Hollywood Filmograph (Jun-Aug 1929)

26 Review "Sky Boy" Shown at the Ritz. Produced by Hal Roach. Harry Langdon certainly need not worry about his voice matching his personality. They are identical. Langdon's voice is just as funny as his acting, and certainly gets the laughs. "Sky Boy" will certainly not disappoint the Langdon fans and those who thought him "slipping" will certainly change their verdict after seeing his first short reeler for Hal Roach. The story of "Sky Boy" is lean — very lean in fact, the only redeeming feature being Harry and his inimitable antics. With the proper stories, Harry Langdon is bound to prove himself the most popular comedian on the screen. Thelma Todd and Eddie Dunn supported Landon capably in their respective roles. Those who see "Sky Boy" will want to see another Langdon comedy soon. He is a bright spot in any program. CECILLE MILLER. r 1 1 ARTHUR STONE GRASPS RAZOR OF OLIVIER LE BAIN Arthur Stone, screen character comedian, is to become a barber. He will take up the razor and scissors trade for the leading comedy role of Olivier, the royal barber, in Paramount's de luxe all-color production of the musical romance, "If I Were King," from the stage triumph, "The Vagabond King." As a subject for his tonsorial art, Stone will have Dennis King, ' the musical stage star, who is to play the romantic rogue. O. P. Heggie, who will portray King Louis XI of France, will also feel the touch of his shears and razor. According to an announcement made yesterday by B. P. Schulberg, general manager of West Coast Production for the Paramount-FamousLasky studios, "If I Were King" is slated to go into actual production in the immediate future. The cast has already been partially completed. Opposite Dennis King will be Jeannette MacDonald, the golden-haired prima donna who recently appeared with Muarice Chevalier in "The Love Parade." Lillian Roth, blue singer, is another member of the cast already selected. The production will be directed by Ludwig Berger, who made "Sins of the Fathers." ■* i 1 Review "The Arabian" Starring Walker Whiteside. At the President Theatre. Presented by the Henry Duffy Players. All the elements of box office appeal are to be found in "The Arabian," the Walker Whiteside starring play which opened at the President Theatre Sunday night. It is picturesque romantic and adventurous. One act takes place in a roof-top cafe in Cairo and the other two in a desert encampment. For sheer undiluted romance, there have been few plays this season to compare with "The Arabian." Walker Whiteside has the picturesque role of Abd del Rey. desert chieftain, who has been educated in August 24, 192r, 0 B. B. B. CELLAR TO OPEN THURSDAY Underground rumblings are due to shake up the car tracks along Hollywood Boulevard on Thursday night, August 26, when B. B. iS.'s Cellar throws back the curtains for the initial open'ng. This earthquake of hilarity will continue daily and it's all because the boys with the picks have finished throwing the dirt and B. B. B.'s excavation is all ready for the folks to enjoy. It is unnecessary to dwell on the personality of B. B. B. We predict his Cellar will be the mecca for folks from far and wide. Lest you forget the location, this dugout is situated at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Cosmos street. It'll be a great place to make yipee! a TALKIES" England. His is the questionable privilege of mouthing all the comedy lines. There is an element of mystery about him, which the audience puzzles out almost before the play is well under way. But i* serves to intrigue the cast. Miss Franc HaTe plays the young English girl with Arabian blood in her veins. There is a wistful charm about her work, although one finds her "emoting'' a trifle disappointing. Charles Penman's Captain Fenway is too sincere. Paul McGrath does a "silly awse" role easily, while Charles Coleman looks the English military officer to perfection. He has difficulty with his enunciation. The remainder of the cast is numerous. So many actors appear so rapidly in the encampment scene that it is impossible to credit them deservedly. Among them are Irving White, Richard Earle, Frank Henderson, Sam Darrow, Helen Louise, Alma Chestra, Donelda Currie, Carl Vose and Nina DeCassen. FANYA GRAHAM. 1 1 i "The Wrecker," an English production which is at the Cameo Theatre, has been pretty well greeted as a slow.moving picture, but a certain employe of a motion picture company caps any comment that has been made as to its tediousness. He lives in New Jersey. He says he found himself with an hour and a half to wait before he could get a train, and after staying in the Cameo what he thought was about the necessary time, he went to the station and found that he still had an hour and twenty minutes to wait for his train. 1 i i GILLMORE (Continued from Page 10) will secure for yourselves the liberty and justice which you seek. When I return in the near future to report favorably on the result of the negotiations which must of necessity be held in the East, I am confident that there will be no change in the hearts of any one of you. We are not pulling down our flag in surrender. We are just withdrawing temporarily since we do not feel it fair to our loyal members to subject them to further losses during this period of negotiations. By ELINOR CREILY Not more than three years ago, at a dinner party, I heard several well known theatrical men and women discussing the talkies. All seemed to have the same ideas — "talkies wouldn't last" — "had no commercial value"' "he people of the theatre wouldn't think of leaving the stage to go into them," and so on. That was three years ago. Today the theatre's finest actors, directors, authors and song writers have come to Hollywood to enter the talkies. Some people think the talkies have come on us suddenly. No such thing. For years the heads of different studios have been working while w» were asleep. In almost all of the big electrical plants film concerns have had their best men studying sound devices. There isn't a new idea or invention brought into a studio that isn't seen and given a fair chance. If it is useful it is considered. A great many times I have known executives to remain in a projection room until the wee small hours looking at a new machine of some kind. There was a time when visitors were allowed through the studios. What a delight it was for them to roam around. Not now. Everything is guarded very closely. Not even a vehicle can cross the lot while a company is shooting. One must lower his voice while passing a movietone set, as the least sound is recorded. Almost every motion picture theatre in the country now has been wired for talkies. On Broadway, between 39th and 52nd streets, there is only one legitimate theatre left — the Globe. The last five years have seen the Astor, the Central and others first turned into motion picture theatres, and now they house the talkies. At present nearly all the well-known stage stars and featured players are in the talkies. Those not really under contract have come to Hollywood to spend their vacations, hoping to do a talkie before they return east. The absence of so many featured players from Broadway makes room for others who in the past did not have the opportunity to show their cleverness. In my years connected with the theatre I saw many clever players rehearse with a show six days, then told another actor would play the part because they were featured players and their names boxoffice attractoins. To a certain extent the talkies have changed that. Owing to the scarcity of stars and well-known actors in New York, the player who for years has been working in stock, or doing small parts in Broadway productions now has a chance to become a featured player. There have been a great many actors considered " "passe ' by managers that the talkies have given a chance to come back. In fact, talkies are a godsend to many actors who spent years in stock learning their art or walking Broadway looking for jobs. Many an experienced actor has gone into a manager's office and was told "There is nothing today" by an office boy who didn't know the actor or what experience he had. Folks make a mistake when they think the motion picture actor will be supplanted by the Broadway actor. If we think back we will remember that two-thirds of the motion picture actors were on the stage before entering pictures. The only thing is they haven't used their voices before an audience in years. Now mo.<it of the motion picture artists are very busy "brushing up" on voice, diction, dramatic art and dancing under capable instructors. You will be agreeably surprised when you hear your favorite. Don't think doubles are always used. That seldom happens, as it is an expensive and useless experiment. Most of the picture actors sing and dance very nicely — some beautifully. A friend of mine was amazed after seing Marion Davies in the M.-G.-M. Revue. "Why," she said, "Marion Davies actually dances." She didn't know that twelve years ago Marion Davies was in the chorus of "Oh, Boy" and could do the same excellent tap dance then that she did in the revue. I dropped in on a set at the Fox studio and watched such men as Harlan Thompson, Marcel Silver, Ed-ward Royce and David Stamper at work on a scene from "Married in Hollywood," with J. Harold Murray and Norma Terris. What a thrill it was — for here is the future of the movies — an operetta that will out-Broadway Broadway. The Fox Corporation has spared no expense in securing the very best actors, authors, directors, song writers scenic artists, cameramen and costumers to make talkies for your amusement. It won't be long before we will hear the beautiful operas of the old masters sung and acted by our biggest operatic personalities. The general public, in the little towns and hamlets, who have longed to hear operas and have been denied that pleasure, will now be able to do so. True, you can buy a phonograph record for $2.50, but then you hear only a small part of the opera and miss the rest of it. When they produce operas as talkies, millions will be given a great deal of enjoyment. What a liberal education in music, art, drama and science is in store for our future generations ! I am sorry to contradict my friends. Talkies are here to stay; so are the people of the stage, including authors, actors, directors and song writers. I do not say all here will remain — it will be the survival of the fittest. Those who realize this is a new field will put their shoulders to the wheel and give the best that is in them. Incidentally, every person at that dinner three years ago now is in Hollywood, connected in some capacity with the talkies. Ilka Chase has an important role in "Rich People," starring Constance Bennett. E. H. Griffith, director. Others in cast: Regis Toomey, Robert Ames, John Loder, Mahlon Hamlton, Polly Ann Young. Buster, Brownie and Jiggs, three famous screen dog stars, will have the leading roles in M-G-M's "allbarking" short, "Hot Dogs." Zion Myers will direct. CARL SIBBERT VOICE CULTURE— TEACHER OF PICTURE STARS Leading Tenor — Aborn Opera Company, New York, and European Theatres Interviewingg New Student* Wednesday — Only Hollywood Conservatory of Music Building, 5402 Hollywood Blvd.