Picture-Play Magazine (Jul - Dec 1929)

T T . Y 1 ■ • ■ OcAal/c fert studios until the imbroglio is over. The leading companies have naturally undergone difficulties in casting pictures. In one instance no less than thirteen players were called up and asked to play a certain role, hut each in turn refused. This naturally occasioned a delay in the production. Equity wants to estahlish a special form of contract for players, and a working week of approximately fortyeight hours. Chiefly they want recognition as an organization. In their contract they also have some stipulations ahout the lending of players. They have signified their willingness to arhitrate certain severer portions of the contract, hut the producers have refused to consider this procedure. Meanwhile a large numher of players who are not members of the organization are working, while, of course, the contract actors who receive the higher salaries are not affected. Britons Endow Denny. Notwithstanding the many, many changes that are taking place in the studios, success, big success, still appears to shine upon the favorite stars of the B. T. — "before talkie" — period. Reginald Denny is a good example. He left Universal, but has signed with a British company to make four pictures a year, for which he will receive the trifling sum of $150,000 a picture. That makes a neat $10,000 a week and more for Reginald. An attractive feature of his contract is that he may make some pictures abroad. With "Bubbles" Steiffel, whom he married about a year ago. Denny has been spending a belated honeymoon in Honolulu. The couple never had a chance to make a trip immediately after the wedding, because Denny was kept so busy working. Bebe Sings to Victory. Bebe Daniels looks both glorious and glorified these days. She has entered enthusiastically into the business of making the musical show "Rio Rita." and Bebe will do her own singing. RKO, with whom she is now associated, chants her praises, and predict that she has a big future in talking pictures. It is only a few months ago that Paramount, who allow.ed several old players to go, permitted Bebe's contract to lapse. Maybe it wasn't such good judgment. Adolphe Mcnjou and Florence Yidor are others no longer with this organization. Menjou, expressing great wonder as to why he had not been retained for audible films in America, recently set forth tor Pari--. Mi first talkie, "Fashions in Love," revealed him to be a very polished microphone conversationalist. Of the major stars that tiny had la-t year, Paramount retains but three. These are Clara Bow, George Bancroft, and Buddy Rogers. The other-, like Ruth Chatterton, Gary Cooper, and Richard Arlen. have been newly elevated to first-line positions, while still other-. like Maurice Chevalier. Dennis King, and Moran and Mack, have been brought from the stage recently. Paramount isn't the only company that has made many changes. Studios generally have been in a state of upheaval. Recent figures show that fully half their personnel has been altered from a year ago, and most of them have greatly increased the number of people under contract. It's no joke about the talkie revolution. High Cost of Melody. Financial ventures of movie magnates never cease to be both spectacular and puzzling. A beneficiary of one of their most recent heavy investments was Paul Whiteman, the jaz.z band leader. Whiteman was signed by Universal, receiving, it is said, a flat sum of $50,000 in advance, and a salary of $8,000 a week, in addition, for light weeks. His band was paid something over $4,000 a week during the period — still in addition. The situation acquired complexities when several weeks went by without any story being found suitable to his talents or desires. During this period Whiteman managed to provide pleasure with his music at the studio, which may have been construed as ameliorating the weight of the expense to some extent. A Long-distance Premiere. Fox provided the biggest recent social event. They took a huge host of stars to the opening of a new $5,000,000 theater in San Francisco. Some of them were nearly mobbed, because the northern city is net so accustomed to large premieres as Los Angeles. But there was enough applause connected with the affair to satisfy nearly everybody. Besides, there was plenty of sociability, as the whole crowd traveled up the Coast on a special train. The party included Warner Baxter, Lois Moran, Janet Gaynor. George O'Brien. Victor McLaglen, Charles Farrell. Buster Keaton. Reginald Denny. Lois Wilson. It takes real broadmindedness for a star to enjoy a caricature of herself, SO you don't find Irene Bordoni frowning at this one. if p Anita Page. Lily Damita. Renee Adoree. Norma Shearer. William Haines. Alice White. Olga Baclanova. Edmund L owe, Wallace Beery, Xils Asther. to mention about a third of the number. The only untoward event was when one of the masters of ceremonies, evidently not familiar with all the names, introduced Lupe