Screen Mirror (Jun 1930 - Mar 1931)

ANGELS Under His Wing, en Tofo versal importance. This is one of those ten times. 'Hell’s Angels’ is not merely an American picture. It is a drama that will shake America, Europe, and reach out into Asia.” Sid Grauman fell silent, thinking. In the car with him were two of his right' hand aides. Suddenly he spoke to them. “We must keep the premiere an' nouncements in soft tones,” he instruct' ed them. “When the stars of Hollywood enter the Chinese Theatre, we must have them announced over an amplifying system that has a natural, unmechanical tone. We must not ruin the spirit of the architecture . . . even announcements require artistic treatment.” Grauman turned to his interviewer again. “Yes ...” he said, as if he had not interrupted the flow of his comment on “Hell’s Angels, Hell’s Angels’ is so tremendous that it has inspired me to come out of retirement.” “To what drama of air or war would you compare ‘Hell’s Angels’?” Grauman was asked. “To what drama? . . . To none! “This is the era of a new art, come at last from the merging of the silent film and the legitimate stage. Now, if ever, people will develop a new technique ... a new style of story . . . a new manner of presentation. “But so far . . . there has been too little courage among the producers. I don’t mean to criticise any one man ... for no one man deserves it. The fact is that the producers are no longer individuals . . . that they are incapable of taking a chance, for they are but executives for great holding companies. They must make money, without fail, on every picture they manufacture. “It took someone with the independence of Howard Hughes, with his youth and enthusiasm for the possibilities of the new movie, to step forward with a new treatment. “Realism is not exactly new to the screen. But thus far realism has been extended to a few trifling themes, or to an exposition of certain great events. Pictures showing war have been realistic. Pictures showing soul struggles have been realistic. But it remained for someone to attack a great story from the same point of view which might by Stephen roy Conway Sid Grauman, master showman, wanted to retire, but the mighty possibilities of "Hell’s Angels" brought him back into the show game. More, his re. appearance in the theatrical world, with his announcement that he would precede the picture with a gigantic prologue, was the signal for the reintroduction of prologue and vaudeville in the better class picture houses. Three great theatre circuits are scrambling to follow his lead. Because Sid Grauman’s artistic instincts refused to remain dormant, the Hagars and Ishmaels of the variety stage are looking towards a new sunrise. .... have been taken by Voltaire, or Anatole France. “To explain that further . . . there is a manner of presenting realism which by no means reveals the whole truth. “Any art medium is valuable only when the various illusions inherent to that medium are employed in creating a great and unmistakable illusion of truth. “When I withdrew from my Chinese Theatre a year ago it was my intention to enter the producing end of the business. “But, after viewing this amazing screen masterpiece in which Howard Hughes has invested millions of dollars, and devoted years of his time and energy directing the talents of more than twenty thousand players and technicians who have contributed to its making, I became eager to present ‘Hell’s Angels’ to the screen audience of the world in a manner befitting its greatness.” Sid Grauman, of an old theatrical family, should most certainly be able to accomplish this. From childhood he has had to do with the theatre. His family connections from the beginning provided him with countless friends in the theatrical business ... he knew, and knows, a legion of the greatest artists in the profession. “The very spirit of the drama,” said Grauman, tapping with his lean and graceful fingers on the soft upholstery of the limousine, “is the thing which must be caught, varied, and blended with the presentation. And it is the terrific spirit of ‘Hell’s Angels,’ the drama, the sweep, the profound inner significance of this picture, which has irresistibly drawn me out of my retirement. Such a picture deserves masterly presentation. That is what I intend to give it — over all the world.”