Variety (March 1925)

~'Wi.>| VJICV |i|l|*Jll.Hl«4l VARIETY PICTURES TV' '^tll! Wednesday, March U, 1925 HOUSE REVIEWS STRAND A prosaic program here this week »lth the glamor of a fine week with "Sally," followed by comparative dullneaa with "Declasse." In the first place, ••Hully" allowed for flocks of good tunes, while "Declasse" was met with ordinary scoring. The show is two^ours In length. Opening is a lesser known Dvorak composition, "Carneval." As an overture It Is not fitted for picture houses due to Its lack of dominant melody. It Is played softly through- out and even the smash at the finish did not arouse the audience. Following was the first of the presentations, "Song and Ballet" pictures. They were two in number and ran six minutes (see presenta- tions). News Reel went for nine minutes and held eight Items, with Inter- national holding five and Patbe eight. Pox wasn't represented at alL Th« tornado pictures l?y Inter- national were good and apparently appreciated for their value. The fire scenes In the same series were grlpplna propositions at the mo- ment. Next the Mound City Blue Blow- •ra and the Mark Strand Male i)uart«t wbrklng their second week Isgether. The Blue Blowers did t*ir«« numbers and with the quartet war* ushered off to plenty of appre- clAUon. They were set in sliver drapes lighted at first by blue, but with succeeding selections, side lights of red ana green flooded the backdrop with brilliant and unusual effect. As the red ray grew, the green diminished, etc.. which effect was repeated and liked. Fox. The best thing In the film was the Fox sequence of the Breakers Hotel, Palm Beach, during lU burning. Next Mr. Webb, baritone, in • tux and before the curtains parted to reveal a tall art panel, used before on the same stage as a dance back- ground. The feature, "Contraband," Iran about 70 minutes. It was followed by Alessl'a cornet solo, through which he was accompanied by the orchestra. The high notes of the "Inflammatus" brought applause and it might be noted here that Pietro Capidlferro at the Capitol did the same identical piece of music not so many weeks ago. An Aesop Fable, not so funny as those things usually are. closed the bill, which ranked about as low en- tertainment value as anything ever observed at the Rlalto. Business Monday night for both the 7:aO and the 9:30 show terribly off, with the orchestra filled half- way back and spotty at that Such a Bight eondition is unusual. ^ : ..... auk. corking in their danoe^ oCFerings. They opened wltb a vocal number under a white spot against a blue satin drop (in full), accompanied by a pianist. "Caballero," a dance in the dress of old Madrid but sans the proverbial castanets, was next, suc- ceeded after a piano interlude by the "Walte Classlque," a pretty number, with the two girls in white, rhine- stone-trimmed costumes. The cur- tain fell on this, and the applause was allowed to continue until the young ladles had changed their dresses for a pair of Bowery "rigs." "Rosie O'Grady" was the accompani- ment. The complete 16-minute act scored heavily. There was no chance for more than a single bow, as al- most before the curtain had dropped the projectionist had started the featuqe, "Sackcloth and Scarlet.'!^ This ran 65 minutes. "Glddap," a Sennett-Pathe comedy, took up the next 10 minutes, and a three-minute trailer on "Charley's Aunt" closed. The next show started off with Milton Slosser's solo at the organ for th»ee minutes, and was followed by the overture, "Mlgnon," by Joseph Llttau and the orchestra. A show not up to those of recent weeks, principally because of the feature. Otherwise, 18 karat. . •.' ' '{ SneheL PICCADILLY Something of a rearrangement in the manner in which the Piccadilly is presenting its shows, at least aa far as the orchestral selections are concerned. There are two num- bers given and placed sufllclently far apart so as not to give the audience too much music at one time. This week "Rhapsodie Bspana" serves as the overture, while' half way down in the show FILM REVIEWS DECLASSE rirat MkUoaal prodocUoa •* tk« Co* Aklna atac* pla/ la which Btbal Jtarry- mora stanad. Corinn* OHath aUrrad on •craaa aad diractlon br Rotwrt O. VlKnoU. Soaoartat not cradltad on print reviewed at tba Btnad. New Tork. Maroh Sil, Rub- Blnc tlma. 8> mlnutaa. UMr Halan Ha4en Corlnna Qrlfflth Nad Tbsy*r LJoyd Uushea Rudolph Solomon Cllve Brook Sir Bruoa Haden Rookcllfte Pellowea Hrs. Liealle ^ Lllyan Taahman LAdy WUderlna.: Hedda Hoppar Sir Bmmatt Wlldarlnc Bertrajn John* Tlmoilna Qala Henry Mra, Walton Ltoulee Faaenda Mr. Walton Eddla Lyona Uotal Maaacer Maria Carrlllo Hiimoresque" is played as an In- Then*lh*e''fe^tuMi"for SS mlnute8^ terlude leading into the presenU- tlon of the. feature. and finally a relief with the slx- minute short subject of ''Magic Minnie." a ]?athe Revlerw subject of multiple photography Interestingly made by Alvin V. Knechtel with a Javanese love bird (which looks liks a road show edition of a par- rot) as his subject. The organ finished the show, which opened to half a house Sun- day. Bisk. RIALIX) New Tork, March 2S. ] One of the cheapest shows from a presentation standpoint ever put over oo Broadway at the Rlalto this week. The lone extra features are a baritone solo by Theodojpe Webb and a comet solo by Joseph Alessl, whose "Infiammatus" Jfrom the "Stabat Mkter" came after the fea- ture. Alessl. Is a knetnber of the. house orchestra. The show is 1( mlnn^ea short of two hours. Opening, Dr. RIesenfeld leads through^the "Mlgnon" over- ture, <i famlliair work whose t>eauty has been heard In both the RlvoU and Rlalto several times of late. The Overture went about seven minutes and drew applause. Fol- lowing this waa « Classical Jaax selection, well received. Next was a Red Seal featurette, "A Daor with the Gypsies," in reality a dls^Ised scenic of the English countryside. It was artistic and all that but not so entertaining. Then the Malto Pictorial, which news reel held five shots from Pathe, one from International and three from Following the overture the entire Fox weekly is shown. This is fol- lowed by the organ specialty by John Hays Hammond? "March Mllitalre" and "I'll See You In My Dreams," the latter number meet- ing with popular approval. . Harold Kravitt. baritone, sang "Venetian Vision" ahead of the showing of an "Our Gang" comedy entltLed "The I^ove Bug." The scoring for the comedy was most effective, as it embodied nothing but popular'numbers. "The Bridge of Sighs," presented by the Warner Bros., proved to be a corking audience picture, excep- tionally well directed from a story that had but little to It. Fred. MISSOURI St. lioulq, March 21. The Saturday night audience at this house was probably mor^ Inter- ested in the eight-minute news Weekly than in any other unit-on the bill, for excitement, caused by the tornado that struck so close to St. Louis, is still at its height. Any blues brought oo by these scenes were rapidly dispelled by the orchestra presentation next, 'cause George JSrdmann and His Royal Palm Orchestra (Band Reviews) sure dispensed Jazz. And how can a "date night" like Saturdajr remain morose with the strains of melodies floating around? A new kind of cross-word puzzle film, animated and wordless, fol- lowed. The Barr Sisters, twins, were ! NEWMAN kanaas my, March 19. From the opening overture "Gems from Ireland," a special ar- rangement of popular Irish airs, arranged by I^ee Forbatein In honor of St Patrick's week, to the Mer- maid comedy whleh follows the featui^e, the bill At the Newman this week Is one of gXMd entertain- ment.' thrills and laughter. After nine minutes of the lively Irish tunes there was five minutek of news views from both Pathe and Klnograma. wltb scenes from the President's inauguration played up. Easter and Hazelton dancers fol- lowed with a six-minute exhibition of fancy and sensational leaps; Just about the limit for this class of danolngi Miss Haxelton makes her first leap from a nine-foot pedestal into her partner's arms, which gave the customers a real thrlU. The Newman Magazine, another news reel, followed, and tVien a special showing of "Fashions In Colors," which was used as pub- licity for the coming feature next week, "The Dressmaker of Paris." The women liked It and ther^ were exclamations from all parts Of the house as the beautiful work o( the costu^era' ait were shewn on the screen. The prolog, "West of ffce' Qreat Divide," followed. It was given by Le Roy Mace and Sherry Louise Marsbi^l. A special landscape set- ting, showing a mountain rangie in the background, waa used.. which with the nicely modulated lighting effects^ made a beautiful vision. "The Great Divide" feature fol- lowed for an hour and twenty-five minutes, wltii the Mermaid contedy aa a chajser. A short organ Inter- lude by H. Wallis Frank completed the bill. Hu0hs». T>elaajse" Is first and foremost, another example of inexpert writing marring an expensive and otherwise good production. For, aa it Is done in the movies. "Declas- se' la as heavy-footed as a thing can well be. while its acted version waa at once fragile and powerfuL What, the Warners did to "Debu- rau" First National has done to "Declasse." "Deburau," which was cinematized as "Lover of Camilie." waa written by the younger Guitry with the express purpose in mind of showing C^amiUe when she waa AOt in the throes of t. b. The picture flopped when the Warners had the lady coughing all over the lot. In "Declasse" Zoe Atkins used the dramatic experiment of having her opening scene one in which a tense situation was on as the cur- tain arose. And it was successful. Those who recall the stage version recall that at the play's opening Lady Haden was making her hus- band apologize to guests after he had accused them of cheating at cards. In the film all this is preluded by 20 minutes of piffle. First, to impress the idea of'Lady Helen's noble ancestry, we are given a cut- back to one of her femlnlAe an- cestors who wcui decapitated when she refused to dishonor herself. Then much unnecessary footage is wasted, and the plot doesn't begin to develop until Lady Haden's pure love with young Ned Thayer is revealed by his unscrupulous sister-in-law. Then her divorce. 4Uid subse<luently that declasse position which waa hers when so- ciety made her an outcast /Through all of this Rudolph Solomon, a wealthy man, has followed her, wishing to make her his own. But always she turned him down, and aa she lived moderately with her pearls and Jewels slipping away one by ohe, .the spectre of tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow forced her to Solomon. But then young Thayer came back after years of regeneration In South Africa, and although Lady Helen dashed from Solomon's house to purposely throw herself before a cab—Thayer saw that she didn't piece, but such la not the ca.<ie. Actually, the hit of the film waa made by Louise Fazenda and Eddie Lyons, who aa a pair of coffee and cakers walk on the set with Variety flashed prominently through several sequencea. Settings are good, but some painted on fiats and look it, even though they're, not photographed close. The direction la way under the Vlgnola standard and the film as a whole Is not to be regarded as above the average in box office value. Where Miss Griffith is a draw it may get by—where she isn't it looks like Cupid has shot his arrows in vain. Despite a long New York run and reputation in the legit, it but halt filled the Strand at Sunday's first de luxe show. 8i*/c. SACKCLOTH AND SCASLET Henry Kins Production, presented by Rel»> eit Kane, relcaied by Paramount, Fea- turing AUee Terry. Story by Oeorce GIbba, adapted by Tom Qeraghty, Julea Furthman and Julie llrrne. At the Rtvoll, N. T.. weak March 84. Runnlnc tlma, TO minutea. Joan Ktfeman .....Alice Terry StephenBdwarda ..., Orvllle CaUlwell Polly freeman Doh>tt)y Seba.vtlah Etteiine Fochard '...Otto Matlpaea Beatrice Sellcnac Kathleen Klrkban Samuel Curtia ...; John MUJaa . Miss Curtis Clarlaaa Selwynn* ' Jack Jack Huff "S&ckcloth and Scarlet" sounds like a title that is going to mean real money at the box office. Those that read the novel, either In its serial form or as a book, will want to see bow it was possible to get the punch across and still escape the cens6r8. That is exactly what has been done in this case, even though It took three crackerjack script writers to do the trick. Henry King, in directing, handled the sex stuff BO delicately that while the suggestion is all there there is noth- ing that offends. Alice Terry Is featured above the other members of the cast, but it is little Dorothy Sebastian, in the role of the erring sister, that takes the picture away from her In prac- tically every scene that they have together. Miss Terry, however, looks radiantly beautiful and really carries the heavy portion of the story, oharacterlzlnz the role of the mature sister in a spiritual manticr that registers splendidly. OrviUe Caldwell, aa the hero, rugged in appearance and fitting the type, did not quite measure up in the later scenes. Little Jackie Huff, a* the youngster, was out-* standing and showed careful dU rectlon. "Sackcloth and Scarlet," as a story, tells of the wilful selfishness of a younger sister of a wealthy family. She wants to live and ad- venture In life and takes it upon herself to rim off under an assumed ...I Iff r Carter #teeting£{ FROM flLiaMMMM.I«N«i(t SID FILM ITEMS Edward Sloman will direct the next House Peters production for Universal, "The Titans," which haa been adapted from the Charles Guernon novel. Alice Joyce will leave Famous Players following her work In "The Little French Girl" to play the lead for Universal In "The Home Maker," which King Baggott wifl produce from the Dorothy Canfield best seller. k 'r THEATRE HOCLVU/OOD BLVD. I HI^OIDOEN WiCL HOUVWOOO. CALIFORNIA. To the producers who have booked pictures to tof tbat were not so good. • To the authors who were partly rejsponslhle for the pro- Auctions that did not register at the box office. To the hard-boiled critics who were ofttimes unkind in their criticisms. To the friendly policeman on the beat who stopped us from selling standing room when the public wanted us. To those who accepted the courtesy of passes extended to them and gave the show the "rltz-a-marue." To Qur iMitrons who "panned" a really courteous usher or ticket seller or said one of our cornet players hit a "blue" note. To the press agent who never saw the picture he was plugging and made me think It was good. On this Batter Day I wUh to way, mi M Jfijrstoeh , p. g.—Red hot cl>ifli»s and warm biscuits will be served by Douglas Fairbanks at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood to all friends during the run of "The Iron Horse." Virginia Browne Falre, one of the Wampas baby stars, will be Hoot Gibson's leading lady for so'rhf time to come In hl^ Western series. George Hlckejr, manager of the Kansas City district for the Metro- Goldwjm corporation, haa been transferred to' San Francisco to as- sume charge of the western coast district He haa been succeeded by J. EL Flynn of San Frandeco. name, vamp a guide who has taken die, and the happy ending replaced I her to the top of the mountain, and Sam Finger Is ^nlldlng a theatre tA Mangum. Okla. new W. J. Lytle has accepted plans for a new theatre at San Antonio, Tex. The building will be four stories high. J. N. Byrd succeeds A. J. Beck as manager of the Vltagraph exchange at Oklahoma City. Mr. Beck )ias resigned. the death In the legit That's only fair enough, of course, but the scenario and casting here has made for a flock of Jumbled cliaracters who mean little. They are compe- tent enough actors and actresses, with the exception of Lllyan Tash- man, but the distorted scenario has overridden the atmosphere of real gentility which pervaded the piece and has fiooded it with so many strictly movie Ideas that it is In- effective. Regarding Miss Tash- man. It may be said that she pho- tographs badly and Is out of place in the role of Mrs. Leslie. Corlnne Grlfllth Is but fair. Cer- tainly It was expected that she would be very dramatic in this then, when it comes to paying for her misstep, she lets the burden fall on the shoulders of tbe^lder sister, who takes hex: child and rears him. When the yoimgster Is four or five years old the elder sister meets the same man.' He, In the meantime, has risen politically and Is In Wash- ington. The two fall in love, but at this point the yoimger sister walks Into the picture again. She ha< taken her Inheritance and squan- dered It In riotous living and Is IlL She turns to her older sister fof assistance, and when the latter dis- covers that the man she loves Is the one that is the father of the young- ster she compels a marriage. Then Thompson Brothers will build a theatre at Wilson, Okla., to replace their house which was burned re- cently. T. B. Noble, Jr., has resigned the managership of Corslcana 'Theatres. Inc., Corslcana, Tex., to accept the managership of the Arcadia Amuse- ment Co. at Tyler. Tex. Mrs. J. M. Kennedy, who owns and operates the Princess, pictures, In KIrksvllle, Mo., has announced she will build a theatre in that city of 1,200 capacity, with stage equipment and policy of road shows. Work is scheduled to start within a few weeks. GET 72Riff? 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