Garden of the Moon (Warner Bros.) (1938)

6 ADVANCE PUBLICITY JOE VENUTI CALLED CHAMP OF WORLD'S SWING VIOLINISTS Joe Venuti, who plays the part of a member of the orchestra in Warner Bros.’ production of “Garden of the Moon,” which opens Friday at the Strand Theatre, is the most famous jazz or swing violinist of the decade, aceording to no less an authority than Hugues Panassie, author of “Le Jazz Hot,” definitive French work on that type of popular music. “Le Jazz Hot,” translated into English and published by M. Witmark & Sons, considers during its course the greatest white and colored swing virtuosos, with Venuti heading the list of violinists. The list includes Stephane Grappely, Michel Warlop, Eddie South and Juice Wilson, the next four greatest swing violinists, in Panassie’s estimation. Venuti is cited particularly for his violin solos of “Black and Blue Bottom,” “From Monday On,” “My Baby Came Home,” “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” “Humpty Dumpty,” “Rockin’ Chair,” “Raggin’ the Seale” and “Jigsaw Puzzle Blues.” Panassie’s comment reads: “Violinists are searce in hot orchestras, but there are, nevertheless, some remarkable specialists who cannot be overlooked. The most famous is a white man, Joe Venuti. In the recordings listed in the appendix, one can admire the variety and beauty of his melodie invention and his inexhaustible imagination. Venuti has made the violin an excellent mstrument for hot interpretation.” Venuti was told about Panassie’s accolade one day on the set of “Garden of the Moon.” “Tf just thought I was fiddlin,” was his comment. iiieeisimarnnsinintednensininieieemneeanemmenamaeinal MEET JOHN PAYNE HOLLYWOOD'S NEW MISTER CINDERELLA Hollywood’s latest Cinderella story has a hero instead of a heroine, The hero is John Payne and his pumpkin coach is the role Dick Powell eschewed in Warner Bros.’ production of ‘‘*‘Garden of the Moon,’’ which opens Friday at the Strand Theatre. Payne has been in Hollywood since he made his film debut in ‘*Dodsworth,’’ playing a small role.. During that time he has appeared in a few minor pictures, although under contract all the time. He was languishing on the vine and unable to do anything about it. Finally, however, ha obtained a release from his contract which permitted him to step out and prove himself. No seoner did he have his release, than Warners signed him to a term contract. A few days after that Powell stepped out of the ‘‘Garden of the Moon’’ role meant for him, and Warner immediately cast Payne in it, taking advantage of his appearance (he’s Lundsome) and singing ability (he sang in Broadway musical comedy before coming to Hollywood). Payne’s role in ‘‘Garden of the Moon’? gives him the opportunity to share stellar honors with Pat O’Brien. The young actor plays the orchestra leader in the ‘‘Garden of the Moon’’ and O’Brien is its manager. And again Hollywood writes a Cinderella yarn, this time changing the sex of its leading player. Pat Gets A Ride When Frank McHugh saw Pat O’Brien wearing a fancy Hast Indian turban on the set of “Garden of the Moon,” the Warner Bros. musical coming to the Strand Theatre, he said, “Yogi your way and Ill go mine,” and now they’re not speaking. SOS Mut 2038—30c LOVE IS WHERE YOU FIND IT and Margaret Lindsay and John Payne find it in the “Garden of the Moon,” their co-starring musical comedy which will have its local premiere on Friday at the Strand. Margaret Lindsay Is Now Yankee Girl For Keeps Margaret Lindsay is a new personality again. Margaret, it will be recalled, left lowa as one personality and came back from England as another. After a few years in Hollywood trying to live down the hoax which got her that ‘‘Cavaleade’’ job, Margaret has decided to be a different person all over again. This time she got her cue from a film role, too. ‘‘Cavaleade,’’ which established her personality then, is being forgotten for ‘‘Garden of the Moon,’’ her Warner Bros. picture and the first in which she steps up among the so-called ‘‘glamour gals’’ of Hollywood. Margaret is an American this time and a lady press agent besides, as well as the love interest of Pat O’Brien and John Payne. She used to be second lead or menace, but no role was without a certain touch of ‘‘heavy.’’ ‘‘Garden of the Moon,’’ which opens Friday at the Strand Theatre, is, however, a romantic comedy, so the young lady took her cue from that. The studio agreed with Margaret that it was time to change personalities. It is cooperating by lining up future roles of appropriately glamorous content. It is helping also in those behind-thescenes ways at which studios ean sometimes be adept. The Lindsay ‘*olamourizing’’ includes several new style things. A make-up device, for instance, made a new head of Margaret’s for the camera. The geniuses of the coiffure department did a very simple thing -—— they lightened the ends of her hair. Ag a result, the . brunette beauty of La Lindsay is surrounded by a nice halo. ‘*As soon as that was done,’’ says Margaret, ‘‘I felt my personality lighten.’’ Another step in the process was her costuming. Howard Shoup is the Lindsay designer. He whips up sleek things without what the couturiers call frou-frou. The dresses she wears in ‘‘Garden of the Moon’’ were molded to her body. They were sheaths and very simple. They come under that worn description of ‘‘elegant simplicity.?* Margaret has changed conversationally, too. She started speaking less English English than American English. She noted, she explains, that most screen roles called for American girls. She thinks she may have lost some plums on aecount of the Picadilly accent. ‘“¥rom now on,’’ says Margaret, ‘*T shall never talk about the ‘Cavaleade’ matter. The hoax served its purpose and then I thought I could forget it, but it has ridden me all the time since. I’ve got it licked now and I’m a new Lindsay. After ‘Garden of the Moon’ I’m going to be a Broadway gal in ‘Broadway Musketeers.’’ I wouldn’t have got parts like that if I hadn’t decided to drop the skin I put on seven years ago for the newer, but very much more natural one.’’ @ Motion Pictures Are Your Best Entertainment @ Speak tae. Ot Pare When John Payne made his screen debut in a small role in “Dodsworth,” his home town of Roanoke, Va., gave him top billing. The marquees and posters read like this: “John Payne in ‘Dodsworth’ with Walter Huston and Ruth Chatterton.” Johnny’s latest billing really places him on the top line with Pat O’Brien and Margaret Lindsay in “Garden of the Moon,’ the Warner Bros. musical opening Friday at the Strand Theatre. Jerry Colonna’s virtuosity in the art of double talk, led to Busby Berkeley’s inclusion of some of it in ‘‘Garden of the Moon,’’ the Warner Bros. musical which is the current feature at the Strand Theatre. Colonna is said by those who understand it to be the country’s greatest master of double-talk. He makes phonograph records in that and half a dozen varieties of pig Latin. And it sounds real! S ters Margaret Lindsay played a lady press agent in “Garden. of the Moon,” the Warner Bros. musical opening Friday at the Strand Theatre. She decided to learn about publicity in the Warner Bros. department, and spent a day in the various offices learning how to publicize. Her one day course gave her a sense for news. She sent for a photographer and a frankfurter on roll. Then she wrote a caption for the picture of her eating it. The caption was: “Woman Bites Dog.” Jimmie Fidler, film columnist and radio commentator who portrayed himself in ‘‘Garden of the Moon,’’ the Warner Bros. musical opening Friday at the Strand Theatre, set up offices at the studio for the six weeks he worked in the picture, doing his radio and newspaper work between takes. A full staff occupied the Fidler suite of offices on the set. idler Was Actor Before Gossip Became An Industry Contrary to general belief, ‘*Garden of the Moon,’’ the Warner Bros. musical pieture opening Friday at the Strand Theatre, isn’t Jimmie Fidler’s first appearanee in a featured role on the sereen. Jimmie was an actor before he became a newspaper columnist and radio commentator. It was twenty years ago, right after the war had ended and Jimmie returned to his home town of Memphis fresh out of the Marines and movie-struck. Jimmie told about it on the set of ‘‘Garden of the Moon,’’ in which he plays himself. ‘“When I got home to Memphis from the Marines,’’ he related, ‘‘] SE Mat 110—15¢ JIMMIE FIDLER, radio’s ace movie commentator, turns actor and plays the role of Jimmie Fidler in “Garden of the Moon” coming to the Strand Theatre. was looking for excitement and picked on Hollywood. Film Fun magazine was running a contest for men and women candidates for stardom at the time. I had some pictures taken in Memphis and entered them under the name of James M. Fidler. “*T eouldn’t wait, however,’’ he continued, ‘‘so I made my way out to Hollywood. I was going to be an actor. I had some more pictures taken out there. I looked very different in the Hollywood stills, so I entered the same contest under the name of James M. Marion. ‘““A few days later my folks forwarded a letter telling me— that is, James M. Fidler—that the contest sponsors were sorry that I hadn’t won first place, although I had made a good showing. Then I got a letter out in Hollywood addressed to James M. Marion, that he had won first place and a sereen test.’’ From then until 1920, Fidler played bit roles, eventually getting a chance to play Wally Reid’s brother in one of the late star’s series of ‘‘speed’’ pictures. Then the motion picture industry’s first big shutdown came and Jimmie nearly starved. He finally got a job as one of Sid Grauman’s see retaries at the Egyptian Theatre, when the impresario was putting on his famous prologues. Jimmie’s first job with Grauman was to separate the pretty girls from the others who applied for jobs in the prologues. One of the girls he passed was Olive A} corn She got a job without a test, but they found out that Olive could do little more than a bubble dance. Grauman called on the pub licity department to think of something, but they couldn’t. The future press agent «and columnist thought of something. He suggested that Olive be taken to Laguna Beaeh, where half 4 dozen artists who were starving would select her as the most beautiful girl in the eountry for a mere five bucks. The project was a success and another publicity man was born. Successful publicity work led him to film columning as Hollywood’s first dramatie editor. An idea while doing that work led to syndication. Then the country went up in arms against Hollywood after the Arbuckle case. That ended the syndicate business for Fidler and he went back to publicity work. Ten years of that, working for companies and then for himself, gave him a neat little nest-egg of $250,000 and early retirement. The erash fixed that up and Fid ler went back to work. Publicity, magazine writing and broadeasting eventually developed and several years of pretty hard and acute Hollywood aetivity led to his present eminence as a radio commentator and widely syndicated movie columnist. BRISK TEMPO SET FOR MUSICAL FILM Busby Berkeley, who started in the motion picture business as a dance director, has carried over to his straight direction jobs the musical method. He introduced the metronome to the set of ‘‘Garden of the Moon,’’ the Warner Bros. production coming to the Strand Theatre next Friday. He used it as an aid to rhythm and tempo in acting and the performance of ‘‘business.’’ Heretofore Berkeley figured things out to a count, generally in units of twelve. Camera cranes and players moved according to his count. The metronome, however, offered several advantages over plain counting, Berkeley discovered. It didn’t vary, for one thing, as counting out loud invariably did. The regular beat of a metronome is insistent and pentrates to the mind more effectively, too, than counting. Berkeley worked out action to the rhythmical beat in certain scenes of ‘‘Garden of the Moon.’’ He thought he would achieve that way, the smoothness and rhythm of action that were necessary. Mat 201—30c GOIN’ TO TOWN — Johnnie Davis toots his trumpet with plenty of encouragement from Margaret Lindsay and John Payne, in a scene from “Garden of the Moon,” Warner Bros’ swingy new musical which is scheduled to open at the Strand Theatre on Friday.