Scarlet Dawn (Warner Bros.) (1932)

Douglas Fairbanks, for mr. Dieterle to be any more LIVE BIG PICTURE’ STORIES ADVANCE FEATURE Doug Fairbanks, Jr. Is Only at “‘Home”’ When on Movie Set Dont believe anything you hear about Doug Fairbanks, Jr. He isn’t a level-headed young man with quiet, sane business sense. He isn’t a success in films because he can act convincingly. He isn’t event a motion picture actor in the strict sense of the word, judged from all accepted Hollywood standards. To tell the truth, the only people who know Doug, Jr. intimately are the people who don’t know him at all. This isn’t a paradox. It just means that the motion picture audience which will see him on the screen in the Warner Bros. picture, “Scarlet Dawn,” which comes to the ot MOAtTONOXb.. acs will see the real Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Off screen, and when he is not working, is the one time he is not himself, waiting to get back to work and hence into the only life and living that really represents him and means anything in his scheme of things. Those who walk and talk and eat with him say that he is a tense and fidgety young man. His interest is not in the daily routine of life— in the large or small pleasures that one in his position would usually pursue. On the set, amidst the flurry and action attendant on production, that haunted, haunting look. vanishes from his face. He doesn’t fidget any more. He never, casually walks into his place before the cameras. He hops, skips, jumps or bounds into place, and all of his tenseness vanishes. He is in his element again. Is a Romancer For want of'a better classification he has been put into the category of actors. Rather, he igs an adven turous romancer who would rather live in a make-believe world than face the realities of a staid and steady life. It even extends to the matter of clothes. When he is not working, he is not what one might call sartorially impeceable. His eight year old, dirty green felt hat is notorious. He leans toward sweaters because they are quickly put on and it doesn’t matter if they wrinkle. But his picture wardrobe is another matter. These clothes express his real personality, his leaning toward the romantic aspects of life, and he sees to it that they help him escape from the prosaic and mundane. That is why resplendent uniforms, with their implications of gallant and mighty adventure, figure in most of his pictures. He seems more at ease — more naturally himself — when he is wearing a colorful costume than in the usual habiliments of a young man about Hollywood. On the sidelines of his set at the Warner Bros. Studio, Doug lolled easily in a canvas-back chair and talked spiritedly of himself, or rather of the character which he was playing at the moment — which all amounts to the same thing. Wearing the buttoned blouse, baggy pants, high boots and fur cap of a Russian peasant, he gave no impression of being an actor in full regalia. Lived His Role For Weeks He had been living his role weeks prior to the commencement of production. “Scarlet Dawn,” the story of Russian revolutionary days, was an adventure for Doug in more ways than one. On nights when the company was not working, Doug was up to all hours in the Club composed of Hollywood’s Russian colony. In company with Nicholas Kobliansky, president of the Club and technical director on “Searlet Dawn,” Doug manoeuvred the few Russian words and sentences he had _ learned, drained many a samovar, and talked of the old days in Russia with the air of an exiled nobleman. Just before the picture went into production, Doug decided to go on a vacation. He would get away from it all — get some rest and recreation. But he couldn’t forget his Russian Prince role. His hair was clipped and his moustache grown to conform to the part. He had already finished his work in collabora. tion on the story — and hence he was already Prince Nikita. In company with Robert Montgomery and several other friends, they yachted into Mexican waters for the fishing — to the accompaniment of a Russian balaleika orchestra, which Doug had hired for the trip. The expedition looked more like a Russian nobleman’s excursion on the Black Sea than just some movie actors on vacation. Doug was really living then. He was in character weeks before a wheel turned on the picture, In “Searlet Dawn,” Doug, Jr. has two leading ladies — Nancy Carroll and. Lilyan Tashman, with Sheila Terry as an added attraction. The balance of the supporting cast contains a number of prominent names, among which are Harle Fox, Frank Reicher, Walter Walker, Mischa Auer, Mae Busch, Hadji Ali, Lee Kohlmar, C. Henry Gordon, Alphonse Ethier, Ivan Linow and Betty Gillette. William Dieterle, who was responsible for the recent William PowellKay Francis success, “Jewel Robbery,” directed. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. collaborated with Niven Busch and Erwin Gelsey on the adaptation of the story which was based on the novel “Revolt,” by Mary McCall, Jr. CURRENT FEATURE Lack of English Language No Handicap to to Wm. Dieterle Tf you think inauticiens iquow lodge knowledge of the English language is a drawback to a director of American motion pictures, ask Jr. about William Dieterle, the German director who euided the young star through the ‘Warner Bros. ‘‘Searlet Dawn,’’ which is now playing at the picture, 2 Se ees Theatre. “On the contrary,” Doug said, “the fact that he has a ‘e diffi ulty explaining himself S made his direction ¢ eres. Oe eee ere glish nore thla thorough than he would be in his native tongue.” Dieterle’s style of direction reminds one of the comparison between a French, an English and a German scholar who were asked to write a volume on elephants. The Frenchman, true to his race, produced a slim, daintily bound volume, artistically embossed and embellished. The Englishman turned out a terse, semi-scientific work, plainly bound and presenting all the facts as he found them. But the German appeared with two enormous tomes in which everything possible about and pertaining to elephants was printed in absolute detail. That is what Dieterle’s direction 4 is like. Far from being tedious, his quaiv German accent and his psycho 1 treatment of minute detail “gearlet in which Doug awakens There was a ‘scene in Dawn,” after a ten day spree to find that hig. leave from the front is at an end. When he finds out what day it is, he exclaims “What!!1”, It took Dieterle a full morning to explain to Doug what that “What” meant. If he could have explained it in German, it might have taken only half a morning — but still at least half a morning. He went into the history of the character from birth on: A young prince of royal Russian blood, brought up in luxury. Then the war and the filth and horror of the front. Home on leave; a round of -pleasure amidst luxury again, and then the prospect of going back ‘gue a _ actor iit pe Cea aes again to mud and cold and almost certain death. That is what “What!” was supposed to mean. The scene was taken several times, and after each take, Dieterle found a certain nuance missing in the inflection of the voice, or in the eyes or hands or body. He coached Doug, told him elaborate stories of the young Prince’s life until the young actor was thoroughly imbued with the character and could say “What” in the proper manner. “He would not even let the prop department take care of little details that properly belong in their realm,” Doug went on to explain. “Where he was busy on the choosing of set Lilyan Tashman had a torrid love scene to do. Everything was set up ready for rehearsal and shooting just about lunch time. Dieterle would not let us go to lunch until the scene was finally concluded about two hours later. His theory was that one should not and could not make love on a full stomach, and he went into the physical and psychological reasons for it. We had to act with a gnawing pain in the stomach.” Acting and direction are not just make-believe for William Dieterle. He applies to his scenes all the essentials of real life. No matter how small the bit of action or dialogue, he would not let an actor go through p prin snout ars aerue on} = “Then there was te iG ee bs it, unless the latter knew the entire background of the character and the events leading up to the bit of business. There was a scene in a railroad coach where the Russian officers are returning from the front. For amusement, they pass around a picture of a semi-draped woman. It is all done furtively and quietly. He got his effect by explaining and acting the way mice creep quietly from their holes and furtively steal food from the pantry. The Continental manner of expressing oneself with hands, arms, shoulders and face is a prominent oreover, arti once “been Gel many’s most popular leading man of the screen, he uses hig acting ability to step in the place of the actor — or even actress — and go through the entire scene himself, Speech, after all, is only one of the many methods Dieterle has to put over his work effectively. He doesn’t talk much to his cameramen. He sets up cameras himself, focuses them and arranges all the angles. All the cameraman has to do is to follow the pattern set by the director. So when you see “Scarlet Dawn,” give a thought to William Dieterle whose face you will not see, but whose heart and soul is there nevertheless. CURRENT FEATURE Doug Fairbanks, Jr. Loves to Play Roles in Uniform ‘‘Look back at the pictures I have made, and you will find that my best work was done in those productions in which I wear a uniform of some sort.’’ Douglas. Fairbanks, Jr. offered this statement neither as a denial nor an affirmation of his ‘‘uniform fetish.’?’ He would like to leave a lot to the interviewer’s imagination, but he. cannot help revealing between spoken lines that he has a decided penchant for gold braid, crimson tunics, medals, shakos, and the rest of the glittering warrior’s paraphernalia, He may even wear drab khaki, or don an exotic peasant costume, and he is carried away on a wave of adventure and romance that is more real to his inner self than his direetors would suspect. The enthusiasm which he put into his current Warner Bros. picture, “Scarlet Dawn,” which is now at the Theatre, was not merely the acting technic required by the role. As a young Russian prince, he wears the uniform of a Czarist officer, and as a disguise against the revolutionists, he wears the colorful peasant costume of that country. “Tt isn’t exactly the clothes and uniforms that give me all this enthusiasm,” Doug went on to explain his penchant, “it is really the story that ' goes with them. “The mere presence of a dashing uniform in the story indicates that there is bound to be adventure and romance of a broad, sweeping kind— and that is just the sort of thing I like to do. Where other boys managed a thrill from reading Nick Carter, Buffalo Bill and the rest of the pre-adolescent thrillers, Doug has the enviable position of being able to live a succession of thrilling lives. He revels in these adventurous roles in much the same manner as when he played cowboy and Indian during his boyhood days. He still looks back at “The Dawn Patrol” as one of. his greatest cinematic thrills. The uniform of the flying corps, the throbbing air plane motors, machine guns and all of the atmosphere of wartime France enabled him to put a lot of conviction in his role. He was not merely an actor playing a part. He was a youngster playing “soldier,” while the world of make-believe became reality for him. Every situation for him must have a broad scope. Adventure must be harrowing and hair-raising; romance must be soul-searing and lavishly adorned with all trappings of chivalry, gallantry and all the trimmings that go to indicate a love that is not merely a kiss-and-marry affair. “Analyze the story of ‘Scarlet Dawn’ and you will find that it has everything to hold an audience wonder-eyed,” Doug explained. “The love affair between the young prince and the servant girl has that sweep to it which characterized ‘Seventh Heaven.’ The adventures and perigrinations of the young prince who was caught in the turmoil of revolution are all imbued with the do-anddare spirit. And I am not just uttering a half-baked opinion when I say that I like it better than anything I have done since ‘Dawn Patrol’.” Doug may rationalize all he wants to, but when the time comes for him to get dressed and appear on the set there is an unmistakable glow on his face when he steps into the Russian officer’s uniform. It is one outfit he had not before attempted, and the thrill of its novelty and glamour carried him through the picture on a wave of boyish pride and elation. He was quite right when he said that his best work was done in pictures in which he wore a uniform. In “It’s Tough To Be Famous,” he wore a naval Commander’s full regalia — and how he loved it. “I Like Your Nerve” and “Chances” presented him with equal opportunities to go military in a resplendent way. His isn’t at all a “show-off” complex. Doug doesn’t care whether any one sees him all dolled up or not. He is still a young boy having a very good time playing soldier, and very happy in the thought that he has a lot of people to play with him while making it his life’s work. He simply loves to wear a uniform. Naney Carroll and Lilyan Tashman play opposite Doug, Jr. The balance of the supporting cast contains a number of prominent names, .among which are Sheila Terry, Earle Fox, Frank Reicher, Walter Walker, Mischa Auer, Mae Busch, Hadji Ali, Lee Kohlmar, C. Henry Gordon and Betty Gillette. William Dieterle, who was responsible for the recent William PowellKay Francis success, “Jewel Robbery,” directed. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. collaborated with Niven Busch and Erwin Gelsey on the adaptation of the story which was based on the novel “Revolt,” by Mary McCall, Jr. ge in Dashes. 8 guathod. of show-, CURRENT FEATURE A Few Statistics About New Film ‘Scarlet Dawn” During the one hour or so that an audience sits through a motion picture showing, there is little realization of the amount of territory that has been covered in the way of varied locations depicted. The advance schedule sheet on Douglas Fairbanks, Jr’s. latest Warner Bros. effort, “Scarlet Dawn,” fortv-siv_— ° for the picture were shot. forty-six settings, twenty-seven were interiors and nineteen exteriors. Twenty-four days of actual work was necessary to see the picture through to its conclusion, Within those twenty-four days, ‘there was an expenditure of a lot of gasoline and shoe leather by those connected with the production, for the fortysix settings were spread out in fifteen different locations. Not all of the interior settings were built on one stage. Nine sound stages housed all these interiors. Seven of these stages were located on the First National lot at Burbank, while the other two were on the Warner Bros. lot in Hollywood, some seven miles distant. The Warner Bros. ranch may be counted as one of the exterior locations, though in reality it wag several. This eleven-hundred acre estate was called on to provide the background for several of the exterior settings called for in the story. No matter whether the scene was the interior of an automobile, a large, crowded ball room, a box car or an open field, it was a unit of work in itself, requiring the concerted operations of a full production crew. Lights and cameras had to be set up, props distributed, composition of players and settings studied and rehearsals gone through before a scene could be shot. In a number of the sets there were several scenes to be shot from a variety of angles, besides long shots and closeups of some of the individual scenes. With one setting out of the way, the company then moved to another and went through the laborious process all over again. With forty-six setups to work in, in twenty-four days, it made approximately two a day that had to be disposed of. Put it all together and you have seven or eight thousand feet of celluloid ribbon, and the travels and labors of a large group of people in forty-six localities over a period of twenty-four days are unfolded in entirety to the gaze in just a little over an hour. In “Searlet Dawn,” Doug, Jr. has two leading ladies — Nancy Carroll and Lilyan Tashman. Page Seven Theatre, shows that the picture comcet ane gg ch ¢ ich one or SS sila mee Of these