Inside facts of stage and screen (July 26, 1930)

PAGE TWO INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN SATURDAY, JULY 26, 1930 Film Row Cuttings By FRED YEATES BEACH PICNIC FILM ROW RELIEF MONKEY BUSINESS “OH, MIN” The Row is drawing up plans for a big picnic at Santa Monica, the first in two years. The date is August 28, and the place, The Breakers Club. There will be plenty of op- portunities for good times at the festivities, but that is not the main object. The Film Row relief fund needs replenishment, and profits from the picnic will go to swell its coffers. Through its relief organization, the Row does many unsung deeds of kindly charity, and the boys and girls who are healthy and prosperous now are glad to do a bit for those who have had some bad breaks. The fund is now down to about $1300. A while back it was $4000, which gives some idea of the work being done. The General Committee is headed by W. H. Lollier, chair- man, and includes J. J. Milstein, Lola Gentry, Ben Bernstein, H. G. Delabar, Jack Nelson, Finley Benson and William Knotts. * * * If Fanchon wants an “Idea” for this jamboree, how about a bath- ing-suit revue on the Santa Mon- ica sands, personnel recruited from the shapely exchange man- agers and other execs, with Benny Benson leading the line and Biil Knotts doing a contortion dance? * * * The stork visited the Row last Sunday. Fred L. Daniels found a baby boy in his package, and now he says he is walking around on eggshells. Somebody called “Pat” also got a package—whoever Pat is. * * * The boys around Columbia are changing the signs which title their new African picture, ‘Ubangi,’ and making it ‘Africa Speaks. Monkey business. * * * One of those snappy Columbia brunettes is all burned up. Old Sol did it. He yelled, “Oh, Min!” and when she turned around he gave her a good tanning. It* looks well on Min Orthell’s shoulders as she sits there busy billing. The cooing comes if you touch those sore shoulders. * * * Guy S. Gunderson, U. A. sales- man, descended on Mexicali and cleaned up the town, contractually speaking. And then, being a good boy, he came right home. Final results on that nationa wide U. A. sales contest, in which the L. A. office jumped from bot- tom to just under top. are still held up. That five grand in prize money looks awfully close to the local boys. * * * W. C. Winship is owner of the new face around the Paramount exchange. He was formerly assist- ant branch manager at Portland, Ore., and arrived here Friday to take over sales on Spanish lan- guage features in this territory. He is an able linguist, having picked up knowledge of Spanish customs along the Columbia River Highway. * * * Dave Biederman, the Warner salesman bashed up in an auto wreck couple of weeks ago, was taken home from the hospital last Monday. He is doing very nicely, and the Row boys are making things as easy as they can for him. ONLY TWO L. A. LEGITS OPEN Duffy Re-financing Plan Book Sale Battle Publication recently of an- other novel about Hollywood has burned a number of bull-evard figures, it is re- ported, with a number of them kicking to their favor- ite book-sellers about stock- ing the volume in question. One well-known chatter writer is reported to have promised to raise “plenty of trouble” if a certain book- dealer didn’t take the story off his shelves. However, the yarn is still available to purchasers, with sales still hitting a high mark. MISS MACKAYE ON STAGE HERE W. P. Trumbell and George Sherwood have begun casting for “A Cup of Sugar,” slated for pro- duction here this season. Dorothy M a c k a y e has been chosen for the lead. Miss Mackaye figured prominently in a murder trial two and a half years ago in Los Angeles,, and this will be her first appearance before a local audience since that time. Negotiations are under way with Universal to borrow Glenn Tryon for the juvenile role, and at press time this looked like a strong probability. There is nothing definite yet as to opening date or theatre to house the production. HOUSE OWNERS BACK ATTEMPT TO SAVE DOUGH BIG COMPANY ON LOCATION JAUNT Traveling on a special S. P. train, one of the largest location companies ever dispatched by War- ners left this week for Sacramento and the foothill country near Au- burn, Calif., to make scenes for “River’s End,” picturization of James Oliver Curwood’s novel. More than 125 actors, techni- cians and staff members departed for the location. Michael Curtiz is directing the picture. Players in- clude Charles Bickford, Evalyn Knapp, J. Farrell McDonald, Wal- ter McGrail and many others. DANCE CLASS BUSY S*AN FRANCISCO, July 24.—By a financing plan that is now being worked out Henry Duffy will re- turn to the legit producing field within a few weeks, it was learned here this week. Owners of the four remaining Duffy houses—the K. D. Winship estate, holding the Alcazar and President here; Income Properties, Inc., owners of the Dufwin in Oakland; C. E. Toberman, Holly- wood financier, owner of the El Capitan in Hollywood—are work- ing out a plan to act as joint backers of Duffy as operator of these theatres. Such an action is seen as the only way for these groups to get back the money and rentals they have sunk in the Henry Duffy Plapers. Currently the Dufwin in Oak- land is being operated by Emil Bondeson, Leo Carrillo and Rich- ard Marshall. The President in Los Angeles was sold last week for $40,000 to Fox West Coast Theatres, who will operate it as a news reel theatre. The Dufwin in Portland is due to be sold soon. Paging Mr. Wyler Robert Wyler has a new job at Universal that should interest playwrights, scenar- ists and screen writers. Wy- ler is to be contact man with the members of the writing fraternity, not under contract to the studio, who hie them- selves to Universal City with story stuff in mind. Wyler’s new post is de- scribed as that of personal as- sistant to Carl Laemmle, Jr., with “authority to eliminate ‘red tape’ in getting ideas of professional stage and screen writers immediate considera- tion.” Wyler will personally dis- cuss story themes, plots and situations with the writers and assist authors in building “original and distinctive screen play stories.” TWO OPENINGS THIS WEEK AS SLUMP STICKS PUBLISHER AS BOOK ADVISOR MISS TOBIN STARTS Genevieve Tobin, who gave up the featured lead in the Broad- ,way stage production of “Fifty Million Frenchman” to befcome a Universal featured player, is now at work in “The Lady Surrenders,” which John M. Stahl is directing. Miss Tobin began work on her first motion picture two days after arriving in Hollywood. BOLES WITH GOLDWYN The motion picture division of the new summer classes at the Wills Dancing School in Holly- wood is well represented by well- known screen actors and actresses. Regardless of whether or not they are called upon to dance before the camera, players find that dance in- struction adds materially to their poise and grace. The motion pic- ture division includes instruction in all forms of dancing, embracing tap, acrobatic, waltz clog, off- rhythm, semi-ballet, ballet and mu- sical comedy technique. The sum- mer course consists of individual and group instruction for business women, children and professionals. New routines are taught to pro- fessional dancers. GETS NEW CONTRACT John Boles, Universal’s singing star, is now at work with Evelyn Laye on the Samuel Goldwyn pro- duction of “Lilli,” having been loaned to that company during the time his next Universal starring vehicle is being written. Lowell Sherman this week re- ceived a new five-year contract with increased figures from RKO. Two months ago he was signed on a two-year contract to act and di- rect. “Lawful Larceny” was his first assignment. He wiff direct and appear in Samuel Shipman’s original story, “The Losing Game,” soon to be produced by RKO. MacRAE SUCCEEDS WRIGHT Horace Liveright, one of the three foremost American publishers of the works of contemporary au- thors and the producer of several of Broadway’s outstanding dra- matic stage successes, will leave New York within a week for Hol- lywood to join Paramount as an advisor on novels and plays suit- able for the screen, and will make a first-hand study of talking pic- ture-making, it was announced this week. Liveright entered the publishing business in 1918 and made an im stantaneous success. He published the works of Theodore Dreiser, Ernest Hemmingway, Eugene O’Neill, Sherwood Anderson, Ben Hecht and George Moore, among others, and brought out such best- selling volumes as “The Story of Mankind,” Emil Ludwig’s “Napo- leon,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “An American Tragedy.” Producing for the stage, Live^ right presented a series of hits that included “Firebrand,” “Hamlet in Modern Clothes,” “An American Tragedy,” the Paul Robeson ve- hicle, “Black Boy,” and “Dracula.” NEW PLAYS SET FOR PLAYHOUSE With “Fata Morgana” at the Hollywood Playhouse promising to be one of the most successful of the local summer legitimate sea- son, Arthur Grveille Collins, pro- ducer, has secured two plays with which to follow. These are “Confessions,” a so- phisticated drama in a New York setting, by Ernest Vajda, who authored “Fata Morgana,” and “Death Takes a Holiday,” in which it is the intention to star Noel Madison, who starred 'here a few months ago in the English play, “Hope’s End.” Collins will in all probability take “Fata Morgana” to San Francisco after it has exhausted its possibilities here, taking Elsie Ferguson, Tom Douglas and the support cast intact. There is some doubt, however, as to what theatre will house the succeeding plays as other producers are bidding for the Playhouse for late summer and early fall productions. No casting will be done until the housing is set. Los Angeles joined in the legit doldrums throughout the country last week with but two legits running. They were: “Fata Mor- gana,” starring Elsie Fergu- son, with Tom Douglas in sup- port, which knocked off $8500 for its first week, excellent busi- ness for the Hollywood Playhouse, and a revival otf “To the Ladies,” starring Glenn Hunter at the El Capitan, which grabbed off a good week’s business in its first stanza at $5500. All other houses were dark, put- ting Los Angeles one up on Chi- cago, which had all legits dark but one, while New York was at its lowest ebb in years with 14 shows running. The sad situation precipitated a story sent out by Associated Press to the effect that there were un- der 30 legits operating during the week previous in this country, with many drama eds and pro- tagonists of the legit coming to bat with fierce denials. Estimates of the attackers of the A. P. yarn ran from 100 to 200 companies supposedly playing, including stock companies. Even such figures as those mean new low records for the stage produc- tions, which are taking it on the chin heavily from heat waves and the other heavy competitive fac- tors that are also slashing picture house box-office marks. With but two houses running that left the following dark: Belasco, which reopened this week with Ina Claire in “Re- bound” to very good opening houses; the Orange Grove, Figue- roa Playhouse, President, Majestic, Mason,, Biltmore, Mayan and Egan’s, all downtown, and the Vine Street and Music Box in Hol- lywood. The first named Hollywood house reopened on Tuesday night with a musical show, “Oh, Judge,” to a good send-off, despite an op- posish gala film premiere the same night of “Dixiana” at the Orpheum. THEATRE MAN HERE MURRAY-SIDNEY SHORTS Henry MacRea, who came to Universal City in 1914 as a direc- tor, has been appointed supervisor of all serial production at the studios. MacRea succeeds Wil- liam Lord Wright, who has han- dled production for over 30 serials. NORMAN IN EAST Charlie Murray is due back at Universal August 6, following a three months’ vacation in Europe with Mrs. Murray. With Mur- ray’s return to the studios George Sidney will join him and a series of two-reel talking comedies will get under way. Clarence Hen- necke is writing the first of these Murray-Sidney “shorts” to be pro- duced under the supervision of Ed Kaufman. FRIEDLANDER ACT John Shaw, of Sydney, Australia, son of Allen Shaw, the famous magician, with his mother, is stop- ping at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. Shaw is managing director of one of the leading theatres of Sydney. Though an American by birth, he has spent the greater part of his life in Australia. He will return to his home there in the fall. While here he is carrying out plans to take back with him, many of the latest innovations in theatrical equipment, for a chain of theatres now in construction. IN NEW OPERETTA Luis Alberni has been assigned a featured role in “Children of Dreams,” second original screen operetta by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein, 2nd., which Warner Bros, are producing. Margaret Schilling, twenty-one year old prima donna, has already been signed for the leading role, with Paul Gregory and Alison Skipworth in the supporting cast TAKES MEYER SERVICE “Moneymoon,” a miniature mu- sical comedy with a company of eight, is a new act produced and written by William B. Friedlander, and features Bert Matthews, Dor- othy Adams and Jack La Frac. VACATIONS HERE Karyl Norman, recently returned from a year’s stay abroad, is head- lining bills in eastern RKO theatres. Mile. Edris Milar, with the Chi- cago company as premier danseuse, has arrived in Hollywood to enjoy a vacation prior to opening with the opera company at the Philhar- monic Auditorium in October. Educational Studios and Meyer Synchronizing Service, Ltd., have completed arrangements whereby the latter firm will henceforth take complete charge of the company’s music for productions. Marks the fourteenth producing organization to sign with Meyer. DOUBLE ENGAGEMENT GET LEADING ROLES The two leading feminine roles of “War Nurse,” which j^dgar Sel- wvn is preparing to start at M-G-M, have been assigned to June Walker and Anita Page. Miss Walker gained fame for her crea- tion of the role of “Lorelei” in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” on the stage. The cast includes Rob- ert Ames, Mary Doran, Helen Je- rome Eddy, Hedda Hopper and others of note. SPECIAL BUILT CAR Charles J. Carter, known to show business as Carter the Great, has just purchased from A. B. Hill, Stearns-Knight dealers, a new specially built sedan for his coming ninth world tour. Among the novelties on the car are a special built-in radio, capable of picking up long distance stations; a Frigidaire with a special motor to supply ice, special trunks, in- visibly placed copper mosquito screen for travel through Oriental countres, seats that are convertible into Pullman berths and other spe- cial additions for travel through many countries. DRAMA ED VISITING Jean Hersholt -has signed to do two roles simultaneously at Uni- versal. First of Hersholt’s assign- ments is the character of Charlie Yong in “East is West.” Studio has arranged to divide Hersholt’s time so that he can assume the role of the docto rin “The Cat Creeps” 'between sequences of “East is West.” Mabel Baker, who has been dra- matic editor of the Sporting and Dramatic News of Auckland, New Zealand, is now visiting here, “free-lancing” for other theatrical magazines. She plans to sail shortly for Vancouver, from where she will return to New Zealand. “SEE AMERICA THIRST” Universal has started the fea- ture length comedy “See America Thirst,” with the company spend- ing the first week on location at Santa Paula. Slim Summerville and Harry Langdon play the fea- tured roles with William James Craft directing.