A Successful Calamity (Warner Bros.) (1932)

ADVANCE STORIES >. Arliss, t your I. story George Arliss Stars in “A Successful Calamity”’ A new George Arliss picture is always an event of importance to the motion picture public and “A Successful Calamity,” his latest Warner Bros. triumph, opening .... Bt athe qT heeza-t-3re, promises to excel all> of its excellent p redecessors in popularity. he story deals with an American family of >in age great wealth; Cut 15¢ Mat Sc a great financier, his young and lovely wife and his two grown children; all of whom find themselves. so busy with the pleasures and duties imposed upon them by their money and position that no time is left for the enjoyment of real family life. In an attempt to remedy this unhappy situation the father announces suddenly that he is ruined. Amazing and far reaching complications which he little expects, result immediately. The delightful comedy unfolds against the most luxurious settings ever devised for a picture of this type. It is presented with a cast so excellent that every bit part is played by an actor or actress of considerable note. “A Successful Calamity” is adapted from a highly successful stage play of some seasons back, written by Clare Kummer. John Adolfi, who directed George Arliss in “The Millionaire,’ “Alexander Hamilton” and “The Man Who Played God,” is credited with the direction of this new Arliss picture. Although the entire program is dominated by the character portrayed by he supporting cast is ious GEORGE ARLISS ay 8 ‘ones 15 nin ‘tliss pictures, Mary Astor, one of the loveliest and most capable of the screen’s wt Ages Kare leading women, plays the part of the young and susceptible wife of the financier. Evalyn Knapp, who played with Arliss in “Yhe Millionaire,” is seen again as his daughter in this picture. William Janney, promising youthful screen and stage actor, is _. the son. Grant Mitchell, himself the ‘featured player in many lesser productions, has the important role of the Wilton butler. David Torrence, Hardie Albright, Hale Hamilton, Fortunio Bonanova, Randolph Scott and Murray Kinnell are featured players. your 2 nd story George Arliss a Stickler for Most Minute Details If genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains, then the success of George Arliss pictures can be credited to an infinite capacity for watching details. Arliss himself is the greatest stickler for details in Hollywood. He spends a great deal of time and thought on items that seem of comparatively little importance, yet which prove to be distinct contributions to ‘the whole effect, once the picture is complete. An example of this painstaking care with which Mr. Arliss makes every decision, is his advice to Fortunio Bonanova, who plays an important supporting role in the latest Arliss Warner Bros. production, “A Successful Calamity,” coming to the ivle gd eaLYe te. c5 Several days before he was scheduled to do his first work, but following the customary two weeks of rehearsals, Bonanova appeared on the Arliss set in makeup and costume to show himself to Mr. Arliss and to Director John Adolfi for approval. At first glance both thought he appeared exactly right. Mr. Arliss, however, studied the actor for some little time. ' “Who tied your tie?” he asked. Bonanova said he had tied it, but could do it differently. “Not differently, perhaps, but better,” Arliss suggested. “He would be very particular. And your hair —it should be more—more— “More ruffled up?” “Exactly. The tie neater. The hair less neat. And you’ll not need the hat,” concluded Arliss. “Otherwise it’s perfect.” your EF story Arliss Has Never Seen Film He Made 8 Years Ago An enterprising property man with a long memory brought an eight-yearold issue of a motion picture trade magazine to the Warner Bros. set where George Arliss and company were making early scenes for the latest Arliss picture, “A Successful Calamity,” coming to the .... TheBLvee oe It contained, among other interesting items, a lengthy discussion of the probability of talking pictures being an unrealizable dream, and a cover advertisement featuring George Arliss in. “$20 a Week.” Arliss made five silent pictures, among which “$20 a Week” is one of the least well known. Even his old associates of pre-talkie days had almost forgotten the production. “Yes—yes, I remember, I made it,” Arliss said when it was called to his attention. “But I never saw it. I was out of the country when it was released—or something happened, I’ve forgotten just what. Anyway I’m sure I never saw the finished picture.” As though reminded by this incident, Mr. Arliss set Jenner, his valet, to the job of getting him seats to the theatre where his most recently released picture, “The Man Who Played God,” was being shown. “No, Mr. Arliss didn’t see that picture yet, either,” Jenner. confessed. “You see he went to the premier showing, but he stayed behind scenes until he made his appearance. He didn’t see the picture that night at all. your Ahan story Business Office Deluxe in “A Successful Calamity” Big business has gone deluxe, according to the Warner Bros. art director, Anton Grot, who designed the | sets for the latest George Arliss pictune, “A a hs ES ture lai Island estate settings, which comes ca to the i. = Pheatres7.7." Wall Street offices, where “big deals” are consummated, are no longer the noisy, busy, plain and practical workrooms of fifty years ago. Multi-millionaires have retreated behind panelled walls, period furniture, Gobelin tapestries, old masters and soft voiced secretaries and assistants. With these specifications in mind the “Wilton Company” offices in “A Successful Calamity” are as nearly as possible replicas of the private offices of one of America’s greatest international bankers. Authentic period furniture, magnificently carved and decorated, richly panelled walls, marble floors covered with antique and costly carpets, luxurious accessories on the desk, copies of old masters on the walls; all of these things went into the sets for this picture. It is a business office deluxe, but it has a counterpart, according to Grot, in every Wall Street skyscraper in New York. your CD ith story George Arliss Owes Start to Adopted Aunt Harriet The end-shaping Divinity which fixes in advance the careers of motion picture celebrities, has had some narrow misses. Every so-called “road of destiny” along which a film star has traveled to reach the heights of fame and fortune has at one time or other skirted dangerously close to the brink of oblivion. For example, if George Arliss, the first gentleman of the screen, coming to: the... Theatre <5 an his newest Warner Bros. picture, “A Successful Calamity,” had not had an “Aunt Harriet” (she was not his real aunt, but the aunt of two boys who were his friends) who found him a place as an “extra gentleman” with George Skinner’s stock company in the Elphant and Castle Theatre in London, the young Arliss could never have won his father’s consent to a stage career and might have been in the publishing business in Bloomsbury to this day. But fate had Aunt Harriet ready at the crucial moment, leaving 4 worried parent without any very logical objection to the boy’s ambition. _To Aunt Harriet, whom the public has long since forgotten, goes in Wall Street and Long | credit for saving a great actor from a business career. But for her “Disraeli” might not now be screen history, “A Successful Calamity” might still be only an excellent but nearly forgotten story, and George Arliss might be just another publisher, instead of the screen’s greatest actor. your Gu story “A Successful Calamity” Abounds With Elegance In their own quiet way, the sets for George Arliss pictures generally turn out to be the most sumptuously dressed of all pictures. “A Successful Calamity,” a Warner Bros. hit, coming Ao ibe “ox 2 Theatté i. <5 is no exception to this rule. Almost without exception — the George Arliss pictures have been made from stories which require rich and artistic settings. “Disraeli” was told against a lovely background of aristocratic English manors. ‘The Green Goddess” developed in an atmosphere of almost suffocating East Indian elegance. “Old English” was more somber in its settings, but what few there were, were marked for the rich splendor of an old English house. “The Millionaire” forced Warner Bros. to build sets of unprecedented splendor and “Alexander Hamilton” was one of the most exquisitely “dressed” pictures ever brought to the screen. As “The Man Who Played God,” Arliss played a wealthy artist type whose Paris apartment and New York home were both equally perfect in appointment and furnishings. And now, in his newest picture, “A Successful Calamity,” a story of the New York’s “richest rich,” every set and every room in every set has been built and decorated in keeping with the background of the international banker played by Arliss. In this picture, for the first time, extreme modern decorations are introduced, not, it may be added, with the approval of the character played by Arliss. Aside from these, however, the picture unfolds in an atmosShere of “restrair elegance more impressive than any previous Arliss production. your re story Public Urged from Pulpit to See George Arliss Film During the making of his latest Warner Bros. picture, “A Successful Calamity,” coming to the... . Theatre .... , the preceding picture starring George Arliss, “The Man Who Played God,” was generally released. It brought him more personal correspondence than any picture he has ever made and his spare time during the making of “A Successful Calamity” was pretty well used up in answering telegrams, letters and printed comments about the previous picture. Perhaps the most unique thing about the general acclaim with which “The Man Who Played God” was received by the clergy as well as the lay public was the fact that practically every creed and denomination was represented among the commenters and complimenters. The picture itself was used as a sermon topic, with ministers, priests and rabbis urging their congregations to see the picture for its moral as well as for its entertainment value. “Alexander Hamilton” as a play had brought Arliss the most correspondence of any of his stage productions, not even excepting. the famous “Disraeli,” but “The Man Who Played God” set new records for all time, so far as the actor was concerned, in personal messages of congratulation and approval. your 2B th story Mary Astor’s Ambition Won Her Current Role That same determined spirit which took Mary Astor from a small poultry farm in Hlinois to fame and fortune in New York and Hollywood won for her the -right to play the leading feminine role in the new George Arliss picture, “A Successful Calamity,” coming to the ... . Theatre next There are always any number of well known actresses anxious to play in pictures opposite the famous Warner Bros. star, but Miss Astor won the coveted honor against a dozen capable and anxious applicants. Her exquisite beauty and proved ability led to her selection, but back of these natural resources is her remarkable will to win, evidenced in a hundred ways in the story of her life and career. ADVANCE SHORTS Harold Minjur Appears in George Arliss’ Latest Harold Minjur, stage and screen Seeks actor, appears in a featured role of Quincy, IlliGeorge Arliss’ forthcoming Warner oan : Sed Bros. picture, “A Successful Calam fee | ibys Gt: the ss cs Ed héatre next... Soe ee Pe graduate of the University of years old : California at Berkeley, Minjur began his theatrical career as an actor and director for the university Little Theatre. Mary Astor and Evalyn Knapp are leading ladies for Mr. Arliss in “A Successful Calamity,” while other featured players in the cast include Hardie Albright, William Janney, Randolph Scott, Donald Dilloway, moved with her family to a small poultry. ranch near that city. While still in the “pig tail” age, she reg‘istered an in terest in the} David Torrence, Grant Mitchell and eo stage and|Murray Kinnell. John Adolfi. diCut 15¢ Mat Se early in her| rected, “teens” her understanding mother took her to Chicago to start the training necessary to realize the girl’s ambition. Encouraged by winning a beauty award offered by an eastern magazine, Mary and her mother moved to New York, where she again attracted attention by winning another beauty prize. In the months that followed she appeared in numerous two and three reel screen serials and in several longer but now forgotten features. “The Bright Shawl” with Richard Barthelmess was her first outstanding success, after which she went to Hollywood under contract to a major film studio. Her first marriage to Kenneth Hawks ended tragically when the plane in which her director husband was flying, while directing scenes in Mary Astor Plays Female Lead With George Arliss Mary Astor, who was selected by George Arliss. to be his leading lady in his next Warner Bros. starring picture, “A Successful Calamity,” which comes to the.... Theatre...., won that honor after half a dozen prominent screen actresses were tested for the role. “A Successful Calamity” is a sprightly comedy-drama based upon a stage play by Clare Kummer. David Torrence Again in George Arliss Picture One of the principal roles in George Arliss’ next picture tor Warner Bros., “A Successful Calamity,” com ce : Se ing to-the’.. .-. Theatre. 3-435 an air picture, fell into the ocean, | 8 : ‘ , killing all the occupants. She has| Played by David Torrence, who recently married Dr. Franklyn | Played the role of Governor of the Bank of England in “Disraeli.” Mary Astor plays the leading woman. “A Successful Calamity” was adapted from the stage by Clare Kummer, in which William Gillette starred several] seasons ago. John Adolfi directed. Thorpe, prominent Los Angeles sur geon. your 2, story Members of Old Arliss cote U7 38 ae —_ e an nls os 4 aS G Ore: ee B= aoaae a It is hardly possible to assemble a cast for a new George Arliss picture without finding that one or more of its members has at one time or another been associated with Arliss in a stage or screen production. The new Arliss picture by Warner Bros. “A Successful Calamity,” which comes -tothes. =.=... 1 heatre next . » is no exception. The supporting cast of that picture includes David Torrence, Evalyn Knapp and Murray Kinnell. Torrence, famous actor in his own right, played an important part in “Disraeli” for a number of seasons on the stage and in the prize-winning screen version of the same play. Kinnell was the heavy for Mr. Arliss’ successful production, “Old English,” on both stage and screen. Miss Knapp was the ingenue lead in the picture, “The Millionaire.” To date every talking picture in which Mr. Arliss has starred has had one or more players in the cast who had previously appeared in productions with the famous actor. your 10. story Hardie Albright Has Amusing Role With Arliss Hardie Albright, who plays an amusing role in the new Warner Bros. George Arliss picture, “A Suc George Arliss, whose monocle has long since ceased being a curiosity on the Warner Bros. lot, has a companion in the art of wearing the single eyeglass successfully in the cast Calamity,” now at the .... Theatre. David Torrence, famous character actor, who plays a supporting role in this picture, wears a monocle as han-: dily as does the star of the production—and in the same eye—the right. Both Arliss and ‘Torrence need the glass to perfect their vision for read ing. Prize Oriental Antique Rug Used on Arliss Set For the beautification of the great home set for the new George Arliss picture, “A Successful Calamity,” now at the .... Theatre, Warner Bros. unrolled their choicest possession, an enormous antique Bokhara rug, reserved by the studio for only special occasions, The great oriental carpet, more than forty feet long and measuring twenty-one feet across, is deep blood red and black in color. It is primarily a museum piece, but for the magnificent living room in.the Wilton house, one of the most luxurious sets ever designed for pictures, it fits the center of the great drawing room to perfection. George Arliss on Screen in cessful Calamity,” coming to the so» Lheatre next. is. );bepgan: his} <6 Aa dramatic career as an assistant to the AS uccessf ul Calamity “marvelous, mysterious, mystifying} George Arliss’ next starring pic ture for Warner Bros., “A Successful Calamity,” from the stage-play by Clare Kummer, comes to the... . Theatre. Grant Mitchell and Mary Astor head the supporting cast. Helen Wills Offers to Coach Arliss at Tennis Helen Wills Moody, the world’s greatest woman tennis player, called on George Arliss at the Warner Bros. Studios, while he was making “A Successful Calamity,” which comes to the... . Theatre, Mrs. Moody has long been an admirer of Arliss, but they had never met before. She promised to give him free tennis lessons any time he cares to try a hand at the game. He, in turn, offered to give her free lessons in monocle-wearing, acting and contract bridge. Vandergould” in sawing women in half. The mysterious Vandergould was Hardie’s brother who toured the country as “Billy” Vandergould, the magician, and the younger Albright faced his first audiences as a member of that troupe. It was some years later, however, when Hardie was a student at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, that he became seriously interested in dramatics with the result that he went almost directly from college to the New York stage. He worked for a time with Eve La Gallienne’s repertory theatre and then alternated New York productions and stock companies on_ the road for a season or two. He came to Hollywood under contract a few mnths ago and has been seen to date in “Young Sinners,” “Hush Money,” “Skyline,” “Heartbreak,” “So Big” and “Jewel Robbery.” Page Three Not Alone on Warner sei of his latest picture, “A Successful