Variety (Jul 1928)

STAGE BROADWAY CENTS MAE WEST STRUTS HER STUFF IIL'IS MAE mi OVER Variety Get» Many Loads of Continual Scrap Be- tween Linders and West Factions of 'Diamond Lil' —All Pirincipals Anxious to Talk and Do Despite Advice From Advisors to Lay Off — Miss West Went to Jail Developing Style MAE»S FIVE LOVERS Cuddle Rides Popular Cuddle rides are outdistanc- ing the dip thrillerA as mag- nets in amusement parks this season, according to early re- ports. Young America is scorning the dips and loops for the milder and dark rides. . F. N. ABANDONS MOLLY TO OWN WEIGHT nCHT "Anyone could, tell I wrote 'Dla- hiond Lil,' said Mae West, in ex- pressing her version of the Jack and Mark Under charges that Mae is trying to cop all credit. "'Diamond UV has all my stuff in it,"''continued Mae. "I only go into a play where I. can be myself and strut my stuff. I know how I want to walk and talk, show off my figure and looks« "I can bring one man after an- other into a play to revolve around me and no" one else can. I have five men in love with me in 'Diamond Lil' and most authors can't keep up one love interest^" said the star of the season's $17,000 weekly freak riot at the Royale, New York. Mae had her say following the Lind(?rs, over the fights and ru- mors of fight over the authorship and maniigemcnt of "Diamond Lil." These matters have been printed and they precipitated the verbal showdown when . Variety said Mae was throwing out the Linders in flocks from her dressing room, meanwhile trying to ease in on the show that Mark Linder claimed to have written. When the Linders were asked as to the truth of these reports they decided to bi'oadcast their stor>'. "Yes," said Jack Linder, "it is all the truth. Mae West is trying to grab the .show that my brother wrote and we have all the facts necessary to prove that he wrote it." Jack said that heretofore Mark had been willing to sit back, keep the peace and the royalties and let Mae get away with everything. But (Continued on page 3) BROOKS COSTUMES LI437 B'WAV. N.Y TEU5560 PENN. — .ALSO 29.00O G09TUMC9 TO RtNT£:== Los Angeles, July 3. Molly O'Day is still under con- tract to First National, but is not drawing pay arid cannot do so until she gets rid of that extra weight. F. N. engaged a reducing cJipert as a companion for Miss O'Day and sent her away to lose the surplus. However, after three weeks, there was not much difference and she was withdrawn from a picture held for her. Miss O'Day went away again and came back, and was once more too plump. After that the studio heads told the young lady her weight must fall away, and fast, at her expense as no more salary would be forthcoming until she tipped the scales at the desired figure. Outside of weight thing, Miss O'Day is considered one of the best bets to have appeared on the screen in the past three years. No Columbia Course; ^ Practical Men First Efforts to launch a School of Motion Picture Technology at Co- lumbia University, having met with failurei have been abandoned by the Hays office and the Columbia Uni- versity faculty. Queries were sent out by the Hays ofnce to executives in every branch of the business for the purpose of ascertaining if there was any need for college camera men, script writ- ters, directors and so on. It Is re- ported the majority of the replies indicated that picture men are not interested in college men of any type, preferring to use people who come to notice through actual work in the studios. Opera Dancer 3 Years Late Ellin Dalorsey, soprano, with the "Metropolitan Opefar dally practice to master the Charleston for the coming opera season which will witness the staid Metropolitan as sponsor of a "Jazz opera." The Charleston went out of vogue nearly three years ago and the black bottom. Its succes.sor, has also been laid to rest. 2 CLASS STOCK COS. CONFUSING STAMFORD Stamford, July 3. Stamfor^ now has two stock com- panies beginning. The town Is In an uproar trying to straighten out who are the patrons, guarantors, patronesses and , underwriters, and not to subscribe to the'same group twice, Beatrice Maude's Actors' Play- shop group has been playing in Stftnford three weeks. Ruth Putnam Mason's Players, driven from New Canaan by classy but scanty audi- ences, opened at the local Spring- dale theatre, g:iven up as a tryout house after a few months of un- satisfactory bookings. The Play- shop group, is at the Auditorium. Miss Maude's Players gave "The Barker," with Mary Kennedy and Paul Huber and a good production last week to poor returns. "Cradle Snatchers," with Theresa Maxwell Conover, current. Gavin Muir Is di- recting the productions. The group carries a weekly overhead of $1,200 and the directors admit In seeking assistance that they have more in- terest than cash. Miss Mason's Players split the week with Norwalk and Springdale. "Stella Dallas," with Edna Archer Crawford, is current. Edward Eisner is directing. This ^company is not as heavy to run, but it is not as well done as the Playshpp group. Miss Mason has the Regent, Norwalk, the first half on a 60-40 basis, with her- self, on the lower side. She has underwritten the Norwalk engage- ment for some weeks with some Norwalk business interests. i N. Y. State Police Drama H. H. Van 'Loan, the playwright. Is writing a melodrama called "The State Trooper" in collaboration with Crane Wilbur. Van Loan spent three weeks with Troop G of the New York State troopers at their barracks near Troy. He chose the New York state police because their ■uniforms are pic- turesque. Tabbing Candidates Two Movietone trucks have been assigned to follow Hoover and Smith around the country,, record- ing each speech as and when made. The public will be able to com- pare the remarks made by the can- didates when flashed on the screen in close order. II 1 m i WM^mmMmmmmmmiem. Photo Unaerwood & Uiwlerwoo* ■i Ml Another Bug Country Sydney, June 3. Freak dancing is all the , rage in Australia at present. Limit to the craze was reached when a young follow danced from Beelong to Mel- bourne, 50 miles, without a stop. New York Boston Philadelphia Palm Beach Washington Newport Meyer Davis Section Pages 51 to 66