42nd Street (Warner Bros.) (1933)

— Advance Feature Ruby Keeler Timid When Meeting Big Film Stars A Stage Star Herself and Wife of Al Jolson, Yet Juvenile Lead in “42nd Street,”” Was Shy at First UBY KEELER may be Al Jolson’s wife (and is), but she was as timid as any little extra girl about acting in her first motion picture, ‘‘42nd Street,’’ the dramatic spectacle with music and comedy which in She may have been the star of six of New York’s biggest musical comedy hits (and was), but she’s completely overawed whenever she finds herself in the presence of some of Hollywood’s motion picture stars. ‘*Everybody knows them,’’ she says, ‘‘and only a few people It’s enough to scare anyone.’’ in New York know me. opens at the RUBY KEELER, a new star in the cinema heavens, seen in “42nd Street,”’ at the Strand. Cut No. 80 Cut 30c Mat 10c But the facts dispute her; and if she was not an inordinately modest young woman, she would know it. In September, 1928, she married Al Jolson. He had just made his second motion picture. It was called ‘<The Singing Fool.’’ His first picture was ‘‘The Jazz Singer.’’ There are figures somewhere, possibly, to tell just how many millions of people saw those two pictures. But they should not be necessary. There is hardly a city or village in the world where they weren’t shown. It’s hardly likely that Al Jolson’s wife is not as well known as most movie stars. But even before she met Mr. Jolson—she married him three months after they met—Ruby Keeler had been the star of two of Ziegfeld’s biggest and most recent hits, ‘‘ Whoopee’’ and ‘‘Showgirl.’’ Before that she had been in ‘‘The Sidewalks of New York,’’ in ‘‘Lucky,’’ in ‘‘Bye Bye Bonny’’ and in Texas Guinan’s El Fey Club show. She began her stage career at thirteen in the chorus of ‘‘The Rise of Rosy O’Reilly.’’ If you’ll ealculate carefully, year or thereabouts for each of Ruby’s shows, you’ll come to an approximation of her age —which isn’t over twenty. | Started Young | But then, Ruby was marked for the stage, for dancing and singing, before she went into that chorus at thirteen. Even at school, in a dull routine of exercises known as ‘‘drill,’’ she excelled to such an extent that her professors requested that she be taken out of public school and put in New York City. This was done. In her class in the last named Page Fourteen school were a few other children who in the Professional Children’s School were destined to become better known. Lillian Roth, Marguerite Churchill, William Janney and Gene Raymond are a few whom Ruby remembers offhand. Her romance with Jolson was just that—a romance. Mr. Jolson is Jewish. Miss Keeler is Irish, and a Catholic. She still attends her church. They were married by a Justice of the Peace. It’s the modern way—and Miss Keeler and her smiling spouse are nothing if not modern. Their wedding came about like this. She had come to California for a holiday, and while here had worked at Loew’s and at the Egyptian Theatre on the stage. Then one day she was at the train to meet someone, and Al Jolson was at the train to meet Fanny Brice. It is not on record whether Mr. Jolson ever met Fanny Brice. He did meet Miss Keeler, and remembered her from Ziegfeld’s ‘‘Showgirl’’—remembered, in fact, that he had meant all along to see if he couldn’t get introduced to that girl. | Whirlwind Courtship | The rest, as the romance writers say, is all a rosy glow. After a whirlwind courtship they were married and have been married ever since. It was inevitable that someday she should wish to go back to work; but even she hadn’t yet made up her mind when that time should be. As it happened, she didn’t have to. Joseph Schenck wanted her for Al’s new picture, and made a test of her. But after she’d thought it over a bit, she decided that it wouldn’t be HOW TO PLANT PUBLICITY “42nd Street” has so much in it to sell, that we have given you a large number of publicity stories which cover every phase of the picture. In planting these stories, we suggest that you use alternately, stories dealing with the stars, the musical end, the production end, the drama, the large chorus, and the fine romance. | In this way you will successfully get across the BIGNESS of the pic ture. the best thing in the world to begin her screen career in her husband’s picture. She begged off. The same night, she met an executive of Warner Bros. at the fights. He asked her if she didn’t want to go in a picture, and prevailed her to let him see her test. | Cast With 10 Stars | And the rest, as the romance writers say again, is all a rosy glow. That test was everything desired and more. She was cast immediately for the ingenue lead in ‘‘42nd Street,’’ along with a dozen of the great names in present day motion pictures, including Bebe Daniels, Warner Bax a Sp Una Merkel, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, George E. Stone, Allen Jenkins, Eddie Nugent, Ned Sparks and others. The rehearsals were terrible for her—she finds it a bit difficult to compose her thoughts when in the presence of so many movie great. But she had her revenge. The third day of shooting was the occasion for an old fashioned stage chorus call. In the presence of the hundreds of chorines, all chattering and chewing gum, and practicing their dances and their songs on the big stage, not Miss Keeler, but the movie stars were overawed. Miss Keeler, as a matter of fact, was in the very center of that swarm of feminine form and beauty, finding out from a couple of old friends who have elected to stay in the chorus what some of the new songs and dances are since she went in for heavy matrimony. Her specialty, as you may have known, is tap dancing. ‘“Wouldn’t you,’’ some of the women stars in the mammoth picture wanted to know, ‘‘Wouldn’t you show us how to do some of these steps?’’ | “They’re Regular” | Ruby would. Afterwards, she was discovered, flushed and excited, and perhaps thrilled a bit with the way things were going. ‘‘Like ’em any better by now?’’ she was asked. ‘«They’re regular,’’ she said, and there was something in her tone and look that told me the movies had found another lifelong admirer. And, wh knows, perhaps another of those flaming stars you’re always reading about. ‘(49nd Street’’ is a gigantic spectacle of theatrical life back stage with a powerful dramatic story, hilarious comedy and a musical show within the main show. It is based on the novel of Bradford Ropes and adapted for the screen by Rian James and James Seymour. Lloyd Bacon directed with Busby Berkeley, the famous Broadway producer, handling the musical ensembles in which 150 beautiful chorus girls appear. The song hits are by Al Dubin and Harry Warren. Advance Feature Chorine’s Personality More Important Than Perfect Legs Noted Dance Director Who Staged Chorus, in **4.2nd Street,” Picked 150 From 5000 Beauties ERSONALITY, beauty and legs—and the mostimportant of these is not legs—not even in the chorus. The tired business man, for whom all musical pictures are presumably, but never actually, made, prefers personality above all other qualifications in a show girl. Busby Berkeley, whose choruses used to be the delight of New York and who demonstrated his genius in Hollywood with Warner Bros.’ ‘‘42nd Street,’’ with comedy, music and dancing, which opens at the Theatre on ality. And he ought to know. a mammoth dramatic spectacle i ges , Says legs are less important than person So this great chorus in ‘‘42nd Street’’ is full of personality. Mr. Berkeley, having been pacified by that statement, can not object to the additional information that it is full of beauty and legs too, beautiful legs and two-legged beauties. Berkeley admits whole West Coast for them and interviewed, personally, five thousand applicants for places before he picked them. There are, he assures everyone, potential Swansons and Chattertons and Garbos and Loretta Youngs in their midst, judged by personality, not legs. But in the dance spectacles, the personality shows less, perhaps, than the comely faces and attractive figures of the dancers. Mr. Berkeley provided spectacular settings for his choruses. The girls dance on three en rmous turn-tables, pyramided, one above the other, the bottom one the largest and turning slowly to the right: the middle one.smaller and turning slowly to the left; the top one the smallest and turning to the right, like the bottom one. | Twinkling Legs | On these they dance to intricate figures and arresting ensembles, a kaliedescopic panorama of swinging bodies, tossing heads, prancing feet and rhythmic legs, white against black, color. against neutral tones. The personality is there, no doubt, in large quantities, but somehow it is the flashing, criss-crossing, kicking, time-keeping legs and the high-lighted beauty of the flushed faces above them that seem most impressive. During the production of ‘‘42nd Street,’’ Warner Baxter, who has a leading role in the all-star cast, stood and watched. Dick Powell stopped by to watch a moment and admire. ‘“Very nice,’’ he said, half to himself and half to anybody. who would listen. ‘‘ Very, v ry nice.’’ Bebe Daniels watched from a distance, keeping time herself to the music and the well regulated tap, tap of the feet. Ruby Keeler, to whom such rehearsals are an old story — in New York if not in Hollywood, chewed gum energetically and watched as though fascinated. This, it was understood, was the ‘‘big scene’’ of the picture. George Brent, Ginger Rogers, Una Merkel, Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks and Allen Jenkins, all from the same sensational east, made up an informal tiredbusiness-man’s row and enjoyed the display of personality. But against a black background, it was hard to remember that Busby Berkeley considered personality more important than legs. At least they seemed to go together in his chorus. Later, after the pyramided rotaters had stopped and the girls were resting, Berkeley introduced eleven of he_ scouted the —=—— them he believed had possibilities not yet realized in pictures. Since the completion of the picture the entire eleven girls presented on the set have been signed under contracts by Warner Bros.-First National, as potential stars. | 11 With Personality | The first introduced was Donna Mae Roberts, a statuesque brunette, who quit her classes at the University of California at Los Angeles, to go into the Berkeley chorus. a vea girl with a soulful face, if you . and a personality and a figure which would bring their owner attention in any college—or chorus—in the cou. try. Next was Ann Hovey, originally from Indiana, also a brunette, with big brown eyes. She has been in pictures for a year, doing mostly chorus work. She weighs an even hundred pounds. Berkeley called for Barbara Rogers next. Barbara is a blonde, and a striking one. . Margaret La Marr, a Los Angeles girl, educated in a local convent and one time named ‘‘ Miss Redondo,’’ at a beauty contest which she won, has been dancing for the stage and in pictures for three years. She is brunette. So is Lynn Browning, whom Berkeley introduced next. She is from Kansas City originally but has been in pictures a year. Renee Whitney is a read head, a Chicago University co-ed, an artist’s model, noted for her perfect profile and perfect legs. A voluptuous type, Berkeley explained, but a great bet for pictures. She was ‘‘Miss California’’ in 1928. There was Pat Wing, a brunette beauty, who comes originally from Richmond, Virginia, and has had some experience in pictures. And still they came. Jayne Shadduck, vivacious blonde, who came from Portland, Oregon, four months ago to work in pictures and landed first in Berkeley’s personality chorus; Maxine Cantway, a read head, and Loretta Andrews and Edna Callaghan, bota blondes. These girls all have what Berkeley considers more important than beauty or legs for either choruses or pictures, although they have those too. They have personality, a subtle something which the chorus director senses when he interviews five thousand girls and picks out 150, and then again reduces this number to eleven. And this personality sticks out in ‘¢42nd Street,’’ the story of the theatre from behind the wings, taken from the novel by Bradford Ropes and adapted for the screen by Rian James and James Seymour. The picture was directed by Lloyd Bacon, while Al Dubin and Harry Warren furnished the song hits. erie adits 1m 10 ADVANCE FEATURES