Living on Velvet (Warner Bros.) (1935)

DAILY PUBLICITY LEAD-OFF STORY . 4 ‘Living On Velvet’ With Kay Francis Booked By Strand ‘‘Living on Velvet,’’?’ a First National Picture which is heralded as a powerful drama with a most unusual romance, is scheduled as the feature attraction at the............ Se ede) ees ‘THOGUIO< Olea Gao. It has an all-star cast, headed by Kay Francis, who has two leading men'in Warren William and George Brent. The story tells of two men in love with the same girl, each of whom tries to give her up for the other man. Brent, portraying a dashing daredevil, whose mental attitude toward life has been warped by a terrific airplane accident in which his parents and his sister are all killed, and he escaped, considers himself the same as a ‘‘dead’’ man, and rushes from one mad escapade to another, trying but unable to forget. He is always saved from the consequences of his rash acts by his friend, a part played by Warren William, who stands by him like the Rock of Gibraltar. When Brent falls in love with the woman his friend is hoping to marry, he rushes away. But Kay Francis, who has the role, is also infatuated with the aviator and sends the one friend she can always depend on, Warren William, to find the irresponsible youth and marries him in spite of the opposition of her family. Follows a series of trying experiences at domesticity, for which the man is utterly unfitted and in which he nearly wrecks the girl’s life. Then in a mad moment he smashes his own life in a thrilling situation said to be one of the most dynamic climaxes of any picture ever screened. Other important characters in the story include Helen Lowell, Henry O’Neill, Russell Hicks, Maude Turner Gordon, Samuel Hinds, Martha Merrill and Edgar Kennedy. The picture is a Frank Borzage production, directed by him from the story and screen play by Jerry Wald and Julius Epstein. Regular Guy Warren William could take it and grin—so long as it made Kay Francis happy—even if it meant giving her up to George Brent, merry mad-cap of the air. These three Warner Bros. stars, in this one sparkling romance, will open in First National s “Living on Velvet” at the Theatre on Mat No. 10—10c PRODUCTION STORY r Kay Francis Has Stunning Gowns In Her New Film Long recognized as one of the best-dressed women of the screen, Kay Francis fairly outdoes herself in the matter of wardrobe in her forthcoming First National production, ‘‘ Living On Velvet,’’ now showing at the .................. Theatre. In the picture, directed by Frank Borzage, Miss Franzis wears no less than seventeen new creations ranging in type from simple housedresses to stunning evening gowns. One of the most gorgeous is an ultra-modern bridal trousseau. Orry-Kelly, famous style creator of the Warner Brothers studio, designed the frocks and dresses from suggestions brought back by Miss Francis from a trip abroad. Kay portrays a young woman of fashion, who turns her back on wealth and security to wed a man who offered her nothing but the right to love him. In addition to the star, the cast of ‘‘Living On Velvet,’’ the story of a wife’s problems with a careless, reckless, mad _ flier-husband, consists of George Brent, Warren William, Helen Lowell, Russell Hicks, Henry O’Neill, Maude Turner Gordon, Samuel Hinds, Martha Merrill and others. The original story and screen play are credited to Jerry Wald and Julius Epstein and directed by Frank Borzage. > PRODUCTION STORY ys Three Stars Put Toy Dog At Ease In Picture Work When little Austa, a toy dachshund, walked onto the set of the First National production, ‘‘Living On Velvet,’’ now showing at hess see Theatre, she found three players to fondle her. Austa, by the way, has an important part in one sequence of the picture. At first a little jittery, Austa soon became acclimated to the lights when she found three doting friends — Kay Francis, George Brent and Warren William, who had to work in the sequence with her. These three players in the feature are lovers of dogs. Kay Francis at the present time possesses but one dog, a dachshund named Weenie. The little pup is constantly on the stage with her, but knows that during the taking of scenes he must stay in the star’s dressing room. George Brent owns three canines, two cocker spaniels and an English bull. Their names are Whiskey, Sammy and Annie. Brent expects to have a kennel of fifty dogs to cavort around his place. Warren William tops his coplayers in dog ownership, with four keeping the family busy. It’s a quartette of wire-haired terriers. And the William family, also, has chosen snappy names for their pets. At the William homestead the four wires answer to the names of Cheeke, Jack, Babs and Jill. The only trouble in having four wires, according to the star, is that you spend most of your leisure time pacifying their jealousy. ‘‘Living On Velvet,’’ an original story by Jerry Wald and Julius Epstein, was directed by Frank Borzage. In addition to the three stars, there appears in the picture Helen Lowell, Russell Hicks, Henry O’Neill, Martha Merrill and Maude Turner Gordon. Her Most Exciting Role Kay Francis, more beautiful than ever, has a real problem in the First National picture, “Living on Velvet.” She must decide whether to marry George Brent and turn her back on a life of luxury, or wed Warren William, and miss the fun of having a husband who thumbs his nose at the world and throws stones at the stars. She answers them in the gayest of all screen romances now showing at Ce as Theatre. Mat No. 8—20c ON THE CAST ON THE CAST ° + Ask Kay Francis George Brent, Now To Head A Nudist Camp On Pampas Kay Francis, whose latest pic ture is ‘‘Living On Velvet,’’ which comes to the ................ TheaTiO 2 ONe cee ee » Seems to get the prize fan letters among the First National stars. She still gets letters from an Argentine hombre, who wants to make her the patroness saint of a nudist colony on the pampas. And for the past six months she has received epic poems, dozens of pages long, from a slightly deranged man in Washington, D. C., who imagines that he is Milton. A new fan, however, tops the others. He writes Kay from some port in Central America in the weirdest English imaginable. One of the letters reads as follows: **In behalf I may have to scope moments of delays, for which I have to ponder and minimize every hour of the day thinking of your evangelistic image that causes me pain and trouble. I am like a coriander, but to the real hilex of fugity can never be succeed upon the most outstanding problem of life. ‘Dear Kay, through the virtex of my sinewy convaluation you are like a jujobe, who grow and lighted all the contiquity of every human heart. *‘T think happening and misfortune may disguase, if you’ll be surprised this words of mine, ‘ Will you kindly please give me one of your snapshots.’ If so, I thank you.’? ; Kay’s secretary hasn’t sent the picture, but she’ll send one to any fan who can decipher the Central American fan’s letter! It’s too much for her. In ‘‘Living On Velvet,’’ Miss Francis plays a different and most unusual role. The cast includes Warren William, George Brent, Helen Lowell, Henry O’Neill and Russell Hicks. It was directed by Frank Borzage from the story and screen play by Jerry Wald and Julius Epstein, screen writers. Aviator, Deserts All Night Spots George Brent has taken to semiseclusion while working, has developed the habit of hopping off to unannounced destinations when he is idle, but there is no reason to believe that he has gone ‘‘highhat,’’ in the Hollywood sense of the word. The reason is that new airplane of his. Before he learned to fly, Brent GEORGE BRENT Mat No. 3 10¢ liked the night spots to a certain degree. No more. Since props, helmets, cruising-speeds and tail-spins came into his life all that has been changed. Now his evenings, while working, are spent at home talking ‘“ships’’ with cronies. Hither that or the charting of new courses to be flown when he gets a few days’ rest from the studio. ““Sure, I’m a ‘nut’ on the subject,’’? says Brent, who is now playing one of the leading roles in Kay Francis’ next starring vehicle for First National, ‘‘Living On Velvet,’’ which comes to the .......... finest hobby I ever had in my life.’’ To make it more agreeable to Brent, his role in ‘‘Living On Velvet’’ is that of a mad pilot, who flies and lives with reckless abandon. The picture, brought to the screen from an original story by Jerry Wald and Julius Epstein, is being directed by Frank Borzage. ON THE CAST rs Ten Top Heart Breakers Named By Kay Francis After days of careful consideration, and by using a process of elimination, Kay Francis, who has the stellar role in ‘‘Living On Velvet,’’ which comes to the............ Rees DNGabre Oli siisva picasa has listed the ten men in Hollywood who, in her estimation, are the ‘‘most attractive mule players on the screen.’? It took nerve to do that but the First National star did not falter. Here is the bad news— for those not selected—listed, not according to rank, but alphabetically: Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore, Richard Barthelmess, James Cagney, Maurice Chevalier, Ronald Colman, Gary Cooper, Jackie Cooper, Clark Gable and William Powell. From the list, it may be seen that Miss Francis leans toward what might be called the ‘‘man of-the world type.’’ Cagney and young Jackie Cooper are excepted from this classification. Of the former, she says: ‘*No, he really is not my ideal type, but on the screen the man fascinates me.’? In the cast with Miss Francis are Warren William, George Brent, Helen Lowell, Henry O’Neill, Russell Hicks and Maude Turner Gordon. Frank Borzage directed. ‘‘Living on Velvet’’ presents ‘one of the most unique love triangles ever screened. It is the story of a woman who turned her back on devotion, security, position to wed a man who asked but one thing from life—the girl his best friend loved. , ON THE CAST + Warren William Once Failed To Pass Film Test A few years ago Warren William and Helen Flint played the leading roles in the Broadway show, ‘‘Among The Married.’’ It was the third stage attraction in which they had played the leads together, the other pair having been ‘‘Paradise’’ and ‘‘Those We Love.’’ During the run of ‘‘ Among The Married,’’ one of the major motion picture companies requested that Miss Flint appear for a film test. ‘‘Bring along any actor you want, too, to play opposite you in the test,’’ were the instructions from the picture executives, Miss Flint asked William if he would oblige. ‘“Certainly,’’ he replied. The test was made and both players were turned down as unsuitable for pictures. Today, Warren William is a star in First National Pictures, his latest film being ‘‘Living On Velvet,’’ which comes to the................ PER GAtrO OM: or, eee secs , and Miss Flint has an important part in the First National mystery, ‘‘While The Patient Slept.’’ William, in his current picture, is the wealthy worldly ‘‘regular guy,’’ whose best friend wanted nothing from life except his pal’s best girl, and got her. It is one of the most sympathetic roles in which he has ever appeared. Kay Francis and George Brent have leading roles with William in ‘Living On Velvet,’’ a most unusual romance by Jerry Wald and Julius Epstein. Frank Borzage directed and produced. Page Fifteen