Motion Picture News

Gisborne Times, Volume LXV, Issue 10312, 22 January 1927, Page 4

Motion Picture News

(Fsy Vhe <s%tooie Fan

NEXT WEEK’S PROGRAMMES. PALACE THEATRE. This Afternoon, To-night and Monday : “The Palm Peach Girl’'— Paramount —starring Pebe Daniels and Lawrence Gray. Tuesday and Wednesday: “Uld Clothes”—Metro-Goldwyn, featuring Jackie Coogan. Thursday and Friday: “Time the Comedian’ —Metro-Goldwyn double feature, starring Mae Busch, Lew Cody, Gertrude Olmstead, Creighton Hale. ’ EVERYOBEY ’S THEATRE. This Afternoon and To-night and Monday: “Too Much Money”— starring Lewis Stone and Anna Q. Nilsson. Tuesday Night and Wednesday Afternoon and Night: “Reveille,” — Welsh Pearson, starring Betty Balfour. Thursday and Friday: “Transcontinental Limited’’—Universal Special, with all-star cast. OPERA HOUSE. Commencing Tuesday Next: “Charley’s Aunt”—starring Sydney Chaplin, SCREEN HEWS. Elliott Dexter is back in 'Hollywood again. Dexter has just completed a long vaudeville tour. Before going back to the Coast, iie visited Tommy Meighan at his Great -Seek, Long Island home. Tommy and Dexter, '"you know, are old 'riends from the days when they used to play together in boudoir extravaganzas.

When Buck Jones drifted into the motion picture capital several years ago, he was still happy-go-hfeky—and very nearly broke! He met a few of his "kind, real ranch hands who had been lured to Hollywood by the stories of fabulous sums paid for daring riders who could really do stunts. Buck was soon working—and has held his job ever since.

The body of Tom Forman, motion picture director, with a bullet hole through the heart, was found by his parents in their home in Benice (says a Los Angeles message dated Nov. 7). The conclusion of the police was suicide, the act being due to n nervous breakdown following intense work upon a picture. 1' orman was 34 years of age. He was formerly an "actor, and began directing pictures about six years ago.

Word has been received in Sydney from London that Vera Pearce, the well-known Australian actress, is to play the lead in the new British film production, “Tip Toes.” “Tip Toes’’ is one of the biggest hits of the American musical comedy stage this year, and its adaptation to the screen by a British company marks another milestone in the progress of the picture industry in England. Miss Pearce will have the support of Dorothy Gish, Will Rogers, and Nelson Keys.

That German cinema audiences arelosing their taste for American, films and that there is indeed something in the nature of a boycott against them, is the opinion of many p>rominent persons in the Berlin cinema trade (says a. London paper). American authors are nowadays writing scenarios for servant girls, they complain, forgetting that in Germany many servant girls pay money to see Bernard Shaw’s “St. Joan,” or to hear “Parisfal,’ and object to . see. “rubbishy stories” on the films. Some of the best on tout of Hollywood has been greeted with hisses and booing by Berlin audiences recently, and there has been a distinct falling off in the attendance at cinema theatres showing American films, which cannot be explained solely by the fine weather.

Tho American film colony is much alarmed about the “invasion’ of foreign directors and players to these shores, and seeks to have a. curtailment placed upon these importations, on the grounds that they are depriving American studio workers oi employment (says “Motion Picture Magazine’’.) ’ A shorf time ago, it will be recalled, there was a great outcry in England about the preponderance of American films in that country and the demand was made that a' ban be placed upon American films. To which the Americans replied: “Make as good films as we do, and yon won’t have to worry about American pictures.” It now seems as though the logical thing for the foreign invaders to say to American screen artists is: “Display as much ability as we do, anu you won’t have to worry about any further invasion of foreigners.”

From fig leaves in the Garden of Eden to the latest modes in Parisian gowns, Olive Gordon tells the story of woman’s craving for adornment through the ages, in the fascinating .story of “Fig Jbeavcs, ’ to he shown in Auckland shortly. r lhis picture is original and intriguing, from the first scenes in the Garden of Eden, where the demure Eve is carefully selecting a fig leaf with the wily serpent at her shoulder whispering, temptations, to the exclusive shop of to-day where slie is again tempted into a compromisiim situation by her love of the beautiful. The part of Adam, the first he-man, as well as the modest plumber and the husband of the modern Eve, is played by Geo. O’Brien. Tn striking contrast to the age of innocence in the Garden is the fashion review where beautiful women display their charms in the elaborate styles of the day. These latter scenes are in technicolour and prove the possi-’ bilities of this medium for showing , the color and texture of fine fabrics.

Here are the twelve players who, according to “'Photoplay's” rating of “best performances,” scored, the outstanding acting hits of tho yearJohn Gilbert gets ton place with three “best performances to his credit: “The Dig Parade,” “La Doheme,” and. “Danilovs the Magnificent.” Others with two “best performances” are: Rudolph "Valentino in “The Eagle” and “Son of the Sheik” ; Clara Dow in “Dancing Mothers” and “Mantrap” ; John Barrymore in “The Sea Beast” and,‘Don Juan” ; Adolphe Menjou in “The Grand Duchess and the Waiter ’ and “A Social Celebrity” ; Lois Moran in “Stella Dallas” and “Padlocked ; May Allison in “The. Greater Glory and “Mon of Steel” ; and Gloria Swanson in “Stagestruok” and Fine Manners.” Four players who made single hits are included in the Honor Roll because of the high excellence of their work. Tliev are Emil Jannmjgs in “Variety” ; Ramon Novarro - m “Ben Hur” ; Belle Bennett in ‘Stella Dallas” • and H. B. Warner m “Silence.” These performances were chosen, from the record in .‘ Shadow Stage?) from . December, 1925, to November, 1926, inclusive. ' -

PLAYS AND PLAYERS

| And, so desperate a thing is the movie madness that it is no use telling the truth. If you say bluntly to one of the movie mad that she has not a chance in the world of succeeding in pictures she will probably burst into tears, and go away saying you have a prejudice against her. Then she will walk straight to another office, where they will say “Keep in touch.” Meanwhile thousands of other gwls keep chasing alter this cinema will o’ the wisp. Somebody has told one of them she is like Norma Talmadgc, or some such rubbish. That is all that is needed to uproot a movie-mail girl from a steady job and send her chasing on the road to somewhere it is not pleasant to contemplate. Yet people wonder why the fringes of the film business have been tarnished with tragedy! The wonder is that there are not more tragedies, when one realises the temptations and desperations winch these girls have to meet.'

The revival of film-making in Britain is already causing movie madness Unless this problem is taken in hand right away we shall have in this country scandals just as terrible as anything that has ever come out of Hollywood. That is why the British film business should take a lesson from Hollywood.

At one time the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce organised a department which made it its duty to rescue all girls who became stranded in looking for work in pictures. This department returned such girls to their homes whenever they could ho persuaded to go, but that was by no means a cure. It seemed only to touch tho fringe of the business. So the threat American film companies have combined against movie madness.

They have just set up what is called the Central Casting Bureau. All picture producers have agreed to work through this bureau. Therefore, all other agencies bare been closed down. The girl in search of work has no longer to walk miles from office to office. There is only one office.

' It is also possible now, for the first time, to keep correct complete records of the number of days every extra is employed. The bureau charges- no fees of any kind, and discourages -girls -who come along without experience,- X X- Z'-X, sT-ra-

After hundreds of film tests had been made and thousands of applicants interviewed, Universal has at last discovered a “Little Eva”,for its long-in-production “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (writes a Hollywood correspondent.) She is Virginia Gray, aged 9 and no Cinderella tale could be more dramatic than her eleventh hour discovery. The mother of the child works in one of the departments at the studio. Recently, Harry Pollard, the director, stood on the steps of the office, in which the girl’s mother works, and directed the tests of more than 200 prospective little Evas, while Virginia stood in the widow and watched with who-knows-what wistful longings, the aspirants being photographed. Then, suddenly, when the director was almost in despair over finding the exact type required, one of the men “discovered” that the little Gray girl, who had been walking in and out of the studio with her mother for Weeks, was just the one they wanted. They made a film test of her and a few hours later she was on her way to film fame.

TRAGEDY OF FILM EXTRAS. HUNDRED THOUSAND STARVING AT HOLLYWOOD. It is difficult when you watch the magic of the movies to realise that, behind the glamour, there lies a tragedy far greater than that of Puncinello the clown who had to make laughter for an audience while his only son lay dying. Yet I think you ought to know the tragedy of the “extra,” writes W. Mutch in an English exchange. A movie “extra” is a player, man or woman, who appears in a crowd as hut a blurred background. In reality every member of that crowd represents a life gone astray. Every individual in a film crowd represents dreams unrealised. In Hollywood there are 100,000 extras. There is work for 3000. And where you have 100,000 people doing the work of 3000, everybody starves. The money spent on extras in Hollywood in any one year is three million dollars. If you divide that among 100,000 people you find that the “’income” of every individual averages out at 30 dollars. Just think of trying to live on .£(> a year! The average wage of the movie extra lias been less than half-a-crown a week. Arid still there are girls who think it would he “heaven” to take up such a career. Till very recently in Hollywood, every company had its own casting agency, and, in addition to that, there were many independent casting agencies. Many of these independent agencies were unscrupulous, and some of them were tied up with film schools which professed to be able to teach people how to act for the screen. For a few dollars these “schools” would register anybody with a face that wouldn’t be of any use even in a coal mine at night, and so Hollywood was crammed with ail sorts and conditions of people who were deluded into believing they might have a chance in pictures. Under these conditions a girl who might have very little money would have to walk the complete round of the casting offices, which would mean a tramp of anything from ten to thirty miles a day. And at .every place the girl would he put off with the same old formula, “Sorry, nothing to-day.” If the girl was apt to get downhearted the fake agents would say, “Sure, we can get you a job. The Hocus Focus Corporation are talking about making a picture that needs somebody just your type. We’ll let you know in good time.” That is the sort of talk that has made many a girl spend her last cent waiting for the great opportunity that never came. Hollywood is full of such girls. They are now to he found as waitresses, counter hands, clerks—in any sort- of girl occupation —because once upon a time they were movie mad. The effect of the genuine agencies was often just as had. Even in a film artists’ agency you can find human feelings. It is very human of the agent who answers mechanically, “Sorryg nothing to-day,” to add, “but keep in (touch. . We may have something soon.” Tt is not pleasant to see a beautiful girl grow thin and pale before your eyes. When you answer “Nothing to-day,” and you see hope replaced

by despair, you are sorely tempted to

add, “Keep in touch.” Unhappily, the girl whose heart is set on the movies takes this consola-

tion too literally. She goes away with new hope, dreaming -mit film fame, with all tho fabled luxuries of a cinema star, may he just round the corner.