program pictures" is a symptom of the malady largely responsible for current lack of public interest in films. • • • The "Bigger and belter" slogan, coined by a press agent, seems to have been lost. It had the merit of being a solid idea. It doomed dull, boresome me John Hall diocrily. • • • Less intelligent minds, thinking only of commercial" pictures — meaningless stories with box office names — cunningly^?) planned to make ONE "Bigger and better" film sell a whole series of "programs," hence the iniquitous block booking system. • • • This brilliant (P) scheme — one good one and a whole series of screen trash — worked out logically. It failed. The cash customers paid to see the good pictures and passed up the crude "programs," regardless of who was in them or who Wrote or directed them. Without quality, names meant nothing. • • • Cause and effect, in the motion picture field, as at present, needs no scientific mind to explain. Any bright school boy of fourteen understands, and can explain this particular working of the absolute law of cause and effect. • • • He would say that people willingly, even cheerfully, pay to see good pictures and refuse to pay to see poor "program" pictures. And it is just as simple as that; yet all our great Hollywood production "genuises" continue to produce "programs." • • • The "program picture" idea died with the Silent Drama. Both thrived in the Early Stone Age of motion pictures. They were solemnly buried by Sound Pictures and Radio. Old days, old thoughts. New d'ays, new thoughts. Today, movie fans are not THINKING as they thought in the Early St\ne Age of pictures. Being "under the gun," ^lacking in perspective, Hollywood producers\ men tally live in the Early Stone Age. The millions of kids daily viewing their GOOD output are years ahead of them. The selling strategy of present-day Hollywood is of ancient vintage. • • • From the days of the nickelodeon, when people paid a nickel to look through an eyepiece to see a picture move, to, say "Grand Hotel," is a long leap. Down through the years when people Went to see ALL motion pictures — those happy, golden days — to "The Birth of a Nation," the current movie thought was good; in fact, thought did not matter. From "The Birth of a Nation" to "Broken Blossoms," movie men started to realize the possibilities of the SILENT motion .picture. De Mille and others expanded. Then came the sound film. Since the fateful "Jazz Singer" revolutionized motion pictures producers have been in a daze from which they have failed to emerge. • • • /( took the organized independent exhibitors to startle them out of their lethargy. The block booking system was attacked in the courts. There was a rising demand that each picture be sold on its individual merits. Happily, one big organization had the courage to accept this challenge from the exhibitors, and a second following. Reason is beginning to dawn. Soon all the big producers will be producing pictures up to their advertising. • • • There are hold-outs. There are men in Hollywood — big men — who cannot see actualities. They are menially in the Early Stone Age of pictures. They cling to "programs," believing lhat ONE "special" will sell their mediocre output. They are doomed to failure. Financial ruin will be the child of the cause and effect involved. Fossilized minds cannot grasp the new conditions of today. The sound picture is a speaking play, and, like a speaking play, if the dialogue and action don't click like an actual stage production — the warehouse for the production, just what happens in New York when a stage play flops. • • • The Silent Drama just ain't no more. The "Movie" is extinct. The Spoken drama has been transferred to the screen. Real players, with real voices, with all the technique of the stage, play their parts and their work individually and collectively, satisfies — or flops the first week. Cause and effect. Hollywood must look beyond its nose to the far reaches of the known world. The pygmies of the African forests are enjoying the radio and portable talking pictures outfits. Soundless pictures would disappoint them. They are too primitive to differentiate between good and poor pictures. Civilized people are NOT DAD Madame Schumann-Heink breaks into talkie via an original story by her son Ferdinand and Harry Leahy, title "Cajon" . . . M.G.M. to star Ramon NoVarro in talkie Version of "The Arab" . . . Sharon Lynn added to cast of "The Big Broadcast" — Paramount . . . John Adolfi directs "Central Park" for W. F. W. . . . Thomas Meighan plays William Carey in Charles R. Rogers' production "Madison Square Garden" . . . Jean Harlow and John Gilbert have the leads in Red Dust," Jacques Feyder directs for RKO -Radio. Mary Aslor plays opposite Kenneth McKenna in "Those We Love" — Phil Coldstone production. . . . Irene Dunne renews contract with RKO-Radio . . . Howard Hawks to direct for M.C.M. . . . Joan Bennett and Ralph Bellamy have the spots in "Salomy Jane" — Fox . . . Rowland Brown 'lis said will direct Jean Harlow in "The Wild Parly"— M.C.M. . . . William Cargan has a big spot in "Sport Page" — RKORadio . . . Helen Hayes slated for "The While Sister"— M.C.M. . . . Irene Ware has the feminine lead in "Chandu" — Fox. Edward Everett Horlon signed for "Honest Finder," Ernst Lubitsch directs for Paramount . . . Irene Purnell plays opposite Ben Lyon in "The Crooked Circle" Jimmy Gleason has the comedy spot . . . Ernest Torrance added to cast of "Hypnotized," Mack Senn,ell's . . . Alexander Kirkland plays opposite Janet Caynor in "Tess of the Slorm Country" — Fox . . . Charles Morion has an important role in Marlene Dietrich's picture "Blonde Ven,us" — Paramount . . . Spencer Tracey has the lead in "20,000 Years in Sing Sing"—W.F.N. . . . Arthur Hohol, stage actor, plays Titus in "The Sign of the Cross". Lila Lee has the lead in "Exposure"— Universal . . . 'Tis said lhat Universal will make a talkie version of "The Perils of Pauline" . . . Paramount will team Frances Dee and Cene Raymond in "lllh Avenue," Stephen Roberts directs . . . Donald Cook has a spot in "Washington Merry-CoRound" — Columbia . . . Dorothy Burgess to star in screen version of "Decency", Arthur Cregor directs — Phil Goldslone production . . . Charles Farrell loaned for a spot in "Central Park"— W.F.N. . . . Ralph Morgan plays Czar Nicholas in "Rasputin" . . . Paul Lukas has a big spot in "Rockabye" — RKO-Radio. Louis Sobel, columnist, doing a turn at the Palace Theatre in New York. Christian Rub added to cast of "The Crooked Circle" . . . George Brent and Loretta Young as a team in Vaudeville . . . Eleanor Boardman has the feminine lead in "The Phantom President," George M. Cohn picture . . . El Brendel in cast of "The Little Teacher" — Fox. Charles R. Rogers "The Billion Dollar Scandal," Harry Joe Brown directs . . . Screen rights to "Brief Rapture" bought by M.C.M. . . . Leo McCarey replaces Al Rogell as director of "The Kid from Spain" Eddie Cantor's picture . . . Vivi Tobin in cast of "The Sign of the Cross." primitive. They KNOW the poor from the good — and they pay only to see the good. The crude "program picture" system is dead. Wise picture men should know it. IN HOLLYWOOD NOW By Bud Murray BUD MURRAY SUBSCRIBE TODAY Special 3 Months Offer $1 Address HOLLYWOOD FILMOGRAPH 1606 Cahuenga Ave. . The Olympic Cold Rush is on IN HOLLYWOOD NOW. All sorts of "co-operative," "Play-along," "Percentage," and "high pressure promoters" are putting shows on to whet the appetite of the prospective incoming Olympic visitors. And so We see where an operetta rehearses for four to six weeks, postpones an opening, then gives a free performance and tries to collect enough money out of the audience to pay the cast and chorus—(BUT, NO CO) So up to this writing the show does not reopen. Another flock of producers grab the Music Box to stage a Musical. Cerhold Davis producing "Footliles," opening Wednesday, al the Mayan. Looks like Henry Duffy will keep "Hullabaloo" going at the El Capiian. The Biltmore will get "Cynara" — and "The Best of Families" at the Playhouse — besides that The Hollywood Bowl packing them in — and the cream of all the shows in town is the Sid Crauman "Olympic" suggestion, in a tremendous stage prologue, and real high-class acts (none of them billed) which they should do — The Picture "Strange Interlude" is just fair, but enough "intrigue" in it to interest. The Orpheum Theater giving a two-hour stage show, with the regular five acts and the "RKO National Opportunity ReVue" in conjunction. Noticed a flock of booking agents giving this the once over for prospective "New Talent." Harry Wallin of the Fanchon & Marco offices — Johnny Beck of the Harry Weber offices. Sam "Blood" Kramer of the Bert Levey offices. Out front the "The Jury" consisting of J. J. Franklin, Ben Serkovich, R. Moss and Bern Bernard — and then the "knife came out" — But still our boy friend, Wilbur Cushman, and your humble correspondent, withstood the "cuts" — and so there is a shorter and better Amateur RKO Revue. Vladi Culerson and his gang are playing plenty of music this week with the combination show — but never a whimper out of Vladi and his boys. (Fine co-operation) and with a smile, and that's Rile in HOLLYWOOD NOW. (L.A.) "The Dummy," Joe Herman, just finished a nice pari in "Liberty Road," starring Richard Dix, a Radio picture. A visit from Herman Redmond Wells, now break — in a new act with Dell Chain — and not bad. (Watch this Act grow) IN HOLLYWOOD NOW. At the Friday Nile Files a packl house — Bobby Woolsey with a lobster sunburn — Eddie Quillan says the new "Wheeler & Woolsey, Columbia picture is going to be titled "You Try Somebody Else, But We'll be Back Together Again." Woolsey had a nice spare room for Bert when he left so suddenly, unbeknown to Bob. Mrs. Woolsey just received a cute wire from Bert, inquiring if the room Was still there for him. Al Jolson blacker than his "cork-make-up" al ringside and that ever faithful Jimmy Donnelly rite at his side. Mr. and Mrs. Al Herman al ringside. Bing Crosby and the Missus. B. B. B. yelling in his native tongue to the Mexican filers — and so to the Wilshire Brown Derby for a change, bumped into our old playmate Jimmy Hanley, a real scng Writer, and Nick Lucas in a booth with his cute grown up daughter. Over at Fanchon & Marco a few words with Fanchon wearing the smokt glasses and gaining weight. Larry Ceballos grinding those F. &■ M. shows out. There is a job. Archie Coettler back in town visiting the F. & M. offices — and so to the Beach "shack" for a quickie," — That's all folks — Be seeinyah around IN HOLLYWOOD, NOW.