The Motion Picture and the Family (Oct 1934 - May 1937)

4 THE MOTION PICTURE AND THE FAMILY April 15, 1936 FILMS FOR THE PUPIL AND TEACHER By Sarah McLean Mullen Head of English Department and Co-ordinator of Visual Education, Abraham Lincoln High School, Los Angeles; Author of "How to Judge Motion Pictures." Hold Picture Mass Meeting In Brooklyn No less ambitious a project than a community mass meeting was inaugurated by the two-year-old Motion Picture Council for Brooklyn. The affair took place in the auditorium of the Bedford Y. M. C. A. on March 12 and was attended by an audience of 200, all genuine picture enthusiasts. Motion pictures from the standpoint of the church, the youth of the country, the motion picture industry and the community in general were considered in the presence of these representatives of local organizations and community leaders. The church was represented by Rabbi Ben Lyons; the activities of the Children's Society by Mr. Charles Warner and by representatives of the office of the Juvenile Crime Bureau; the industry by Mr. Arthur H. DeBra and the community and its needs by Mrs. Charles A. Tonsor, Kings County Chairman of Motion Pictures for the New York State Federation of Women's Clubs and member of the East Coast Preview Committee. According to Mrs. Tonsor: "One is always concerned with results after an effort of this kind has been made, but if the wide variety of expression by numerous members of the audience and the interest shown in the work of the Council since the meeting are any proof that the Council can make its in^ fluence felt, the officers are quite satisfied to continue in their efforts." Mrs. Lloyd Rider is the chairman of the Council and Mrs. Lewis P. Addoms is secretary. Better Films Groups Will Honor Fields Better Films groups throughout the country will swing into line to pay honor to W. C. Fields, one of America's favorite comedians, when he completes active work on the Paramount lot in his newest attraction, Poppy. The occasion for the demonstration is the fact that the beloved Micawber of David Copperfield has recovered from a serious illness which for a considerable time kept him away from the screen. The day that Mr. Fields finishes work in Poppy is to be designated as "Fields Day" and will be nationally celebrated by theatres, Better Films groups and radio stations, and through special congratulatory telegrams and other personal tributes. AVAILABLE FREE This bulletin, published monthly, is available free to community leaders upon application to the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America, Inc., 28 West 44th Street, New York City. Address the editor of The Motion Picture and the Family. The chief interest in the motion pictures chosen for study this month lies in the noteworthy accomplishments of the directors. Granted that the story is well worked out before the director takes command, effective screening depends upon the ability and power of that one man. He must have vision to see the story as it will appear when completed; he must be able to inspire others to give their best on each occasion, keeping all in harmony; he must know now to interpret the theme and mood of the various scenes through action, emotion, and reaction; he must understand how to fit the tempo of speech and pantomime to the characterization; he must know lighting, camera angles and shots as well as the photographer does; he must work out each disconnected scene as a part of the film pattern which he carries in his mind, and with which he alone is familiar; he must coordinate the technical with the artistic phases; he must create an illusion of reality while he deals with a thousand material details; he must give to the photoplay the dramatic qualities that provide rhythmic forward movement, correctly accented; above all, he must make it good entertainment at the same time that he must keep the costs down; and finally, he must impress upon the photoplay his own individuality, his personal touches. It is clear that he must be a master of all the psychology, art, and science that goes into the production of a picture. A critical analysis of the direction of any successful picture will therefore inevitably greatly enhance classroom enjoyment of a study of the film. TWO IN REVOLT (RKO Radio) Two in Revolt, directed by Glenn Tryon, is unique for the reason that the principal performers are animals, a dog and a horse. The story deals with the strange friendship between these two, which is stronger than any loyalty to their own kind. The extreme difficulty of making these spirited animals act naturally is evident. Through patience and careful planning, it was possible to obtain without any faking the effective sequences of action that constitute this picture. The excellent work of the human players is lost sight of, except as foils for the natural grace and intelligent performance of these two splendid beasts. Carefully photographed backgrounds of race-course and range enhance the thrilling incidents that dramatize the story. A nice sense of proportion on the part of the director balances the tenseness of emotion with natural humor. THE GREAT ZIEGFELD (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) The Great Ziegfeld, a biographical sketch of the great New York producer, demands and gets versatility as the chief attribute of its director in the person of Robert Z. Leonard. The story of the rise of Flo Ziegfeld to the place of one of America's greatest showmen serves as little more than a cord upon which are strung the beads of his prodigious showmanship. Music, dancing, spectacles of fashion and form, vaudeville acts and famous personalities of "Ziegfeld's Follies" are exhibited as examples of the various phases of Ziegfeld's development. Less spectacular, but no less dramatically vivid, are the essential episodes of his private life. Director Leonard has not only taken in hand this prodigious number of persons, sets, and incidents; he has interwoven all the threads of interest until every member of an audience of any kind, anywhere, will feel that he knew the great showman personally and that he had shared in making Ziegfeld's productions. It is a most elaborate performance, mounted with a lavish hand, and richly entertaining. MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN (Columbia) Mr. Deeds Goes to Town was directed by Frank Capra. It is a fantastic Cinderella tale of a small town man who inherits a fortune, finds himself being exploited by his city intimates, exacts a proper penalty for his mistreatment and finally emerges a hero. It is a satiric farce, a mixture of the ludicrous and the pathetic, of the fantastic and the real. Mr. Capra's direction is marked by rich humor, by a sense of the dramatic and by originality of procedure. Every episode, every motivation and resulting action of character interpretation, every mounting "gag," is handled with skill. Probably the most effective scene in every regard is the court hearing to determine Mr. Deed's sanity. It is a caustic commentary upon the foibles of mankind. The excellent photography bespeaks Mr. Capra's thorough knowledge of the camera. Marked by novelty of treatment and skill in screen technique, the photoplay represents Mr. Capra at his best. THESE THREE (United Artists-Goldwyn) These Three demonstrates the marked ability of William Wyler as a director. Handsomely mounted and perfectly cast, the story is told fastidiously by means of the camera, with the dialogue kept subor(Continued on Page 8) Fads Of The Film Stars By The Observer Although motion picture acting is for most players a career in itself, to Leslie Howard it is but a stepping stone to other fields. He says writing has always interested him more than acting. "The only reason I went into the theatre," he explains, candidly, "was to escape being in business and to be near the theatre for which I intended, and still intend, some day to write." Just now at work in Romeo and Juliet at Metro Goldwyn Mayer studios, he is making plans for his forthcoming production of Hamlet on the New York stage. After that he plans to write his autobiography, which he says will be something of a commentary on the stage life of London and New York. With these two things to be accomplished in the near future, he is dreaming dreams of his own screen production, in which he will be writer, director, producer and possibly actor. He has chosen for his subject "Bonnie Prince Charles," young pretender to the English throne, and plans to make the picture on the actual historical sites in England and Scotland. In the meantime, in addition to giving a finished performance as "Romeo," he is making expert snapshots of the players and lovely old Verona sets for the full rotogravure page offered him by the New York Times. * * * Jean Hersholt is another player who has many interests outside of his picture work. For one thing he is Denmark's unofficial ambassador to Hollywood. While at work at 20th Century-Fox in The Country Doctor (in which he gives a beautifully human and appealing performance) he was advised by the Mayor of Elsinore, Denmark, that he has been appointed chairman for America of an international committee which will produce Hamlet in the old Kornborg Castle at Elsinore, historic site of the play, as an annual event — a sort of pilgrimage Mecca for Shakespeare lovers. * * * And Lionel Barrymore, unusually gifted in many lines, has recently stepped out into a new field. He has written a song for Mme. Schumann Heink to sing in her next picture, Gram, which is soon to be made at M-G-M. It is a lovely quiet thing called Evening, the only song she will sing in the picture, written expressly at her request by the gifted actor. Notes on Coming Musical Films On a large stage, nearby the one on which Romeo and Juliet is being filmed at the Metro GoldwynMayer studios, are scenes typical of more modern days than those which characterize the Shakespeare work. These show San Francisco during the tumultuous earthquake and fire (Continued on Page 6)