Inside facts of stage and screen (February 14, 1931)

INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN Saturday, February 14, 1931 DROP CURTAINS PICTURE SCREENS PROLOGUES CINEMAS STAGE CYCLORAMAS ASBESTOS CURTAINS NOISELESS CURTAIN TRAVELERS OPERATED BY REMOTE CONTROL UNUSUAL FABRICS l DRAPERIES TAPESTRIES -WALL HANGINGS MURAL DECORATIONS* Page Two SHOW FOLKS’ HOME THE HIGHLAND TAVERN Best Eats 187 Broadway Portland, Ore. OBBY-A-MAY Coming to HILLSTREET Week of Feb. 14 MACHINE SHOP IVAR PEARSON, Expert Machinist Repair AJ1 Kinds of Machines Pattern Work—Experimental Work Tools—Dies * No Job Too Small Hollywood 7619 1356 N. Western Behrendi-Levy Co., Ltd. General Insurance Insurance Exchange Building VA. 1261 Los DRE55 YOUR THEATRE OR YOUR ACT WITH THE FINEST AND MOST ARTISTIC ENERY"® __ _ MINTED BY THE LARGEST AND MOST WITH THE FINEST and most ARTISTIC DRAPERIES DESIGNED MADE UP AND PAINTED BY THE LARGEST AND MOST EFFICIENT STAFF OF SCENIC ARTISTS, DESIGNERS AND DRAPEDY EXPERTS IN AMERICAS LARGEST AND MOST BEAVTiPVL STUDIOS Angeles Scenic Stwdios Inc The Backyard Entertainers FAN CHON & MARCO’S “ICY HOT IDEA” Franklin Organization Leases Vine Street Hollywood Is Different By JACK OSTERMAN (Reprinted from “The Reminder.’’ Hollywood itself . . . after an absence of seven .years . . . what a change' . . . what a revelation. New hotels . . . new streets . . . new eating places . . . new shopping emporiums ... a new city! The Brown Derby where everyone meets everyone. . . the great Wilson Mizner who was nicknamed “Toots” by this editor much to the pleasure of Herb Sanborn. The new Pantages Hollywood . . . the Warner’s . . . the Beverly Wilshire Hotel . . . the Holly- wood Knickerbocker . . . Henry’s . . . B. B. B’s Cellar . . . never a dull moment . . . B. B. B. in the dog racket on the side The great R. K. O. studios on Gower street with the world’s largest cinema stage . . . the new Columbia movie factory . . . Miracle Mile on Wilshire boulevard with Bullock’s . . . the latest and finest store I’ve seen. Familiar faces I find in unfamiliar places ... I can’t realize the transformation. The worn out battle cry, “I could have bought that corner five years ago for practically nothing” . . . now.it’s worth a million. Thousands of people retiring in Southern California adding j-ears to their lives . . . pardon me Mr. Brisbane! To use the old gag, I have gone Hollywood even if they still have the same UNUSUAL oranges . . . the same UNUSUAL sunshine . . . the same UNLTSUAL weather but a new UNUSUAL Holly- wood ... a paradise on earth . . . 3 JI right sue me! P. S s —Hollywood has a lovely suburb called Los Angeles.. NEXT AT EL CAP “The Butter and Egg Man,” with 'Johnny Arthur featured, will be the next El Capitan show. It opens jFcb. 27. BUYS EXPRESS Paul Block, eastern newspaper- man and a big shareholder in the Hearst concern, has bought the L. <A. Evening Express. OPERA CO. DATES The Chicago Civic Opera Com- pany will go into the Civic Audi- torium opening March 9 for a three day engagement. Tickets are in great demand for this event of the musical season. Admission is six dollars top. EX-VAUDER DIES SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 12.— Funeral services were held this week for William J. Jacobs, Chron- icle staff member and former vaude player, who died here. Jacobs was co-author with Waldemar Young of the skit “When Caesar Ran a News- paper,” which the pair did on the Orpheum circuit. PEMBERTON DIES Grant Pemberton, manager of the Salt Lake City Orpheum, died last week as the result of a fall from the theatre roof. HALL IS M. C. James Hall has been signed for a four weeks’ appearance as mas- ter-of-ceremonies at the Warner Brothers’ theatre in Indianapolis, Ind. HOTEL REGENT Rates 52.00 per Day Up 6162 Hollywood Blvd. Conveniently located in the center of Hollywood’s business and theatrical district. The Re- gent has gained much favor with visitors to this famous city. The hotel is also within easy reach of all the important studios and only twenty min- utes from the seashore and beaches. Every Room with Private Bath Located across from Pantages Theatre Special Permanent Professional Rates I mmm N HOLLYWOOD AREA Word comes from the Harold B, Franklin offices that they have leased the Vine Street Theatre in Hollywood. $50,00-0 is being -spent to re-vamp the house. A new and elaborate, unique and original style of marquee has been designed by J. J. Franklin. It is composed of a mirror and neon light combination l in an arrangement giving the effect of a huge and sparkling jewel. Under the new management the Vine Street will show everybody’s pictures at popular prices. It will be the only house in Hollywood to operate at twenty-five cent admis- sion, opening in about three weeks. This looks like another step in the current price cutting competition. The ,Franklin organization is otherwise (keeping its activities up to a hot pace. They have taken over three C. I. Triebe houses in Ros- well, New Mexico, to start operat- ing under their management after the fifteenth. The offices announce that they have acquired thirty more houses at various spots all over the country. I Harold B. Franklin left town Tuesday night for New York, to close up a couple of deals. He is stopping en route to make arrange- ment for putting eight Kansas houses in operation for his new or- ganization. Franklin is scheduled to return in two weeks. IRWIN CONNELLY DIES PROPHETS ARE SICK AS SILENT CHAPLIN FLOPS Like the snows? of yesteryear, those preternaturally wise ones who wrote the doom of talking pictures with the opening of Charlie Chap- lin’s “City Lights” may now fade into that obscurity which is most befitting false prophets. This silent picture has come, has been seen and has failed to conquer. It was to this premiere, to the silent genius of the pantomimic Chaplin that certain people looked for a res- toration of the old silent film. Al- ways,-of course, presuming that they really meant what they said and were not merely trying to be differ- ent, to, so to speak, attract attention by some mental legerdemain as does the sophmoric lite-of-the-party at a Sunday night social. Now Compounded But whether spoken in sincerity or in the luxuriance of a suppressed inferiority complex breaking into wild chatter, the prophets of the Silent Era return are now definitely confounded, and those who listened to them are much as is the man who attempts to guess which shell the pea is under. Foolish. Despite the ballyhoo of a theatre opening, despite the great name ,of Irwin Connelly died Thursday morning at the Los Angeles Luth- eran Hospital from a skull fracture received in an automobile accident, Connery was an old time vaude artist, more recently working in pic- tures. N. V. A. is handling the funeral. MAY DO ‘ TREES” Franklin Productions of the May- an are understood to be interested in producing “Barren Trees” after it closes its try-out-run at the Theatre Mart commencing Feb. 16. Janet Vanbrugh will star. WORK GOING EAST Cliff Work is leaving for New York to attend an executive meet- ing in regard to future production activities at the RKO Orpheum. The HARMOMZERS KFO SAN FRANCISCO Animal Moves Inspiration In Skillet Dance “Saltoanimalis” is the name of a new Gargoyle Dance created by Otar Shillet. The name- is of Latin derivation but the idea and execution are original with Shillet. The technique is based on the in- stinctive natural movements of animals and is used to express not only the emotion, to which dancing and dancers have here- tofore been limited, but to ex- press definite mental concepts as well. With this idea in mind Otar Shillet has evolved an understandable new art with entertainment value that has proved itself to be of practical ■ value in the commercial theatre. “Saltoanimalis” has been used in musical productions and vaudeville in the East with big success, and the concert presentations have won high approval in artistic dance cir- cles. After the completion of his engagement as a feature of the Bud Murray Prologue to “G 111 - arron” at the Orpheum here, it is probable that Shillet will consider certain picture offers wherein he will be able to use the full scope of the dramatic possibilities of his dancing which ranges' from comedy to tragic acting in pantomime. Chaplin, despite a stage show and big advertising, “City Lights” is very definitely flopping at the Los Angeles Theatre. Which might be due to many causes, including the economic depression, were not proof that this is wrong only a few blocks a war-. At the Orpheum the RKO smash picture oif the year, “Cimar- ron” is packing them in like sar- dines. Approximately $34,000 for the past week was what this picture rated and that is considerable rat- ing. So this alibi for the silent ex- ponents is out. Stage Show Out But the- silent Chaplin fails to draw. Charlie gets the first $75,000 of the intake, and Gumbiner owner of the house, was understood to be figuring that this was no such sum as would keep him in the red long. But apparently the handwriting on the wall concerning silents has now been brought home to him. After five days, out comes the line and the principals in front of the line, and the substituted stage show is no more expensive thing than a trio,, the Faust Trio. For a house play- ing a 75 cent orchestra charge and $1.50 fo-r night reservations, this is not a very large stage entertain- ment. However the orchestra is left in, and also Chauncey Haynes at the organ. (Parenthetically, it is to be wondered why Haynes is not (given a solo spot. A clever organ- ist, that boy, formerly offering his wares at the Chicago Theatre, Chi- cago. With the weak stage offer- ing, his soloing would probably be the feature of the flesh-and-blood entertainment.) While no one in the industry likes to see any form of entertain- ment go fioppo, there is one bright consolation in the present instance. We may be relieved from the in- sistent chatter oif certain prophets to the single-note effect that they are right and the industry wrong. Hell, fifty thousand picture men, can’t be wrong. JOBBER HERE Irving Sklare, music, jobber of Portland, is here for a couple of weeks on a combined honeymoon and business trip. He v-as married Tuesday. IS JOY MANAGER Cliff Robertson, former casting head at MGM and at Columbia, is now general manager for the Billy Joy Agency, personal representa- tives for picture players. MAY HAVE VAUDE The Million Dollar Theatre is un- derstood to be contemplating week- end vaudeville, to be started in the near future. Policy and band are not yet set, insofar as is known. ^AFFILIATED WITH GlAS.f THOMPSON SCENIC Cb. 1215 BATES MfEX 1: ^ AT FOUNTAIN AVE. NEAR SUNSET BLVD,, Ip-- HOLLYWOOD -Phone OIympia.2914 [VnIC^JE EFFECTS^SETTINSS for the _ MODERN stage