Screen Mirror (Jun 1930 - Mar 1931)

26 Screen Mirror For June • How we hate ’em — these people who sing out, “I told you so!" . . . but . . . there’s a lot of pleasure in doing the singing yourself. People of low tendencies — in other words, the sort of people who read this department religiously — will recall that last month we predicted the brilliant comeback of the Hollywood curtain' raisers, Gilbert and Tully. Tie this one, then. Little Jim, the hobo author, who walloped Jack Gilbert in the eye, has collaborated on a new screen story for Jack. And Jack, whom we predicted as a comeback, is about to begin production on “Make Way for a Sailor." Add this scream . . . Jim Tully, it is learned from authentic sources — may HoLnoLL ■ng play the heavy in “Make Way for a Sailor”! Arrangements have been made for an oil tanker. We read in one Hollywood journal that arrangements have been made for deep-sea locations . . . Who did they have to arrange it with Neptune? * The Devil is getting his due, these days — and a little more. There are more “devil" pictures in recent releases, or under production, than there are Smiths in the New York telephone directory. Cecil deMille has just finished “Madam Satan.” Cecil has gone cruising on his yacht. Reginald Denny, once the pugilistic hero of the silent screen, sang the leading role in “Madam Satan." Kay Johnston, having completed her work in the same opus, has gone to the hot springs for a rest — which makes it appear that Kay likes the hot and hellish atmosphere, on or off the set. Roland Young, of this devilish drama, has gone to Laguna to cool his smoking flanks with the sea breeze. “Madam Satan" is an M-G-M production. The same producers but recently finished “Devil May Care," Novarro’s talkie. • • Having done his damndest on the Metro lot, Belzebub moved over to Paramount, where he engaged in a picture with Nancy Carroll — lucky Devil! Edmund Goulding, the director, is getting a world of praise along the whispering telegraph system of Hollywood for his direction of this picture. It is “The Devil's Holiday," and the other day a hard-boiled publicity director— than which there is nothing more hardboiled — confided to me that, seeing “The Devil’s Holiday," he wept for the first time since his mother stuck him by mistake with a safety pin. • Buster Keaton thought he was Steve Brodie. There is a pool of water out on the M-G M lot, which is used for all manner of maritime intimate shots! With the coming spring, the pool has become just a little bit soupy. By this famous tank, which has with bob bathed more million-dollar incomes than* any other water tank in existence, strolled the phlegmatic “Buster” and1 Edwin Justus Mayer, author and playwright. “Twenty-five bucks you won't jump in,” dared Mayer. “Glulp!” shouted Keaton, in a vain attempt to reply. “Done!” from under water. Mayer lost twenty-five bucks. But — There's a sequel to the yarn. It seems that dog days had settled in the pond, and Buster got whatever it is people get when they go swimming in dog days. His work on “War Babies," his forthcoming comedy, had to be postponed for a week. He won twentyfive dollars, and cost Metro-GoldwynMayer a few thousand. • Meowing, and the sticking out of tongues still characterizes the discussion of parts between Janet Gaynor and the Fox Studios. Janet announces indignantly that she’s through playing tripe. If you ever see her on the screen again, she avers, it will be as a dramatic artist. Yes and No, answers the argument. Charley Ray tried the leap from light stuff to heavy, and landed on the sidewalk, three flights down. The late Mabel Normand took the hurdles between slapstick and drama, without grazing the bar. Anyone with a memory six inches long can recall a dozen instances where an aspiring artist did, or didn't, make the leap. If Janet happened to ask our advice, we’d say, “Well — yes . . . and no” • • Here’s one for the book. It concerns Marco, of Fanchon and Marco The poor gentleman is walking around1 these days with a dazzled, but disappointed light in his eye. Someone rushed up to Marco. “Congratulations, old man!" panted the mysterious informant. “I've just learned that the Pullman company has two cars which it is going to call ’Fanchon’ and ’Marco’." “Yeah?" said Marco, “And what am I going to do about it?" “Why — if you've got any showman ship about you, you’ll hold a christening . . all the Sunkist Beauties for brides