Convention City (Warner Bros.) (1933)

GUY KIBBEE Guy Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas, on March 6, 1886, weighs 200 pounds and is 5 feet 10 inches tall. Launched upon a stage career at an early age, he toured the country for years with various stock companies and won attention as one of America’s most capable actors. His performance in the Broadway production, ‘‘The Torch Song,’’ was so outstanding that Hollywood summoned him for important screen roles, and since his introduction to movie audiences, he has gained a huge following among the fans. His more recent pictures include ‘‘Havana Widows,’’ ‘‘The World Changes,’’ ‘‘ Lilly Turner,’’ ‘‘ The Silk Express,’’ ‘‘The Life of Jimmy ODolan,’’ ‘‘Girl Missing,’’ ‘42nd Street,’’ ‘‘Footlight Parade’? and ‘‘Gold Diggers of 1933.2? RUTH DONNELLY Ruth Donnelly was born in Trenton, N, J., a niece of Mayor Fred Donnelly of that city, who has the long distance record of holding down that chair for twenty-two years. She was trained for the stage from childhood and started her theatrical career in the chorus with Ina Claire in ‘‘The Quaker Girl.’’ She was with George M. Cohan four years and played comedy leads with Broadway shows for many seasons before entering pictures. Miss Donnelly went to Hollywood a little more than a year ago, appearing in minor roles in several pictures. Her first distinctive hit came with her role in ‘‘Blessed Event,’’ after which she was signed by Warner Bros. Her recent pictures include ‘*Havana Widows,’’ ‘‘Female,’’ ‘*Pootlight Parade,’’ ‘‘Bureau of Missing Persons,’’ ‘Goodbye Again,’’ ‘‘Private Detective 62,’? ‘‘Lilly Turner’? and ‘‘Ever in My Heart.’? FRANK McHUGH Frank McHugh has been on the stage since his early youth. Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, of theatrical parents, Frank’s earliest thoughts were of the theatre. Following years as a trouper in many stock companies throughout the United States and Canada, he was induced by his friend, Frank Fay, to accept a role with the latter in ‘‘Bright Lights.’’ His work drew the attention of screen audiences and after having given outstanding performances in many pictures, he was signed under a loug term contract by the Warner Bros. His latest pictures include ‘‘ Havana Widows,’’ ‘‘Elmer The Great,’? ‘‘One Way Passage,’’ ‘‘The Mystery of The Wax Museum,’’ ‘‘Life Begins,’’ ‘‘ExLady,’’ ‘‘Footlight Parade’’ and ‘¢Lilly Turner.’’ GORDON WESTCOTT Gordon Westcott was born in St. George, Utah, the son of a minister, a profession he himself prepared for at the University of Utah. Later he decided upon a journalistic career and attended Columbia University with this in mind. He became interested in the theatre through having written a melodrama which was produced by a stock company. Eventually he organized his own stock company and played character parts which led to Broadway productions of note and eventually to the screen. His most recent pictures include ‘*Dark Hazard,’’ ‘‘Footlight Parade,’’ ‘‘Bureau of Missing Persons,’’ ‘‘Goodbye Again,’’ ‘‘She Had To Say Yes,’’ ‘‘Lilly Turner’? and ‘‘The World Changes.’’ Ciast Biographies ADOLPHE MENJOU Adolphe Menjou was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., of French and Irish parentage. He was educated at Culver Military Academy and Cornell University where he studied mechanical engineering and got a smat tering of college theatricals. After graduation he turned to the stage and joined a stock company in Cleveland, Ohio. Later he decided on a screen career and played with several important players, including Marguerite Clark. When the war broke out, he went to the front with the Cornell unit as a private and came back a Captain. Reentering picture work after the war his first big success was with Charles Chaplin in ‘‘A Woman of Paris.’’ From that time on he has been playing leading and stellar roles. Some of his more recent pictures include ‘‘Morning Glory,’’ ‘*The Worst Woman in Paris,’’ ‘‘The Murder of a Cireus Queen,’’ ‘‘A Farewell To Arms’’ and ‘‘The Front Page.’’?’ He was recently signed by Warner Bros.First National on a long term contract, his first picture being ‘‘Con vention City.’’ JOAN BLONDELL + 4 Mat No. 19 Price 10c¢ In less than two years from the time that Joan Blondell, a native New Yorker, was brought to Hollywood to appear with James Cagney, in the Warner Bros. picture, ‘‘Sinner’s Holiday,’’ she has become a star and one of the season’s greatest box office attractions, From earliest infancy, Joan’s life has been closely allied with the theatre. Her father, a well-known vaudeville performer for twenty years, carried his family with him in his treks across the country on the various vaudeville circuits and each and every member of the group had a part in the act not excluding even the baby, Joan, when she was scarcely able to walk. Following her sensational debut in ‘‘Sinner’s Holiday,’’ Joan was featured in a number of pictures. Her more recent successes include ‘‘Havana Widows,’’ ‘‘Footlight Parade,’’ ‘‘Gold Diggers of 1933,’? ‘*Goodbye Again,’’ ‘‘Blondie Johnson’’ and ‘‘Lawyer Man.’? HUGH HERBERT Hugh Herbert was born in New York City and was educated in the public schools there. After finishing high school, he got a position with the Fall River, Massachusetts, stock company. Later he returned to New York, playing in more than sixty plays and sketches there and other cities. He went to Los Angeles with the musical comedy, ‘‘ Exposures of 1927,’’ and shortly thereafter was engaged to play in talking pic tures. His first screen part, in fact, was to talk behind a screen for one of the first ‘‘talkies.’’ Herbert collaborated with Murray Roth in writing the first all talking picture, ‘‘Lights of New York,’’ which was produced by Warner Bros. He has written a number of screen plays, notable among them, ‘‘The Great Gabbo’’ for Louis Stroheim. His recent pictures include ‘*College Coach,’’? ‘‘Footlight Parade,’’ ‘‘Bureau of Missing Persons,’’ ‘‘Goodbye Again’’ and ‘‘She Had To Say Yes.’’ MARY ASTOR Mary Astor was born in Quincy, Ill., where her father was a teacher in the local schools. Later she went to Chicago where her mother secured a position as teacher in the Kenwood Loring school for girls. Mary entered the same school to study diction and drama. She entered a beauty contest conducted by a motion picture magazine and won an honorable mention in the preliminaries, So she went to New York, got into the finals and came out second. Mary then worked in a New York studio playing in short subjects and finally was selected to play opposite Huntley Gordon. Later she played leads with Eugene O’Brien and Glenn Hunter. Finally she turned to Hollywood where she appeared in a number of outstanding features. Among her more recent pictures are ‘‘ The World Changes,’’ ‘‘Jennie Gerhardt,’’ ‘The Kennel Murder Case,’’ ‘‘A Suecessful Calamity’? and ‘*The Little Giant.’’ She is married and has a baby daughter. DICK POWELL Dick Powell, born in Mt. View, Arkansas, won a screen contract with Warner Bros. through his musical talents, having been lifted bodily from a Master of Ceremon_les position in a Pittsburgh Theatre to an important part in ‘*Blessed Event.’’ As a result of his work in that picture, he was given an important role in ‘‘42nd Street.’? Though he had had no previous stage or screen experience he showed such natural talents as an actor that he was put under a long term contract by Warner Bros. His latest pictures include ‘‘College Coach,’’ ‘‘ Footlight Parade,’’ ““Gold Diggers of 1933,’’ ‘*42nd Street,’’ ‘‘Too Busy to Work,’’ and ‘‘Blessed Event.’’ PATRICIA ELLIS Patricia Ellis was born in New York, the daughter of Alexander Leftwich, one of that city’s most noted stage directors and producers. She has been on the stage since the time she was old enough to walk and has appeared in the last few years in such Broadway productions as ‘‘The Royal Family,’’ “Once In a_ Lifetime,’’ and ‘“Elizabeth the Queen.’ ’ Signed to a contract a few months ago to Warner Bros., Miss Ellis has made remarkable strides playing important roles in ‘‘The World Changes,’’ ‘‘Elmer the Great,’’ ‘Picture Snatcher,’’ ‘The King’s Vacation,’’ ‘‘Central Park,’’ ‘‘ Three On a Match’? and ‘‘The Narrow Corner.’’ JOAN BLONDELL—“‘Havana Widows,” “Footlight Parade,” “Gold Diggers of 1933,” “Goodbye Again,” “Blondie Johnson,” “Lawyer Man.” ADOLPHE MENJOU—“‘The Worst Woman In Paris,’ “Morning Glory,” “The Murder of the Circus Queen,” “A Farewell To Arms,” “The Front Page.” DICK POWELL—“College Coach,” “Footlight Parade,” “Gold Diggers of 1933,” “42nd Street,” “Too Busy To Work,” “Blessed Event.” MARY ASTOR—“The World Changes,” “The Kennel Murder Case,” “Jennie Gerhardt,” “The Little Giant,” “A Successful Calamity.” GUY KIBBEE—“‘Havana Widows,” “The World Changes,” “Footlight Parade,” “The Silk Express,” “Lilly Turner,” “42nd Street,” “Girl Missing.” FRANK McHUGH—‘Havana Widows,” “Footlight Parade,” “Lilly Turner,” “Elmer the Great,” “Son of a Sailor,” “Ex-Lady,” “Parachute Jumper.” PATRICIA ELLIS—“The World Changes,” “The Narrow Corner,” “Picture Snatcher,” “Central Park,” “Elmer the Great,” “Three on a Match.” RUTH DONNELLY — “Footlight Parade,” “Havana Widows,” “Bureau of Missing Persons,” “Goodbye Again,” “Lilly Turner.” HUGH HERBERT—‘College Coach,” “Footlight Parade,” “Bureau of Missing Persons,” “Goodbye Again,” “She Had To Say Yes.” HOBART CAVANAUGH — “Dark Hazard,” “Havana ' Widows,” “From Headquarters.” GORDON WESTCOTT—Dark Hazard,” “Footlight Parade,” “Bureau of Missing Persons,” “Affairs of Voltaire,’ “Heroes For Sale.” ARCHIE MAYO (director)—“Ever In My Heart,” “The Mayor of Hell,” “The Life of Jimmy Dolan,” “Two Against the World,” “Street of Women.” Page Twenty-three