Screenland (Jun-Oct 1932)

for June 1932 81 The Stage In Review of this absorbing comedy-drama because I do not want to spoil a splendid evening for you. Erin O'Brien-Moore, Blyth Daly and a half dozen others played their parts perfectly, which is what you might expect when I tell you Frank Craven himself directed. To say this would make a picture is as obvious as saying that mait makes beer. Laurette Taylor. Delighted! — we all were delighted to see Peg o' My Heart back again where she belongs, on the Broadway stage. She did a couple of old Barrie plays, but what difference did that make? The beautiful, mannered, dreamy-faced Laurette satisfies us to the full in all she does. And she is an artist. First she plays with subtle, brushing, evanescent touch the sophisticated woman of the world, Alice Grey, in Barrie's "Alice-Sit-by-the-Fire." You all know that delectable sentimental satire by heart, I hope, children. Then bang! — the beautiful Laurette appeared as a very old and unkempt London charwoman in Barrie's "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals." From the "grand dame to pure ugliness of form and face, but not of spirit, if you know that gentle little warstory of the fellow she adopted fresh from the trenches against his will. Peg Entwistle was fine in the "Alice" play as a play-struck daughter intent on saving the mother's reputation. Charles Dalton was not so well in "Alice," but Lawrence Fletcher as the Scotch soldier in the one-act war-play was very good. "The Moon in the Yellow River." The Theatre Guild having ransacked and pillaged every capital in Europe for plays arrived at Dublin. Out of this city it took a play that is one hundred per cent Irish, "The Moon in the Yellow River," by Denis Johnston. I liked it very much as a play of ideas, with some brilliant and penetrating remarks such as "The Irish believe in fairies, but trade in pigs," and "The birth of a nation is never an immaculate conception." Continued from page 73 This play is weak in conventional storyconstruction ; but is again redeemed by the vitality and reality of the characters. It is political and concerns the attempt of the Republicans to blow up the power-house. The Free Staters are against such amusements. It is a poetic and cynical mixture of comedy and tragedy ; and there's the eternal Irish magic everywhere. Claude Rains as a philosophical, disillusioned Irishman, with the most brilliant lines in the play, did a splendid bit of work. I should vote him the most finished actor of the Guild. Henry Hull as a rebel who saw, like Li Po, the moon in the Yellow River (meaning he is a kind of direct-action Shelley) was not in his element. Egon Brecher had a fine part, a German who owned the power house. The character is German ; but Brecher muffed it, to my mind. John Daly Murphy was comic as an old sailor and Alma Kruger strenuous as an Amazonish agitator. "The Inside Story." Al Woods, slow of movement, finally got started on a crook drama that I pronounce fine and dandy. It puts a bomb right under the men higher up in gangdom, paints a Governor and a District Attorney in none too bright colors, and has a heart-disease finish. An innocent fellow has a couple of minutes between him and the chair — but, well, you know he didn't get there. Louis Calhern plays Louis Corotto who slings around the whole government of a Mid-Western State (wait till Eddy Robinson reads this part ! ) . There's a goil, of course (Marguerite Churchill from Hollywood), reporters, cops and hotel maids. It's a nasty frame, but the girl has a gun in her sleeve — and big Corotto goes out. Calhern is a vital, chilly villain. And the rest click, especially the Doomed Boy, Roy Roberts, and the high political boss of Edward Ellis. If you want to think, this play will make vou gasp. "Wild Waves." Osgood Perkins perks his most strenuous in 'Wild Waves," a sprawling and fan tastically nonsensical satire on the broadcasting studios ; but for all that the play doesn't half click. Perkins is one of my favorites. He is good either in hard-faced drama or rapid-fire wise-cracking. But I wish he'd had another play. (Why don't you write it! yells Doc. Sirovich.) Anyhow, here is all the alleged hokum (and I don't believe a word of it) knocked around the stage of what goes on behind your radio : fake crooners, gangsters, hardboiled executives, nutty announcers, and an attempt at a love-story, which is rather wishy-washy. Betty Starbuck, John Beal, Bruce MacFarlane and Ray Denny helped along in a cast of forty-four characters. The play is by William Ford Manley. Bing Crosby may do it for the screen. "Money in the Air." Who killed—? But that tells you what kind of a play Thetta Quay Franks wrote. Well, who did kill Arthur Hamilton.'' It's out on Long Island, where these days everybody seems to be either a polygamist or a murderer, at least on the stage. The novelty about this play is that you see no detectives, no Ed. McXamaras, no know-it-all Inspectors. It's laid among the Vcre de Veres, of the North Shore, and the "crime" — which is really only an "accident"— seldom gets above a whisper. It's polite society's way. It's all pretty weak, and the acting of Vera Allen, Hugh Buckler, Katherine Stewart and others didn't help much. I had a dream that I could see William Powell walking through this play. Lou Holtz's Vaudeville. Lou Holtz did the profession a good turn in these blue-pill times by staging a vaudeville circus with some big headliners like Clark and McCullough, Lyda Roberti. Vincent Lopez, Yenita Gould, Benny Baker and a slew of others in a grand review at pop. prices. You can get your money's worth here. Lots of fun, and nothing but. Hollywood Settles Down did the honors charmingly. A regular Episcopalian minister tied the fatal knot. Everything was the pink of propriety. When you consider that Zoe wrote "The Greeks Had a Word For It" you can see how careful we should be about judging authors on their writings. Monta Bell, author and director, selected Mayor Jimmy Walker to forge the shackles of his second marriage. Monta married Betty Lawford, actress who made her screen debut in "Gentlemen of the Press" which Bell directed. Monta must be in his forties. Betty is 19. It was an enormous relief to have Richard Dix safely married. I mean he had been a bachelor for so long that we had almost despaired of getting him off the shelf. We had had him rumored engaged dozens of times. So when Winifreds Coe finally agreed to put an end to Richard's bachelorhood, we sighed with relief. Now, after some few months, we have the nicest reports on Richard as a benedict. Here it may be mentioned that Joel McCrea is now our most exciting bachelor Continued from page 59 and seemingly unassailable. Joel has dared to say he doesn't like women. We even tried to marry him to Constance Bennett at one time but Gloria's ex-marquis successfully intervened. Yet here he is, still being sought by Connie as a leading man — she says she'd rather postpone a picture than make do with someone else. Joel, as you may guess, has a way with him. It's going to be hard to get him settled down. Tallulah Bankhead likes Joel a lot these days. Norma Talmadge may settle a lot of troubled speculation if she and Joseph Schenck. United Artists producer, finally are divorced. Then, of course, we shall not be satisfied until we have married her off to Gilbert Roland. We admit to seeming a bit precipitate on this subject. There is infinite possibility, too, that Joseph himself will not be allowed to remain long unconsoled. We note that Loretta Young is wearing an imposing ring said to have been presented to her by Geoffry Rafael, 20-yearold son of an English banker. If the news is true that Ronald Col man has at last persuaded his English wife to divorce him, we shall be all of a flutter getting Ronald settled all over again. We might observe that Ronny has been most discreet in his conduct in Hollywood. The wedding of John Considine, producer, and Carmen Pantages gave us a glow. You know when Carmen's dad and mother were respectively involved in unpleasant law-suits. Carmen gave John his freedom. It wasn't fair, she said, to link him up with the family woes. In the meantime, it looked as if John might be seeking consolation via Joan Bennett. But John evidently remained faithful and renewed his suit when the troubles were dispersed. He was married to Carmen a few weeks before Joan married Gene Markey. Somehow a Tia Juana wedding did not seem entirely appropriate for LTna Merkel. We would have expected church, minister, bridal gowns, bridesmaids for Una. to keep her in character. But she and Ronald Buria. a young engineer, slipped across the Mexican border and put one over on us.