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

May 15, 1937 THE MOTION PICTURE AND THE FAMILY 5 At Last Hollywood Interprets Itself To The Public In United Artists9 Behind-The-Scenes-In-Filmdom Picture, 6 A Star Is Born9' BEHIND THE SCENES A Clubwoman Chats On Family Films (Continued from Page 4) for its artistic merit, but because thousands of people will wish to see the screen replica of England's most important historic ceremonial. Mindful of the timeliness of the coronation scene, the research dapartment of Warner Brothers has spared neither time nor expense to reduplicate in every detail a ceremony that has remained unchanged through centuries of English history. The Prince and the Pauper has been many times presented on stage and screen, but it is said that this performance exceeds them all in charm and lavishness. Of that you will, of course, judge for yourselves. We do not hestitate to prophesy, however, that you will be captivated by the performance of the twin brothers, Billy and Bobby Mauch, in the title roles, and that you will find the entire NOT to know about Hollywood these days is to experience a definite educational lack. The motion picture industry has had its greatest development in the United States, and the lives of the famous figures of the silver screen properly and appropriately write themselves across the pages of American history. Fitting indeed is it, therefore, that the new SelznickUnited Artists production, A Star is Born, should be made the subject of an educational exhibit. Through the eight panels in this exhibit hundreds of thousands of eager students and film-goers throughout the United States will get a real, behind the scenes glimpse of what Hollywood is like and will have the opportunity to trace the various steps in the process by which stars are made. Coupled with the story of the rise of Janet Gaynor as the star of the film is the tragedy of the decline of the husband and one time co-star who was responsible for setting her footsteps on the rounds of the ladder to fame. That one goes up while the other goes down is one of the persistent heart-breaks of Hollywood which gives this film unusual verity and appeal to those who know the screen capitol. For its educational value the exhibit relies upon the extremely interesting manner in which it pictures the technical and vocational aspects of film making. film stimulating entertainment. Aside from The Prince and the Pauper the two films of the month that will probably interest all members of the family most are Oh, Doctor, Universal, of which Edward Everett Horton, the popular mirth-maker, is the star, and Wake Up and Live, 20th Cen tury-Fox, which brings to the screen those already widely known radio favorites, Walter Winchell and Ben Bernie, and publicizes their famous feud. Followers of family entertainment need not be limited to these two films, however. Quite a generous number of family pictures emerged from the studios this month. Among these were The Good Old Soak, Metro-GoldwynMayer, featuring Wallace Beery, which East Coast previewers have called "an unpretentious but diverting little comedy of family life made entertaining by the complete naturalness of the characters." The theme of this hinges about the attempts of the family to cure the lovable father of his unfortunate taste for intoxicants. Other Family Films Of remaining family films the majority are Westerns: Trapped, Columbia; West Bound Mail, Columbia; ttootin' Tootin' Rhythm, Republic; Smoke Tree Range, Universal, featuring Buck Jones; and Hills of Old Wyoming, Paramount, another Hopalong Cassidy film. Speedboat racing figures in Motor Madness, Columbia; Navy Blues, Republic, is a marine mystery; That I May Live, 20th Century-Fox, deals with efforts of a convict to reform and Fifty Roads to Town, 20th CenturyFox, is mild romance.