Hollywood Spectator (1937-39)

Page Eighteen July 17, 1937 ♦ Paul Muni in “The Lite ot Emile Zola” * * 4 ville, whose part, though her performance was excellent, was comparatively easy; but the former kid had an awful load to carry and did it superbly. Other pictures high on my list are Showboat (next best musical to Marietta, I consider), tho it did poor business here. Nine Days a Queen (new low at B. O. for IS months! I’m ashamed of my people to say), Fauntleroy, Rhodes (fair at B. O.), Biff Bright Eyes (flop), Captain Blood (flop), Escapade (flop), but did better when I insisted on a repeat — Abdul the Damned (flop) ; so you see if I picked pictures to suit my taste, I’d starve quickly. When I review successes here, I’m amazed and consider I know absolutely nothing about my business. Apalling stuff like Let’s Sing Again did < well — radio publicity, I suppose. There’s one angle I’d like you to think about. Trailers. I know it must be a problem for producers. I buy them all, censor them, and reject 50% as being more likely to do harm than good. I’ve so often heard patrons say, “Well, I would have gone but the ‘preview’ (meaning trailer) put me off.” 1 consider that a muddle of shots from coming pictures, as most trailers are, only confuse and leave no vivid impression, especially as 50% of them are love-clinches, at which my place little Marca Mae Jones second in honors; no one else lines of Wm. Powell’s and Luise Rainer’s out of character speeches, as shown at conclusion of Escapade, a confidential chat to the public as to the part they are going to play. It would rivet more attention. What think yo-u? I did much better last year, due almost entirely to bank nights, which says little for the public’s desire for pictures as such. Now the police have shut down on bank nights, I’m where I was in 1935 and yet everyone is earning wages. The industry means little to the public. It is apathetic. GEOFFREY G. BAISS When Sound Proved a Failure Dear Mr. Beaton: Congratulations on your splendid discussion on Color and Sound in the Spectator of June 19. I doubt that it dents the super-morons in Hollywood, but it is true. In fact, I found out a lot of things about sound effects 30 years ago while pounding the piano in a movie in an Ohio town. We had an effect man back of the screen and he was good. He didn’t miss anything. He was quite a sensation and draw for about a month. Then the patrons got to kidding him and we decided to do without sound effects. Of course our sound effects as a background against actors whose talking could be seen but not heard, were a different matter than the cinema of today. However, the psychology was somewhat the same. Sound effects today are reduced to a formula, crickets for a night in the country and loud music for main titles. It is too bad that radio hasn’t its Welford Beaton. In general I think that the pictures, as bad and dumb as a lot of them are, are way ahead of the radio as regards showmanship. I listened to a few programs today and such abortions most of them were. But how about this Television? The big companies are spending the stockholders’ money aplenty. Let us grant it is perfected and there are plenty of sets in use and sponsors are interested. What are they going to televise f Performers reading from a script? What will the picture producers have to say about televising films? The Central Casting episode in A Star Is Born bringing out the 1 in 100,000 chance of breaking in the movies, was quite impressive to the audiences I am sure. But the sad part to me was to see Peggy Wood in that bit. I knew Peggy when she lived with her aunt at the Elmsford at Eighth Avenue and 49th Street in New York. She had a small part in The Madcap Duchess. Then she traveled far, ever so far. Now she is back where she started. Life is such a tragedy after all unless you have a sense of humor. — J. B. W., Hollywood.