Five Star Final (Warner Bros.) (1931)

“ONE OF THE MOST ENTERTAIN “TTDfor circulation STARTS TODAY! FIVE STAR « FINAL « with EDWARD G. ROBINSON Brutal as the exploiteer of sex-——but with a conscience beneath his journalistic mask! H. B. WARNER MARIAN MARSH ANTHONY BUSHELL—GEORGE E. STONE FRANCES STARR — Directed. by — MERVYN LEROY BIGGEST DRAMA THAT EVER HIT THE SCREEN ONA MUNSON yr A FIRST NATIONAL % VITAPHONE PICTURE "Cut No. I “Cut 606 Mat r5¢ SPLIT-SCREEN DEVICE IN “FIVE STAR FINAL” (Advance Reader) When “Five Star Final,” the First National screen version of the Broadway hit, starring Edward G. Robinson, and coming to the Theatre filmed, difficulty was foreseen in presenting the three scenes which are played simultaneously in the stage version. SS a ee or next, was being The cleverness of Mervyn Le Roy, the director, overcame the obstacle. The scenes were shot separately but space was left for the insertion of dialogue, interlocking in the different parts, quite without confusion. Those who have seen it consider it one of the cleverest bits of screen-craft yet executed. Page Six “Five Star Final’ Tragedy Duplicated In Real Life (Advance Reader) When “Five Star Final” the First National screen version of which, starring Edward G. Robinson, comes to the. eee ee eee Theatre So ae *....next, was presented at the Cort Theatre in New York, in the storm of critical applause one reviewer expressed the doubt that a mother would commit suicide because of the disgrace of her daughter because of newspaper disclosure of the parent’s past life. This opinion was disproved in real life soon after, by the daughter of a mother so exploited who did as Nancy Townsend does in the sensational play. Edward G. Robinson plays the part of the managing editor of the scandal sheet. Mervyn Le Roy directed. Weitzenkorn Masterpiece Brilliantly Screened (Advance Reader) “Five Star Final,” Louis Weitzenkorn’s stage success, the First National screen version of which, starring Edward G. Robinson, comes to CROSe ee a Theatre 5 ER weap Sse next—was originaily written in twenty-one scenes, set on a turn-table with three stages which switched backgrounds in a few seconds. This fact made it ideal for film transcription, with only minor changes of dialogue, according to Byron Morgan who did the screen play. Mervyn Le Roy who directed Mr. Robinson in “Little Caesar” has been as successful in his direction of “Five Star Final’, a sensational newspaper melodrama. pany’s | temperature of the set at a livable ROBINSON IMPRESSED BY NEW FAST FILM USED IN “FIVE STAR FINAL” HIS LATEST FIRST NATIONAL FILM Ultra Sensitive Negative Does Away With Powerful Lights Making Set More Comfortable For Actors (Practical and Interesting Feature—Plant in No. 1 Paper 6 Days Before) Edward G. Robinson, coming to the ‘‘Five Star Final,’’ his latest First next in Theatre National starring vehicle, is interested in the mechanical phases of picture making as well as the artistic. The new “fast film’ which was used in making “Five Star Final” igs the most revolutionary change he has noted since he made “Little CaeThe fast film is a celluloid with an emulsion sar” and “Smart Money.” needing only sixty percent of the light formerly used in motion photography. The last of the three Robinson films shows a clearer and much more finely etched surface than any done by the old method. Before adopting it for “Five Star Final,” Mervyn Le Roy, the director, subjected the film to many tests. He photographed the sky every hour from dawn to dusk, took snaps of automobiles hurling by at sixty miles an hour, as well as close-ups of such diminutive a thing as sugar dissolving in tea. The results were altogether satisfactory. The same equipment is used in pho-| | ‘tography and projection, the only change being in the chemical coat on the celluloid itself. The benefits to be derived are many, including outdoor shooting on days when insufficent light would postpone a com“ InJe and keeping ft? level. Only those who have spent entire days in sound-proof, air-proof amphitheatres can realize the stifling heat generated by fifty are lights glaring at a concentrated area devoid of circulating air currents. On studio sets today no single shot can take over five minutes at most. This is not due to the difficulty of recording a perfect scene of that length, but to the physical impossibility of maintaining the light required for a continuous five minutes. Motion picture light for interiors and even exterior shots are being built indoors now—comes from immense lamps which can ignite paper a foot from the fiame. As many as fifty of these can be grouped around a scene involving two persons at a breakfast table, the combination of which makes a miniature inferno. The lamps themselves become injured if allowed to burn for five minute intervals. The most frequent ery on a studio set is “kill the lights” —which means give the lamps a chance to cool off—while the overhead continues and expensive actors lose the mood of their lines. In “Five Star Final” Le Roy experienced the pleasant if novel sensation of not having to half his shooting once during the entire production. In fact a very sizeable portion of the schedule was lopped off by Edward G. Robinson’s willingness to rehearse under the few lights required for the new film. The usual practice has been for the players to rehearse in the twilight which sound-stages enjoy, with “lights resting.” Then the players group themselves, in positions they will occupy when the shooting begins and the lights are turned on; but not the cameras. This step is for the cameras, as many as four, to adjust themselves to the lighting and action of the scene. Then the lights have to be doused again to permit cooling. With the need of only sixty percent of the usual light, however, the “Five Star Final” company _rehearsed while the lights were on, thus permitting the cameramen to adjust their lenses and positions during rehearsal. By the time rehearsals “What do I care if she’s an innocent girl— PRINT THAT STORY ?” “Ruin aw make news” — the creed of Randall, merciless scandal sheet editor! See him stalk through the smoking episodes of jazz journalism in the sensational dramatic hit FIVE STAR FINAL with EDWARDG. ROBINSON H. B. WARNER MARIAN MARSH FRANCES STARR GEORGE STONE STRAND Hey, NOW PLAYING ..¢ Cut No. 12 Cut 20c Mat 5c were through Director LeRoy began shooting, saving a repetition of the scene, the wait for the lamps to cool, and many expensive short tempers all around. “Five Star Final” is an adaptation of Louis Weitzenkorn’s sensational Broadway stage hit. Mr. Robinson’s support includes Marian Marsh, H. B. Warner, Anthony Bushell, George E. Stone, Francis Starr, Ona Munson, Boris Karloff, Robert Elliott, Aline MacMahon, Purnell Pratt, David Torrence, Oscar Apfel, Gladys Lloyd (wife of the star), Evelyn Hall and Harold Waldridge.