Variety (Jan 1935)

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40 VARIETY PICT E S Tuesday, Januaiy 1, 1935 By Epea W; Sargent Recent; almost phenomenal •u<J- «es8 of; llttl«;-SHlrtey Tempiet^; Btarted a new baby parad^ toward Hollywood,, and the castlfigr offices liaye jbeen besieged by literally thou- -Hjanda-of—mothers who-^e-^racti— caily. certain that; ijttle Lftuliae,. or Baby. Bertha, can give Shirley a 10- yard start and beat her- in an 11- yard sprint. Not that Ah influx of mothers is anythihg new in the lives of- casting/offlcials. It's been that way -for yearis. . The - Teriipie : buildup merely Intehslfles ihaimmii's -urffe- torlet- the kid support the whole darned family. • - jncidentaHy> -iV raises ■ the.; ques- tion as to what." has become of the stars of yestejryear. Answer is that most of; them dropi back Into the obscurity from which they emerged after a briief - flutter. ' They don't last, "irhey can't last, as, a eeheVal thing. They burn: temselved up in thilr brief careers, iand few a,re aMe to bontiijue into adult yearis.. That goe^ for, screen or stage baby stars.- Take, for example, the flock of : Little-^Lord Fauntlerpys who infest- . ,«d the drama :>)oirds In the Tommy VRussiell and Elsiei' I<eslio alternated in the leading troupe: 7oung Russell went into; Wall street arid:' lived dttwn ;;his blight. Miss Leslie married . the .s;pn of William Winter and. quit tliie stage.- Of the others hpt^i jingle, o"*? IS:. remern- y'-bered. " • .: -■w—:-. Probably tlie first screen starlets were the two children of one of the Lurniere: bi'Othiers, who, in -their chairsi smiled engagingly at the audiences which gawked at those , first .Cihematogrtiph films.; <Clne- —^liat^Qg^aph^-at:^that^r^^ miere;:1trade name. and had not yet been 'admitted Into the diction- \'arles.) " Adelp de Garde was the fii'st child to be featured. She appeared In the Vitagraph pictures of that day. Not particularly cjever, but they played her up. A little later Bobby Con- nelly was taken by the same comr pany for the 'Sonny Boy' series, and . under the deft direction of Teft Johnson he was the' first youngster with a real idraw. He actually pulied . business. ; JMbst of the, other , companies shunned the • kids.. Biograph for" a time; did a little something with Edna Foster, but in generial the child of som^ adult'player was called; In. .,\ ,TVallace;,WcCutcheon was about the only boy much ' used in thie. early days,:;Wh(5ri a 60 or 75-fo6t picture was extra length. " His dad was gen- ;.erarmariager 6t ' the 3ipgrapbV fe^^ they used him frequently, but It. was not until the stories went to 1,000! feet that he became knpwni arid he was out of the kid class then.; — a n. opcir7 ~g^uea "ffl)|r~Ayh'5;t;lfe^ iiIaW"'^Krti5^s "Mlnter - e eluded in any child listing, but she was only around 15 ^ when she first got attention. 'Wesley Barry was one of the earlier hits, and, like most of the juvenile stars, he cairie into pop- k.Tilarlty overnight. His freckles were ] his chief asset, 'biit he 'waa all boy first to iMt .apcIalmed etar material was Uttlo Jaokle Cbbgan, who was ab fortunate as to engage -the in- terest' of''.Charjes Ghaplin; The: comedian spent months reiadying him for 'The Kid,' but the iresults were well. worth while. He wa^^^ made on' hia flrat picture; He's in -collegft-noiw. - - Hfl jnade a stab .at Bome prpdjict, In vacation;; b\it the pictures, are; tied up in jBnancial Jam; and It remains to be seen whether he can do a return from; Elba...' ■ :- '[::.''■ ■"..;':'-F«W:'.SurVivor«.- ;: -• Some bfthem stick, but not many. Madge E\'arii3 ia a grown-up fea- tured .player, and . Mary Korhman, w^ho started with bur. Gang come- dleSi is doing leads in shorts and occasionally, slijps into ifull lengths. On tlie other hand. Baby Marie Os- borne is standing in for Ginger Rogers. She intiay get a. chance some time.;.,'.'- ..';' ■ ■;:■,■"'.■■■>:• Jane, and Katherine Lee are -n circulation,;, but in vaudeville. To -be questioned whether they could re- peat bri the screen. Tlnle was when Jane Lee'9 name, bri a picture thea- tre board meant money and. plenty of it, but their mother was- wise to slip the kids over to vaudeville be- fore they staled bn the screen. ; .■; There has been spme surprise ex- pressed at; the paucity of adiilt tal- ent in the Our Gang, ranks. Scooter Lowrey is; in vaudeville. in the east, and : so is Patty ;cobb, while Farina and.^ Johnny Downs are in^ vaude-: vlll(B""and play uiiimporta;nt -bits PLCcasiorially. . The trouble with the Hal Roach youngsters . is '. that they euffered from too triuch obmpetltlon. '. There were too many kids, sb no one stpod outi -X t wasvalmbst by chance that little Miss Temple . got her ; start. yet 'scored rtrohgly on the screen. Dbu«rlas Fairbanks, Jr. is of course the outstainider, but: Crelghton Chanex J" oominjr albng, though he does not seem to hive his father's skill as a character player. Per- haps a ifew yea: . will see an Influx of the second generation now that It' haa.become. fashiphjable in, Hollyr wood to a.driiit .that eiven screen diyiriities can have childrcnv /That's ■still- in tlie lap of the gods. The few who have come Into notice are what the •hortlcultiarlst calls 'sports.' It's-Vnbt the'Tregular order. : Mo-st Bcreen .children click.,bh one particular picture, hold their, own through a few. productions and outr .^rrbw their hits. Baby LeRpy is already putgrowliig his draw. ,with David Jack Hblt the hew kid king of ;the Paramount -lot. The baby parade goes, on and pn^ a few fleet'^ irig steps ;acrosB the screen, and then oblivion. Few stick, because feW have made their hits on a basLs of genuine dramatic inspira- tion.: They are either cute, or they are clever under careful coaching. The poor kids are; exploited ; and tossiad aside because .iliere are plenty more ; coming along. ■ .The baby : pdrade Is neyer-ceaslhg.; (Continued frbni. page: 37) in the Industry began to look pretty dubious, about a dozen: leiaders of the ITO ranlfSj" after ifailing tb win membership bbiisent for afllllatibh with the Motlbii Picture; Theatre Owners; of- Ainerlci^^'wlthdre\y^^ formed Associated Bxhibilors. This body for thwith was given an MP'TOA; charter, .but its activity during the clbsliig nionths of. the year ha^ been limited -mbstly to set- She had been playing, in the Ediica tibnal kidiet comedies for months. These shorts, now reached down from; the shelves;; show her; supe- riority to the other children. But at the time she was Just a star In a bunch pf kids, and not even the wise ones figured her the potential winner she was. She had to get cut of the kid class before she obtained recogriition. Surrourided by adult players, she . stands out because she is the only child. : It was riot until she outgrew her child aaisoclates that , she "swung Into her larger oirblt and became a planet Instead of one of the riiebulae, Idltzl Green gives promise of con- tinuing her career. Interrupted only briefly by the In-betweeri age when she was -nelthier child npir . womian Jackie; Cooper is pretty cloise to the exit^^oor--for-"the -tlm sb Is Jackie Searl, whose ability to make himself disliked has benefited him^ financially but perhaps hurt his chances of a continuation. George -Breakstone -Is—a;nPther--who-ls—too iimited":irr;h"is^«a^tiffgs"ti5~BBtaij^^ hlmjaelf before . bis voice breaks Young. PhilUpe de Lacey, who ; did some gi-eat trouplng, is not seen much noW, but looks like a come back in a few years. Baby Jane Is touted for a coming.twinkler on the strength of her work at Universal own until the awkward age. Just recently he has returned to Holly- wood after several yearsv of barn stotmirig. through the midwestvwith orchestras. Still to be shown He cari make a dbmebaclr Not.thie first to be starred, but the a;nd-n©t-eamera78hyvHfcnd-heiield-hls--and--thci^^ Da,vey Lee, Cora Sue Collins, Dickie -Mppre, Frankie Darrb, junior Prir kin, igetting to be a big boy. now, and - others : tpb -numerbus- tp- .men -tion in the language of the circus T>lli:s, .Few children of players have as fprriia area during 1935. How to Make a Picture By George McGall Hollywood, Dec. «i. Libraries throughbiit the country have shel ves devoted to tomes .writ- ten by authorities to enlighten the world on how to. build a boat. Hie proper method of making cheese, the Way to go about changing, an old and discarded stove Into, ft- bridge table, et(^.. -. /Thla, lain deavor to; riiake mankind more use- ful and perhaps add something to the gi'eat American llfe. has never ponetrated motion pictures. True, however; that Harold B.- Prahklin once penned some 400 bages oii the picture business as a Ayhole. ; Doiibtless, there; are thousands of people throughout [the world, who are hot only anxious, but- eager, to make a motion picture. ; Without acaderiilc or published help, they go mooning; about their ; everisrday life, waiting for some help. For them it's a, sad world. Here in Hollywood a lot; of people feel the same wayV ^: ^ In orderrtp haye^the ;prqiper ; de- sire to make a picture, one : must feel the urge. Feeling the urge la a commoriplacoK If ^not popular, senw sation in Hollywood. The Brown .Derby, .the. Holly wood Legioa Sta- dium, In fact;; on every corner in Hollywood there arb poor: souls who are feeling the urge all; over the place. ; Vagrant urges ca;ri be seen most anywhere; with their owners chasing: therii . thither and yon, hoping to cttpturb; them . for pnce -and all tling of individual problems, . Remnants of the ITO, under coirir plete new; leiadership arid officers, has been- particularly active on ;the other; hand. 'While ho direct results have so far attended their efforts, execs of ITO are satisfied that their constant pluggihg at what they term evils of. distribution and ex- hibition are certain to nieet with success befbre many 'months have elapsed. , Principal agitation by the ITO has been the ■ waging of an unrelenting battle against fllni checking by the Ross Federal Service; generally used by. dlstrlbs in this territory.' Reso- lutions of protest, with a request thaj^ checkers working directly out of the exchanges be used, ha.ve been subniltted to aU distributors, but so far these protests and., pleas have gone; unanswered* . -. ;. ; -■ ■Whereas a couple of months ago exhibs, particularly the indies, were begirinirig to see a. silver, lining, irii- partial observers today hold that the—sltuation-T hereabouts—is—BtiHr plenty aark;~ w nile.^ IHlre has been ,nb open revolt against the film code, disgruntled- exhibs are.'beglnnirig to diiscuss. plains for withdrawing from the protection of the blue ekgle. In stead of prbtectlbn promised, themi and benefits to .be accrued, they contend the NRA code has brought -theniTnothlrig-but-grlefi—Hbw-long- they can hbld out Is'problematical Those in close touch with local conditions are far from optiniistic -arid--mpst- aEe-wllling: tQ admit that anythlng and everything caiuiiapperi to "exTiIbltibri In" the ■Southern There's nothlrig fantastic or .In-, tricate about rijaklrig a, motion; pici- ture once you [are convinced you hi.vei the urge. Symptoms : ,are easily recognized, it's the. siame feeling: ;tha,t. niade Rembraridt take -t<^-rCanvaSr--Gelllnl^-;tb^llver-^nd- Rodin to stpn •. To perpetuate the thought on cellulbld Is the desire to create. , It's much the sariie as building mud pies. \ ::' story 8» Much Ekceip- Everything: must have Its start,, so yoiir motion picture beglilning Is a story. However, it's not neces sary to have a • story. Hollywood licbs been doing okay for a: number of yearis without stories. In fact,' tho Brothers Christie prodiibed pic tures, for 20 years and. only?' had one story, Here it is, arid stop me if you've heard It before: "The young balche lor expects his wealthy uncle pri a visit. The uncle believes the lad married and the father of a child, sb the lad hires a girl to pose aa his wife and they go out looking for a baby. . His real Bweetheart shows up. and misuriderstands, etc., '©tc» ' Simple; isn't It? Well, that is what's technically known ais :a story. Of course yptt can forget the whole, thing .and go a bout aim- lessly. phQtpgraphlng..this.Tand-tha with rio regard for sequences or any other iBcenes. When ypur pic tiire Is finished you win have an abstract BubJect, be considered a genius, get a. French. Academy Award, receive a letter frbm Charles Ghaplin and several offers from Hollywood and one from the ture's In Russia because your fea- ture has been considered : blow, to Capitalism. -However, if-ybu Insist- on- having -a_ .8.iory^_ then_ xq^^ writers to transform It Into a screen play, Before engaging the writers It is nicesaary to, throw away your original story. Writers have a peculiar antipathy towards original etories and you will Baye ' yourselic a lot of embarrassment by ndver lettlni? them see the original. Don't woriv, they'll give you a- stbry. There iare .only 21, original plots' [and the writers will have little or no trouble in delivering you a story/ It won't be the; story you want, and yoiivprobabiy /won't like : It but. you can do nothing about it. . Writers are sensitive creatures 'W'bo[ : wound easily and it's bettor to for- get the whole thing than ihake themi feel bad. [Xou have no Idea : how embarrasslrig It ; Is ; to ;: have a . , wounded writer on your Imnds. [ - [ Theresa Mjllloris^M Tour next step Is easy; get a di- rector. If you. are In Hollywood all ; you haye to do la atsind on a busy comer and Bay three times 'I want a dli'ector' arid you have; riot pne. but a dozen in your lapV, Tour-next step Is hazardous. Here you nuist use tact arid diplbimacy for now you ndust Iritrbdiice the director tb the [ Btory*-'[ [.; ■;.: ■':' [[ 'v■ ■[ ''■[•;■['[ ■ He woii't like it, bUt, don't let that bother yOu. . Jiist teli him to use his own -ideas. :■ You dori't have to ; Wther.. about: throwing- awia,yn the,[- story this time. Thatfs:' part , of a director's duties. .Time will piiss. accprdihg tP hbw you are paying the , directpr,; but finally this director will- give you a story, to read, it's a new story but a familiar one. :iBy : this Mniej j^u /are [ready. BO. hel p ^y go Into prbductlori. ; Presuming ypii have a studlp, you npwr are ready to engage a cast,' Walk do'wri tb the local poblrbom or ;, depipt arid .here you 'Will find your, players. Type, ability [and what- riot will enter Irito their' selection but the simplest method is the eenyr meeny-miny-irio system as [.used by some of the better producers in Hol- ly woodi You probably won't get the best results bUt it Is quick and easy, and by .this time you shbuld be. anxious; to start. Now comes the day When produc- tion begins. The thing for yoU to do Is consult some travel bureau about the best place fbr a nice q^ulet vacation. Atlantic City,' Asheyllle, Palm . Springs or .something like that. Let the others go screwey, but you play safe. After all, yoU are the producer, absolutely unneces- sary [to the' production of the pic- ture. Sariitariums are filled .with producers who insisted uppn hangr Ing : isirpUnd their picture 'while. It was in production. You've done your bit, you're paying for the pro- duction, skip out. If the others don't; like it,- nuts .to theni.-^ r-r----r Just Be Nbnchalant [ Returning: after ypur vacation you will find the picture going through -the,:myateElbua-jrltes_otieditlng.—lA^ follow:will~Blt^Bra*-table'taT{lhiOTO preclous.film in his :ha,nds; tearing it to pleces. a[nd throwing; the pieces away. It will be iiard to control yourself, but let him alone. He has ideas of his own; Spme gbbd and Bonie bad; • but he's an . artist. Everyone will be squawking, the -Soviet G uv ern mentr-to-malce-plc-- writer^lrector- and-playersr-bu don't pay a^yi attention to : thein. Just "yes' the cutter, for after all. If he chooses; he can throw the whole [thing. .away. Queer fellows, tllese. _ cutters. V-. ; ' ~:EM'rtttliy" ;ybUr"pIcFure~iB:'re^ ~ [ (Cohtlnued on page 41) "LADY FOR A DAY" "IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT' '•BRbAD\^Wr BILL"