The Devil to Pay (United Artists) (1930)

Advance Stories of Varying Lengths RONALD COLMAN’S VERSATILITY SHOWN IN HIS SPARKLING NEW COMEDY DRAMA Original Screen Story with Smart Dialog by a Famous English Playwright Gives Popular Star Opportunity to Display Talent Knowing Ronald Colman as an old friend, as well as an accomplished actor, Frederick Lonsdale, famed author of sophis¬ ticated stage plays, had little difficulty in providing his fellow countryman with a sympathetic role in “The Devil To Pay,” which opens at the.Theatre on . Colman’s name and fame were well established in America long before the advent of the talking picture. That he was one of t'he first and most successful exponents of the new screen art, was due to his previous training and experience on the speaking stage. PUBLICITY PAYS Your public is tremendously inter¬ ested in motion pictures and motion picture players. Everything pertaining to the screen is of great concern to the vast majority of people in your town. The proof of this is the popu¬ larity of the movie fan magazines whose circulations run into the mil¬ lions. Every article, every picture, every fact in these publications is con¬ fined to pictures and picture people. The publicity stories in this press book afford you an opportunity of cashing in on this unparalleled reader interest through your newspapers. Let your paper enjoy the drawing power of a fan magazine and your theatre the record-breaking patronage that comes from an enthusiastic public. FREDERICK LONSDALE, ENGLISH DRAMATIST VAINLY SOUGHT BY FILM MEN FOR YEARS Invalided home from the war in 1917, he returned to the footlights in London, and it was there that Fred¬ erick Lonsdale, then as unknown as Colman in America, knew the versa¬ tile star as a popular leading man, and learned his capabilities. When, in response to Samuel Goldwyn’s in¬ vitation to come to Hollywood to write for the screen, the presence of his old friend, and the opportunity offered to write for him, were no V^small part of the inducement. Lons- dale’s sophisticated style as shown in his stage successes, “Aren’t We All?”, “The Last of Mrs. Cheyney,” and “Spring Cleaning,” suggested the type of screen story he has provided for Colman’s latest, and as many think, his best picture. As presented by that amazing personality, the star’s role is a char¬ acterization of suave subtlety, of grace and polish of manner; an un¬ folding of a dramatic figure of infinite charm, revealing, it is be¬ lieved, more of the true Ronald Colman than is known to his picture public, or indeed, to any but his most intimate friends. In “The Devil To Pay,” as a scapegrace prodigal son who, unlike his scriptural predecessor, is by no means welcomed on his return to the parental roof, Colman has to win his father’s forgiveness; broke, he sets out to win an heiress, not for her money, but because he loves for the first time; he has to win over too, the girl’s ambitious father w-ho insists upon her marriage with a Grand Duke. These are sufficient handicaps it would seem, even for ~4- a character in a screen play. But to an actor the role presents even greater obstacles. While in real life we may grant a pitying indulgence to a scapegrace playboy, we want our screen heroes to command our respect and admir¬ ation. Branded as a ne’er-do-well, the player must win the favor of audiences made up of people who from birth have been taught to look askance at one who flouts par¬ ental authority, takes no heed of to¬ morrow, and in general violates ev¬ ery copybook maxim of tradition. And therein is applied the sub¬ tlety of the art of Ronald Colman. His fine personality, innate gentle¬ ness, fine sense of fitness, audacious love-making, equable temper and disregard of both poverty and pros¬ perity, win over his audience. The spectator becomes a rooter for the prodigal son. He wants him to win the fathers, the girl and a fortune, regarding his idle ways as a matter of no consequence. There are many good and ac¬ complished players who would make the character of a family black, or, say, grav sheep at least, a boring smart aleck,, who though he might be amusing, as he must be with the surprising situations and witty lines of “The Devil To Pay,” would get no sympathy or regard from his T" audiences by such portrayal. ‘Ronald. Caiman in'The Deuil to Patj" ojith LorettaTjoung^ 13—One Col. Scene (Mat 05; Cut 30c) Colman’s interpretation makes the young man one of the most captivating and lovable characters he has ever created. He is to be both laughed with and at. In no former success has Colman dis¬ played such winning characteristics as in “The Devil To Pay.” OonnicL GofmniL, Star of "C]b* to Pan" 9 —Two Col. Star Head (Mat 10c; Cut 50c) CORRECT ATMOSPHERE ALONE CONVINCING COLMAN’S LATEST IS "THE DEVIL TO PAY” Says Art Director of Ronald Col¬ man’s "The Devil to Pay” There is science in art direction, take it from Capt. Richard Day, noted art director, who acted in that capacity in the production of “The Devil To Pay,” Ronald Colman’s latest talking picture which comes to the .Theatre, To begin with, the picture’s locale is England. As a happy-go- lucky prodigal son Colman takes Loretta Young to an amusement park, where, though his purse is empty, his heart is fairly bulging, with love. Loretta, it seems, is the first genuine heart attack the sophis¬ ticated playboy has ever experi¬ enced. Now, you’d think offhand, that a merry - go - round horse was—just that. A block of wood carved to represent an impossible sort of ani¬ mal, and that nationality never so much as entered their inanimate lives—if there can be such a thing. But, you should see them in Col¬ man’s picture. By no stretch of the imagination can you conceive them to be anything but English. In fact, you’d never mistake any animate or inanimate object as any¬ thing but English in all the produc¬ tion’s many scenes—South Africa London high society, the park and race course, the hero’s home, the heroine’s ball—which was the pur¬ pose and intent of the art director, who is responsible for the atmos¬ phere. “Atmosphere,” says Captain Day, “must be convincing, and the only known means of making it convinc¬ ing is to have it correct in every detail. And that includes the Eng¬ lish style in merry-go-round, horses. That’s what I mean by saying that there is science in art direction. For science is knowledge, and if you don’t absolutely know what is correct, how in the name of St. George and the dragon, are you go¬ ing to make it convincing?” We leave it to you. Noted English Dramatist Writes His First Screen Original The . Theatre will present on . Ronald Colman’s latest talking picture, said to be in a vein new to the star, which bears the title “The Devil To Pay.” It is an original screen story and dialogue by the famous English dramatist, Frederick Lons¬ dale, well known on this side of the Atlantic for his numerous stage suc¬ cesses, “Aren’t We All?”, “Spring Cleaning,” “The Last of Mrs. Che¬ ney,” and others. Though several of the Lonsdale pieces have been adapted for the screen, “The Devil To Pay” is his first attempt at writ¬ ing directly for screen production. The picture, described as a sophis¬ ticated comedy drama in the mod¬ ern manner, has to do with the life and loves of Willie Leeland, played by Ronald Colman, wayward son of a wealthy and unsympathetic British peer who, in an effort to make something of his adventurous son, gives him a start in South Af¬ rica. The story opens with Willie, disgusted with his exile, and long¬ ing for the lights of London, auc¬ tioning his belongings to obtain money enough for a passage home. Never having experienced real love, he decides that he will marry a wealthy girl and settle down, inde¬ pendent of his father. Arriving in London with twent} r pounds in his pocket, he spends it all in buying a dog, and in taking an actress, an acquaintance of former years, to dinner. Next morning he meets his fate —falling deeply in love—and with an heiress, played by Loretta Young. Marrying for money, and marrying one he loves who has money, are viewed by Willie as ir¬ reconcilable. The dialogue is bright, witty and sparkling in the true Lonsdale manner, and the part of Willie was specially written to fit the engaging Colman personality. Finally Reaches Hollywood to Write Screen Story for Ronald Colman Every producer in Hollywood has tried at some time or another to entice Frederick Lonsdale, the eminent English dram¬ atist, to write screen stories and dialogue for motion pictures. Lonsdale, who is a typical Britisher, refused to leave Eng¬ land; said he didn’t like motion pictures, and although he agreed to the adaptation of his stage plays to the screen, refused to write anything directly for the “talkies.” Then Samuel Goldwyn, dean of motion picture producers, went to London on one of his vacation trips. He saw Lonsdale and induced him to come to Hollywood. That he was particu¬ larly asked to write for Ronald Colman, a fellow countryman and an old friend, was one of the inducements offered. Goldwyn returned to New York and Lonsdale agreed to follow. Indeed, he boarded the boat at Liverpool, only to get off at Cherbourg.’ He had changed his mind. Innumerable trans-Atlantic tele¬ phone conversations followed. At last, Lonsdale took ship for New York, and finally landed in Holly¬ wood. The result, ten months later, is the comedy drama, Ronald Col¬ man’s latest picture, “The Devil To Pay,” which comes to the. Theatre on . It is the first screen story that Frederick Lonsdale has ever written directly for picture production. A part of the story was written in Hollywood, a portion in New York, and the balance in London. Evelyn Laye brought the first in¬ stallment with her from London to Hollywood; Colman brought an¬ other later, and the last of the story was brought to Hollywood by Lons¬ dale himself. When the picture had been in production ten days, Sam¬ uel Goldwyn saw the scenes that had been filmed. “It’s good,” he said, “but it isn’t worthy of Lonsdale’s story and dia¬ logue.” So, despite the fact that nearly $175,000 had already been spent upon it, the picture was entirely scrapped; a new leading lady, Lor¬ etta Young, was selected, and George Fitzmaurice was engaged to direct the production. Myrna Loy was cast as the ac¬ tress, the third of an interesting triangle, the veteran English actor Frederick Kerr, was brought from New York to play Colman’s father, and Florence Britton was engaged to play his sister. David Torrence, who played the detective in “Raffles,” was cast for the role of Mr. Hope, screen father of Miss Young. Richard Day, who designed the sets for “Whoopee,” created, the backgrounds for “The Devil To Pay,” while George Barnes and Gregg Toland, Goldwyn ace camera¬ men, photographed the production. The story concerns the lovable vagabond son of a British peer, who returns to London for the seventh time, a bankrupt, and promptly falls in love with the wealthiest heiress in England. To comply with the wishes of her socially ambitious father, the girl is on the eve of an¬ nouncing her engagement to a grand duke. LORETTA YOUNG LEAD ‘Ronald Caiman in'HheDeuil toPatf mith I arettaTjoun^ 14—One Col. Scene (Mat 05c; Cut 30c) With this as the basic situation, Lonsdale has woven a brilliantly^ clever and amusing story, that for laughter, romance and suspense has never been equalled by any Ronald Colman starring production. The smart atmosphere of a Lon¬ don social season, and action in such widely varying settings as a pala¬ tial home, a princely ball room, an imusement park, and at the Dero* race course, furnish an atmospheric and highly interesting background. Youngest of Leading Women Has Role Opposite Ronald Colman Loretta Young who has the lead¬ ing feminine role with Ronald Col¬ man in his new starring picture “The Devil To Pay,” which opens at *h e ... Theatre ° n •••••••••;., was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, January 6, 1913. When she was four years old her parents moved to Hollywood where she appeared as a child actress— her first screen role, in support of Fanny Ward. There followed a series of child parts until she was seven, when she enrolled at Ramona Convent in Los Angeles. Hex grammar school education was supplemented with the study of dancing. From Ernest Belcher she learned ballet dancing, toe work, and stage routine, while Ruth St. Denis steeped her in the classic traditions of the purest forms of the dance art. Her intensive study, coupled with a lithe figure, and natural dramatic instinct, made her a competent and versatile dancer. In the grammar school Miss Young was an average student, but after her early experience in the studios she found the monotony of school very drab. Her two sisters, Polly Ann Young and Sally Blane, were becoming famous screen inge¬ nues, and their success filled Lor¬ etta with ambition. Sister Polly Ann had finished a role in a Colleen Moore film and had gone to Salt Lake City on va¬ cation, when Director Mervyn Le Roy called the Young home to se¬ cure her for a retake. Since the retake was to be a long shot and Polly Ann was not available, Le Roy, knowing of the sister’s resem¬ blance, asked Loretta to come to the studio in Polly Ann’s stead. When Loretta, then known as Gret- chen, arrived on the set, officials were so convinced of her screen possibilities that she was offered a First National contract. A small part followed. After making tests of fiity^ girls in search of an ingenue who could give a mature emotional perform¬ ance, Herbert Brenon gave Miss Young the lead opposite Lon Cha¬ ney in “Laugh, Clown, Laugh,” in which she first attracted widespread attention. Returning to First Na¬ tional she firmly established her¬ self with her work in “Scarlet Seas,” “The Girl in the Glass Cage,” “The Squall,” “Loose Ankles,” “The For¬ ward Pass,” and “Fast Life.” Miss Young is of fair complexion, with brown hair and blue eyes; is five feet, five inches tall and weighs 111 pounds. She is of the distinctly feminine type, and her dainty beau¬ ty, coupled with her demonstrated acting ability secured her the cov¬ eted position of leading lady for the popular Ronald Colman. In “The Devil To Pay,” she plays the part of the wealthiest heiress in England, betrothed by her aspiring father to a penniless Grand Duke. What is more to the point Ronald Colman as Willie Leeland a prodi¬ gal son type, falls in love with her at sight, which to many would not require any great effort. Conscientious in her work, and serious in her efforts, she plays with an ease and grace that is denied many older, and more experienced women of the screen. Loretta Young Has Rapid Rise to Fame Loretta Young, who has the lead¬ ing feminine role in Ronald Col¬ man’s “The Devil To Pay,” which „ - .. comes ... to the The sophisticated philosophy of .Theatre, was born in these higher social regions is re¬ vealed in witty and screamingly funny lines, while all concerned are captivated by the charming person¬ ality, the audacity and gaiety of the society playboy, temporarily a prod¬ igal son, but with no fatted calf sacrificed in his honor. Salt Lake City, Utah, January 6, 1913. She became an actress at four and retired at seven to enter a con¬ vent. Her first screen engagement came through .her pinch hitting for her sister. Her pictures include “The Squall,” “Loose Ankles” and “Fast Life.”