The Devil Dancer (United Artists) (1927)

Advance Or During Run GG-2—Two Col. Gilda Gray Portrait (Mat 10c) CURIOSITY MADE GILDA “THE DEVIL DANCER” Flickering lights, lazy curls of incense, figures looming out of dark¬ ness, grotesque, shining gods of Tibet—and before them, gyrating faster and faster in strange rhythms of a dance of fear, Gilda Gray whirls in “The Devil Dancer,” which comes to the . Theatre, next . Curiosity caused Gilda Gray, ensconced as she is in the lap of civilization, to turn to far-away Tibet and its “forbidden city,” Lhasa. She had heard tales of this ci||| on the roof of the world, to w™h few white men had gained access and escaped with their lives. She had learned of its system of monasteries, or Lamaseries, where monks called Lamas worship the Gods of Darkness, where Devil Dan¬ cers—young girls dedicated to these gods—danced before them in strange, frenzied rhythms. About these Gilda Gray conceived an idea for a scenario and a dance of tense pagan fervor. Harry Hervey, the Oriental au¬ thority, aided her. During one of his trips to India he had met a Devil Dancer, Takla, who had fled from Lhasa, fearing persecution on account of her love for a young Lama in the monastery. About this girl’s experiences he wove a scenario, making every effort to create a pic¬ ture true in atmosphere and detail. He aided Gilda to steep herself in the culture, legends and traditions of Lhasa, a city where the Grand Lama rules in his Tibetan Vatican of high gilded roofs and madder-red walls, and where votive offerings are given to the Gods of Darkness in cere¬ monies of lavish heathenism. These gods, which appear in bril¬ liant frescoes and statues in every monastery, are terrifying, malignant deities with forms of men and heads of ferocious ogres. They have control over the spirits with small mouths and long thin necks who are unable to swallow and in their frantic squirmings ^ogfcse dire earthquakes. They can cWquer the avalanche sprites and all other demons and hobgoblins; but in return they demand sacrifices of grain and luxuries and human life. They must be appealed to with sacerdotal processions of Lamas and the wildest religious rhythms of the exquisite Devil Virgins. Colossal gift images of Buddhas, their ears lopped with gold and a solitary turquoise marking the luck- spot between their eyebrows, squat in cross-legged placidity, are a part of the settings provided by pro¬ ducer Samuel Goldwyn. Unchased brass bowls are filled with per¬ fumed water. Strange, butter-fed lamps emit dim religious lights which are caught and kindled into little dancing flames by jeweled art treasures. And over all lies a dron¬ ing, mystic spell, while prayer wheels turn and turn and turn again in the hands of fervent Lamas. Such is the atmosphere of the inner -serines. By securing all objets d’art avail¬ able, every attempt has been made to attain the exact atmosphere of religious splendor. Replicas of towering metal gods have been exe¬ cuted with the aid of authorities on Oriental temple art. Museum pieces have been borrowed or reproduced; private collections were offered for this unusual production. Harry Hervey was able to secure the cos¬ tume Takla, the Tibetan girl, wore in the Devil Dances at the Lama- serie of Lahkang-gompa. Begemmed, and with all the swirl of a devotee of black magic, it is a fitting com¬ plement to the heavily jeweled head¬ dress that is studded with the mys¬ tic turquoise so sacred to Tibetans. In the Delhi sequence, Gilda gives all the color of the famous Bunnia Bazaars to a Nautch Dance, which is considered the most difficult one in India. Though it is only per¬ formed by girls of this mystic race who are trained in its rhythms from early youth, Gilda Gray is said to have mastered it like a true nautch girl. Her headdress was brought to her from the Orient by Harry Hervey. As for her cashmere silk shawl and dancing girl costume, no doubt they were sent from an In¬ dian Bazaar where veiled Purdah ladies “buy jewels of Rajputana, gold cloth saris and chuddahs from Delhi.” Gilda Gray, star of Samuel Gold- wyn’s photoplay, “The Devil Dan¬ cer,” at the. theatre, was explaining that the vil¬ lain, known as the “menace” in the studios, in her picture is a Tibetan Lama, when one of the boys objected that llamas are South American sheep. Gilda admitted the point, but made things more intricate by saying that a Lama, with one “1” is a holy man of Lhasa, “the for¬ bidden city.” In “The Devil Dancer,” the chief “menace” is one of the so-called Black Lamas of the Monastery, or Lamaserie, of Lak- hang-gompa, where devil worship is practiced. NIBLO ONE OF FOUR BEST DIRECTORS When “The Devil Dancer” flashes on the screen of the . Theatre for . days beginning .folk will recognize a familiar touch in the deft handling of the scenes in situa¬ tions of this latest Samuel Goldwyn production, which features Gilda Gray. Fred Niblo directed. Fred Niblo stands with Von Stro¬ heim, Griffith and Brenon as one of the industry’s four directors who have a devoted following of the pub¬ lic as large and as enthusiastic as that of any star. Niblo has come to be known as a director whose name always means quality in en¬ tertainment. His list of successes proves to be the best advertisement for any new picture he may make. He has produced “Ben Hur,” “Ca¬ mille,” “The Three Musketeers,” “The Mark of Zorro,” “Blood and Sand,” “The Temptress,” and “The Famous Mrs. Fair.” Fred Niblo is not an accident. He came to motion picture direction with a wealth of background and previous dramatic experience. He was a stage star for many years. He was a newspaper war corre¬ spondent and he escaped from Si¬ beria just ahead of a jail sentence for taking the first motion picture ever made in that country. The Gilda Gray picture for Sam¬ uel Goldwyn, “The Devil Dancer,” is full of those bits of color, romance and thrills which abound in a typi¬ cal Niblo production. The story and adaptation are by Harry Hervey and Alice D. C. Miller and other players besides the star, include Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Michael Vavitch, Sojin, Kalla Pasha, Clarissa Selwynne and Serge Temoff. COULD LADY ACT? WELL -A LITTLE How a great actress gave up ca¬ reer and home and journeyed to a new country that she might aid her husband in his dramatic work, was disclosed during casting for “The Devil Dancer,” the Samuel Goldwyn picture, starring Gilda Gray, which comes to the . Theatre For ten years she had been the leading lady of the Modern Players Society productions at the Imperial Theatre in Tokio. She had played all the great roles of dramatic his¬ tory, from Lady Macbeth down to roles in contemporary plays. She had acted Shakespeare, Shaw, Ibsen, Strindberg and the great Japanese playwright, Tchikamatzu. She was the idol of the theatre-going public of Tokio. Then suddenly she gave up all this fame and glory and be¬ came overnight a modest retiring figure with only reminiscences of the plaudits of the crowds which had greeted her constantly for a decade. She is the wife of Sojin, the great Japanese character actor, who plays an important role in “The Devil Dancer.” Sojin came to America some four years ago, to study Amer¬ ican film technique and screen act¬ ing. His first role was in Douglas Fairbanks’ “Robin Hood.” Follow¬ ing him from production to produc¬ tion went Mrs. Sojin, a silent, re¬ tiring figure. Just as production on “The Devil Dancer” was to begin one role still needed filling, and it was by the merest accident that Di¬ rector Fred Niblo happened to see Mrs. Sojin sitting at one side. “Say, Sojin,” he said, “can your wife do this role?” “She acts a little,” replied Sojin with a smile. Only a few “rushes” of the film had to be shown for everyone to be taking about Mrs. Sojin, her great characterization of the Tibetan ser¬ ving woman, who risks death and torture that her mistress may be happily united with her lover. Mrs. Sojin could “act a little.” DENISHAWN TEACHER IN “DEVIL DANCER” Samuel Goldwyn now assumes the role of raider upon the ranks of the classic dancers. Francesca Braggiotti of Florence, Italy, and Boston, Mass., is the latest stage dancer to succumb to the lure of the movies. She trained the nautch dancers in Gilda Gray’s starring vehicle, “The Devil Dan¬ cer,” at the . Theatre, and herself led the ensemble. Miss Bragiotti, although just out of her teens, heads the Bragiotti- Denishawn school in Boston. For years she has been one of the prin¬ cipal Denishawn dancers. She and Ted Shawn were associated in fab¬ ricating the nautch steps in this story of Tibet and India as written by Harry Hervey and Alice D. G. Miller, and directed by Fred Niblo. Blonde and brown-eyed, it is being wondered if her appearance in “The Devil Dancer” may not be construed as a candidacy for the place left by Mr. Goldwyn in elevating Vilma Banky to stardom.