Picture Play Magazine (Mar-Aug 1927)

68 Hollywood High Lights Jack Daugherty, Barbara La Marr's former husband, and Virginia Brown Faire were also recently united in marriage. The Wooing of Greta Garbo. A story has been going around that Jack Gilbert and Greta Garbo "eloped" not long ago with the intention of marrying in Santa Ana, the town famous for licenses and speed tags, but that Greta changed her mind at the last minute. We are rather skeptical, however, about any revival of the romance between these two, even though we did see them together at the premiere of "Flesh and the Devil." Usually, when Greta appears in public now, she is accompanied by Mauritz Stiller, the Swedish director, who is often referred to as "Mount Everest" by those who wish to give an impression of how he looks. With his deeply furrowed cheeks, iron-gray hair, and dispassionate but impelling eyes, added to a stature that is higher than normal and a physique somewhat gaunt, he does suggest the force and impenetrability of a bleak, snow-covered mountain peak. Greta and Stiller make one of the most unusual-looking couples in Hollywood. And each looks more interesting when accompanied by the other. Who Can Fathom Her? And speaking of Greta, we should remark that, at this writing, she is still the despair of the M.-G.-M. executives, and they are even talking of deporting her if she does not obey the studio mandates. Greta has a spirit as determined as that of the oldtime vikings of her native land. She has objected to the sort of parts that she is called upon to play, and there has been a deadlock for months. Greta does not argue — she just listens. Then, when the company heads have finished talking, she languidly picks up her gloves and handbag, looks at the men quietly and unemotionally, and in the most casual manner says, "Well, I guess 1 go home now." And she goes ! This Matter of Titles. We wish that we could say something about Betty Bronson and her starring picture, "Ritzy," but we haven't had a chance to see either Betty or Madame Elinor Glyn, who wrote the film and has taken the little "Peter Pan" girl under her sheltering wing. We must say that the title sounds about as uninteresting and obvious as most of them do nowadays. Here, for example, are a few of the latest : "Afraid to Love," starring Florence Vidor. "The Big Sneeze," with Wallace Beery. "Rough House Rosie," with Clara Bow. "The Gray Hat," with Lew Cody. "Fashions for Women," with Esther Ralston. "The Whirlwind of Youth," with Lois Moran, Donald Keith, and Larry Kent. "The Tender Hour," with Ben Lyon and Billie Dove. Louise Fazenda has not taken up baby farming— this is just a scene from "The Gay Old Bird." There is a scarcity of big pictures in the making. In fact, several companies seem intent on giving more attention to program films than usual, feeling that there are enough road shows on the market for the present. From Screen to Stage. Helen Ferguson certainly proved to be a great success when she made her debut recently in a stage production of "Alias the Deacon" at the new Hollywood Playhouse. Appearing in the spoken drama was a new experience for Helen. The stage was flooded with flowers for the occasion and all of her friends were present to applaud her. James Kirkwood and Lila Lee enjoyed a similar ovation when they were featured in "The Fool" at another theater. Mr. Kirkwood had already played this in New York with great success. Edmund Lowe was the star in the screen version. Other film players who recently made stage appearances were Lupino Lane, the comedian, in the Hollywood "Music Box Revue," and Leslie Fenton as Clyde Griffiths in "An American Tragedy." It is getting to be quite the vogue among the movie people to take a flyer into "legit." "Ben-Hur" Makes Good. "Ben-Hur" will make money. That is the prediction that Marcus Loew made during his visit to Los Angeles. Loew should know, since he is the head of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer organization, which produced this most costly of features. Loew stated that while there was nothing absolutely certain as yet as to the ultimate return from the picture, everything looked more than promising. The film has been making big money abroad as well as in this country. The reputed actual cost of the production was $4,000,000. This cost had to be doubled, however, because under the contract with the Erlanger interests, who owned the stage rights, thev receive half of all profits. So "Ben-Hur" will have 'to earn $8,000,000 or more before M.-G.-M. can make any profit from it. The returns in this countrv alone are expected to total $6,000,000^ Encouragement for New Players. Leila Hyams is a very pretty girl whom you should watch for. She is under contract to Warner Brothers, and her first role is in "The Brute" opposite Monte Blue. We met her one evening with Louise Fazenda. She comes of a theatrical family, her father and mother being the famous and popular vaudeville team of Hyams and Mclntyre. All the companies seem to be N< encouraging new talent this season. Paramount has even instituted a special department, the function of which is the quest of new players. Most of these will be drawn from the extra ranks and bit players, so there isn't much encouragement for outsiders. There are more extras now, by many thousands, than are needed, and the Central Casting Bureau has refused to sign up any more people for the present.