Lady of the Pavements (United Artists) (1929)

Feature Stories and Radio Talk Radio Talk: ANNOUNCER: Mr. David Ray jones, well-known writer will tell you about his recent visit to the movie center at Hollywood where he saw the production of D. W. Grif¬ fith’s “Lady of the Pavements,” coming to the.theatre on. MR JONES: Ladies and gentle¬ men of the radio audience, I should like to take you within the sacred ^ portals of a movie studio and reveal to you what goes on behind the camera lines. Imagine yourself in a large barn¬ like structure. You might think you had entered a commer¬ cial warehouse. It is one of the stages at the United Artists’ studio, solidly built; its spacious floor is cluttered with hundreds of articles, furniture, props, electrical equip¬ ment, odds and ends. There is a cathedral-like silence. Now you hear, at the farther end, an or¬ chestra playing an old French mel¬ ody, and a voice rising and falling in persuasive accents. You tread your way through the shadowy place, and then you see, standing out in the semi-darkness, like soft, impressionistic paintings, the sets for a motion picture play- a sylvan garden, the exterior of an old-world cottage, a quaint kitchen, with all the atmosphere of another age, a stately doorway of an im¬ pressive mansion — all perfect in their design, decoration and fur¬ nishings and taking on an eerie beauty in the soft half-light. But as you gaze, fascinated, you hear the music and the voice of the speaker more distinctly, and you apprbach a brightly-lighted set. You stop, held by the glamor of the sight. What you see, beyond the semi-circle of camera and elec¬ trical equipment, is an ornate inter¬ ior of a Parisian home, richly fur¬ nished. A beautiful woman sits on a cushioned sofa, stiff and imperi¬ ous in her manner. She wears a feathered hat, a gown with a tight bodice and broad flounced skirt, a striking example of the style of another day. You recognize her as Jetta Goudal. At her feet, kneels a young girl, in an attitude of sup¬ plication, beautiful in her wide- Have this chat broadcast from your local radio station. Pay for your time if necessary, but get it working for you. eyed appeal. None other than Lupe Velez. Beyond them, seemingly not at all interested, is William Boyd. All is silence, save for the old French melody hauntingly played by the orchestra. The scene has been rehearsed. It is being photographed, or “shot,” as studio parlance ex¬ presses it. It is gripping, dramatic, poignant in its tenderness, swift in its conflict. D. W. Griffith is directing this scene for “Lady of the Pavements,” the current . attraction — a story written by the noted author of “The Miracle.” You see the famous director sit¬ ting in a battered chair beside the camera, watching, eagerly, tensely, every movement, every bit of facial play of the actresses. The scene ends. He is satisfied. He rises, re¬ lieved, relaxed. Nothing means more to D. W. Griffith than the medium of expres¬ sion with which his name is linked the world over. He is a serious, sensitive type of man, especially when he is speaking of his life- work. “Motion pictures,” he says, “are a great creative development of our time, because they are a composite of the various arts and are so broad in their appeal and possibilities. They are vital as a dramatic ve¬ hicle, and they have power as an artistic and literary form of ex¬ pression. They are destined to progress much within the next few years. We shall see screen epics which will rank with the finest mas¬ terpieces of world-renowned art¬ ists.” That Griffith is a worthy expon¬ ent of what he preaches is quite evident from his direction of the “Lady of the Pavements.” The pic¬ ture is a work of art, but in addi¬ tion to this it is genuine entertain¬ ment. A visit to the. theatre on. when the film is to be shown will more than repay you. The story tells of a great love that rose out of the flam¬ ing hate of a woman scorned. I hope you enjoy the completed picture as much as I did watching it being filmed. / JETTA GOUDAL BELIEVES SUPREME COMPLIMENT IS FOR A MAN TO CONSIDER WOMAN HIS EOUAL No matter how hard he tried, a man could never do anything that would please her as much as con¬ sidering her his equal, says Jetta Goudal, the French actress who ap¬ pears in D. W. Griffith’s production, “Lady of the Pavements,” at the .theatre. “This gruff sex takes itself so se¬ riously, and women so lightly,” de¬ clares the star, “that it is refreshing to meet a man who doesn’t flatter but recognizes that women are on an intellectual level with men, and gives consideration accordingly. How often have all women been treated with a condescending atti¬ tude by some man who is so far be¬ neath them that it would be laugh¬ able if it were not so aggravating! “It is true that women have been asserting themselves within the past few years. This tendency of inde¬ pendence is to me more than a fad. It means that women are recogniz¬ ing in themselves for the first time a universal ability and intelligence that has been theirs always, but which is only now placing them on a level with men.” WILLIAM BOYDJETTA GOUDAL i«D.W. GRIFFITH'S LADY OF THE PAVEMENTS 9 —One Col. Scene (Mat 5c; Cut 30c) Jetta Goudal Speaks in Defense of "Temperament” Criticism points its accusing fingers at stars and extras alike; sometimes the accusations are merited and well-founded; some¬ times they are not, and the innocent players are supposed to bear their burdens with submissive calm and stand for further ridicule. Occasionally they review the calumnies cast upon them by an un¬ knowing or malicious world and then there is a verbal explosion of indignant denial. This was the case when Jetta Goudal, featured player in D. W. Griffith’s United Artists special, “Lady of the Pavements’ the current picture at the. theatre, learned that the world finds she is exceedingly temperamental and fiery of character. The fact that she has a charming, retiring personality-almost shrinking-is lost sight of. But the truth is far from what one hears it is. Jetta, contrary to her detractors, doesn’t throw things at her directors, neither does she cry and stamp her foot in rage when things don’t go as they should. This is how she feels about the criticism. “The most absurd thing in the world for people to say is that I am temperamental. The opposite is quite the truth. This criticism gained impetus when some fellow heard me express-perhaps loudly and ex¬ cited!}'—just what I wanted to wear in my pictures. The man mistook zeal for temperament. “I have never made unnecessary or impossible demands during my picture career and the only words I speak while working on the set are the lines I have to recite and the . orders I must give my wardrobe maids and seamstresses. “Clothes are my stock in trade, and for this reason alone I will not go on with a picture until 1 am satis¬ fied in my mind that I am looking my very best. This action benefits the producer who pays me, the public who must look at me and the little inner self that some call vanity. “If that is temperament, then I am TEMPERAMENTAL.” REHEARSALS GRIFFITH’S WEAPON TO DOWN COSTS Hollywood, Calif.-Thoroughness of detail in consequential things and a full realization of the broadness and scope of his media are two of the factors that have elevated D. W. Griffith to the very topmost ranks of the picture dramatists. Illustrative of this is his indul¬ gence in the pet peculiarity of re¬ hearsing his screen players some¬ times three and four weeks before actual shooting starts. An expen¬ sive practice it is—considering the current trend of salaries—but to Griffith it is the very backbone of his economic independence as a pro¬ ducer. “Rehearsal,” he says, “acquaints the players with their parts and gives them an opportunity to study the characters so that there can be no wastage of time when actual production is under way with its huge overhead in lights and labor. An actual instance in defense of rehearsals is given in the prepara¬ tion for “Lady of the Pavements” which is the feature attraction at the . theatre, with William Boyd, Jetta Goudal, Lupe Velez, George Fawcett, Albert Conti, William Bakewell and Henry Armetta. Miss Velez is Mexican and has but a beginner’s knowledge of the English tongue. The re¬ hearsals were vital to her under¬ standing of the full emotional ran^e required of her as a singer and a dancer in a French inn. As she was carefully explained each scene in detail, with its dramatic import, she rehearsed it with prompt exact¬ ness. There was no delay. After three days of this she knew her screen personality intimately and was able to infuse into it some of her own vivacious qualities as well. “Summed up, the advantages de¬ rived from rehearsals,” says Griffith, “are that they eliminate film wastage caused by retaking scenes three and sometimes four times, that they are fair to actors because they give them a preknowledge of what they are supposed to do; that they cut down length of production schedule by half, with a consequent saving in overhead and that they lessen the labor of the director in production.’’ Uniforms for Film Exact 18 Pound Toll from Boyd For the information of those who care foj: such trivial things, William Boyd wants it known that the next man who suggests he work in a tight fitting uniform will find free and involuntary parking space in a wooden kimono. Boyd, who plays the leading role in D. W. Griffith’s “Lady of the Pavements” at the. theatre, wears a heavy woolen uni¬ form in the picture that within three weeks reduced his weight eighteen pounds. Boyd, Jetta Goudal, Lupe Velez, George Fawcett, Albert Con¬ ti, William Bakewell and Henry Ar¬ metta are cast in this Griffith spe¬ cial for United Artists release.