Inside facts of stage and screen (February 1, 1930)

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SATURDAY, FEB. 1, 1930 INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN PAGE FIVE 3 PICTURE HOUSE RECORDS FALL “I DO NOT WANT A CENT” The way of justice is a straight road which any man’s eye may follow, but the intricacies of legal twists and turns is another matter, and one which to the layman is onerously confusing. A case in point has been reviyed during the past week as one big topic of conver- sation in Los Angeles and Hollywood. Of course we refer to the case of the State of California vs. Alexander Pantages, a case which, filed upon the complaint of Aileen Pringle, resulted in a long penitentiary sentence for the multi-millionaire showman. Public memory is short, but it should not be so short as to forget that the turning point, apparently, came when Miss Pringle announced through the public prints that: "1 do not want a cent for myself; all I want is to see him punished for what he did to me.” This writer and various other members of the staff of Inside Facts talked to many people about the Pantages case at the time Miss Pringle made her sensational charges. On the first flash of the news the case stood: Miss Pringle charged she had been wantonly and inexcusably attacked by Alexander Pantages; Mr. Pantages counter-charged that the whole thing was a frame-up. The public’s opinion, insofar as Inside Facts could ascertain, hovered in the balance between believing the one or the other story. Pantages had just culminated a lifetime of endeavor and business acumen by disposing of the bulk of his vaudeville houses for an amount reported to be up in the many millions of dollars. Certainly a fair tar- get for anyone who was seeking his or her financial advancement and was not overly scrupulous about how it was done. Stories circulated, true or otherwise, of strange coincidences which could not have been better set to entrap the theatrical magnate. Public opinion hung in the balance, and not even the most zealously inclined law- yer, dry-as-dust in the search for precedents and legal sanctimony, but will admit that the public opinion, in cases played large in the press, has quite a bit to do with the outcome of certain cases. Then came Miss Pringle’s statement: "l do not want a cent for myself; all I ivant is to see him punished for what he did to me.” That statement swung the balance of public opinion. Certainly, it was reasoned, charges of a frame-up fall of their own weight if the person charged so to be inclined refuses absolutely to consider any personal financial gain through the happening. And, with the case standing thus, Alexander Pantages was tried and convicted. Now, we suppose, “new evidence,” like everything else in law, is given a technical and precedental interpretation. But reckoning only in the realms of justice and not in those of law, it seems vastly unfair that, with this big fact—perhaps the deciding fact —changed, Pantages should not have a new trial. Without doubting Miss Pringle’s statement that she has been persuaded to the action to sue for an amount for which many men would risk their lives many times over, and an amount. which has been an alchemy in which to dissolve human nature for generatipns, still the fact remains that this girl who “didn’t want a cent” for. herself is now asking $1,000,000, and also that a friend of hers is suing Pantages for another $500,000. Now there were certain things in the beginning against Pantages, and those things remain .though not of legal admissibility as weighing factors. For generations there has been a feeling among lay people which easily fires into wrath against show peo- ple. And, again, Pantages As a multi-millionaire, albeit not of Los Angeles select group of millionaires and multi-millionaires. But even with these facts against him, Inside Facts doubts if there is a jury obtainable in the County of Los Angeles or in the State of California which would find him guilty if the defense, upon a reopened case, were allowed to ask: “Miss Pringle, you said at one time that you did not want a cent for yourself, did you not?” “Yes.” “You said so many times, did you not?” “Yes.” “And now you are suing him for $1,000,000, are you not?' “Yes.” Legally this fact may be incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial, we do not know. But in the realms of justice it is certainly most pertinent, and in our opinion, and also in the opinions of all to whom we have talked, certainly it not only justifies but actu- ally calls upon the district attorney’s office to permit it to take its rightful place in the panorama of the Pantages case. The verdict might be the same, of this we again do not know, but we do know that there was a mighty weight added by that “I do not want a cent for myself,” and a conviction secured when this weight was pressing down will always leave a mighty question in the minds of Californians as to whether or not a most grave injustice was done when the weighty fact was so soon to be diametrically reversed with a declaration, “I want $1,000,000 for myself.” KMf REVUE OF 35 PEOPLE REHEARS1G FOR L ft. OPEN! Roger Grey, late of the “Oh, Susanna” cast, is co-producing a revue for a Los Angeles or Hol- lywood opening. Date is tenta- tively set for about three weeks but the house has not yet been selected. Cast, which is now rehearsing at the Knights of Columbus hall in Hollywood, includes Charles McNaughton, who divided, top honors with Beryl Mercer in U. A.’s “Three Live Ghosts,” Pert Kelton, the Aber Twins and Roger Grey, the latter also being stage director. A report was that nego- tiations were under way to have Leatrice Joy also in the cast, but whether this had or had not come to any definite result was not stated. Total of people in the show will be between 30 and 35. Walter Wills of the Wills-Cun- ningham School of Dancing, is to furnish the chorus ensemble, which will be between 12 and 14 dancing girls, no boys. New Reason For Duck-Out On Egan Show Some funny reasons are given for various crimes of commission or omission in show business but the hottest alibi for ducking out on a production was presented to Tom Kress, manager of the Egan I heatre, by William Thornton who had engaged the theatre . to make a , production of the Irish comedy “Playboy of the Western World.” The cast had been tentatively engaged and rehearsals were scheduled when Thornton got cold feet and in order to bolster his courage submitted the man- uscript of the play, which is now having a vogue in New York, to some Catholic priests to ascer- tain if there w;as anything ob- jectionable therein to the adher- ents of that faith. The priest, after a careful perusal assured Thornton that he saw no rea- son why the play should not be presented. Thornton then sought the ad- vice of one Frane Williams, said to be a producer of semi-pro and amateur plays in the small towns. Frane advised him not to do the piece because—and here it.comes: —“Irish people would object to seeing an Irish play performed by American actors.” When Thornton reneged on his agreement with Kress, Tom ob- served: “I never thought of that one before. Perhaps that’s the reason the Engilsh objected so strenuously to American actors playing Shakespeare.’’ IN TIFFANY PICTURE Pauline Garon ha,s been signed for a role in “Sunny Skies” at Tiffany. REYNOLDS BACK Harrington Reynolds is back in Plollywood from a trip which in- cluded India in its itinerary. NEW HAINES TITLE William Haines' M-G-M pic- ture shot under the title of “Fresh From College” will be released as “The Girl Said No.” TO GO IN “IDEA” Born and Lawrence are to go into Fanchon and Marco’s "Idea In Green.” Dress Your Theatre or Your Act With The Finest and Most Artistic Drop Curtain* Picture Screen* Presentations Cydoramas Unusual Fabric* New and Unique Scenic Effects For Stages and Vaudeville Acte DESIGNED - RENTED - PRODUCED By the Largest and Best Staff of Scenic Artists In America’s Most Beautiful Studio LOS ANGELES SCENIC STUDIOS, Inc. 1215 Bates Ave.. at Fountain. Near Sunset Hollywood, California Phono OL. 2914 LAWRENCE TIBBETT, GRETA GARBO 10 mm oo TRICK Three picture house records went down to defeat last week and this. Lawrence Tibbett, singing hero of M-G-M’s “The Rogue Song" drew in $37,243 to the Chinese with the first week of “the pic- ture which will make motion pic- ture history.” A record. Greta Garbo’s first talkie, “Anna Christie” opened to sensa- tional business at the Criterion, the first two days being the big- gest in the history of the house and more big ones following for a week’s house record. It looked like a $36,000 to $40,000 week. Will Rogers' Fox picture, “They Had to See Paris” was- the third in the trio of record breakers, taking a $13,060 gross for the Boulevard, where the customary intake is around $6500 to $7500. The Parisian Revue was in sup- port. All of these were Fox houses, but Paramount also had cause for rejoicing in the second Maurice Chevalier picture, “The Love Pa- rade.” This picture packed ’em in to. the tune of $41,000, which is within a couple of thousand of the house record, the personal appearance week of A1 Jolson be- ing excepted. This picture will be held over for three weeks. Warners Drop “Show of Shows” took a big drop at the Warner Brothers' Downtown Theatre, doing $21,200 in its third week, after a good second week of $31,700. Second week of Marilyn Mil- ler in “Sally” at the Warner Bro- thers’ Hollywood house was also down at $23,700, following an opening week of $31,100. Following up a good $11,239 week of Gloria Swanson’s U. A. picture, “Th,e Treispalsser,” the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood topped it on the following stanza by having George Bancroft’s Par- amount picture, “The Mighty” to a boxoffice tune of $12,800. This is the two best consecutive weeks this house has had for some time. “Rio Rita” Radio Pictures, did a good tenth week at the Carthay Circle, taking $9453, a pickup of about a thousand over the pre- vious week. Announcement of closing date caused the spurt. “Devil May Care” opened Wed nesday. Other Figures “Hot For Paris” Fox, finished its run to the moderate boxoffice of $5910 at the Criterion, being followed by the Garbo taikie. Lenore Ulric in the Fox picture “South Sea Rose” dropped some- what under the William Haines M-G-M picture of the previous period. Gross for “South Sea Rose’’ was $30,871. It was sup- ported by the Fanchon and Marco “Peasant Idea.” Norma Talmadge’s first talkie, “New York Nights” did only the fair opening week’s figure of $23,- 200 at the United Artists The- atre, compared to pictures which have recently played there. It gives way Saturday to “The Locked Door,” which is booked in for one week only. “Hit the Deck,” Radio Pictures offering, held up to the neat in- take of $12,500 in its fifth week. The other RRO house, the RKO Theatre, went down to the very poor figure of $15,500 with RKO’s “Dance Hall,” of which Arthur Lake and Olive Borden bead the cast, and with a vaude bill. MAY DO “GLITTERS” “All That Glitters” is under consideration by Belasco and Cur- ran for presentation in their re- spective houses here and in San Francisco. It is not yet set but decision, yes or no, is expected to be made this week. EDDIE KAYE NOW Master of Ceremonies AT COFFEE DAN’S Los Angeles Who Is This Guy Frank Shaw?/