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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 1930)
1 " I i i ThV OREGON STATESMAN, Salem. Oregon, Sunday Morning, November 2, 1930 PAGE SIX "Check and-B&uble Check" Pennies for Movies This Week 1 ! . : " J - &tSK -fr"; till jP iL ' '-S- w ...... - L uJ r :m c P w w : )d 1 I Winnie Li-htner in "The Life of the Party" which begins a three day run at Bligh's Capitol today. Griffith Knows Wants and To Please The Call Board By OLIVE M. DOAK HOI.IiYWOOD Today Lon Chaney in his last picture, "The Unholy Three." Wednesday Joseph ISchi'.d- krant In "Cock O' the Walk." Friday Charles Bickford In "The Sea Bat." . TIIK GRAND Today Winnie Llghtner In "Hold Everything." Wednesday Alice Joyce in "He Knew Women." Friday Warner Baxter in "Aritona Kid:' KLSIXORK Today -"Sim Steps Oaf " and Fanchon and Marco in "New Yorker" Idea. Monday Amos and Andy In "Check and Donhle Check."" BUgli's Capitol Today Winnie Llghtner in "The Life ot-the Party Wednesday Bessie Lore in . "Good News". If you are wondering how to spend a few hours of real laughs today the advic is said to be of fered on good authority v that "The Life of the Party" is even better ttfaii "Gold Diggers of Broadway", As for Jpe it would take a powerful show to cause more laughs than Winnie Llght ner gare me in "Gold Diggers of Broadway", and because she Is aid to be funnier in "The Life of the Party", it is real anticipa tion that I look forward to see ing the show today. . The "New Yorker" Idea Is breezy, artistic, fast moving and adorned with gorgeous costum ing and interesting stage effects. The chorus numbers are unusual "and splendidly drilled. The nam- ber given in imitation of ,a train Is one of the cleverest tap chorus numbers I have ever watched. One thing 'that left to impres sion was a close harmony trio of pretty girls. The , singing was really .harmony and it was well done. Fanchon and Marco : should give themselves a pat on the back. The comedy line H different " and .be it said there Is nothing slow, about it; it moves so fast that the shocks, if any, are quite painless. Down Years Ago big Kit Many are the on produced ' plays which today lie t the bot toms of trunks, forgotten and be- . yond all hope ot ever being placed behind the footlights. 1 Few are the occasions when such pieces of work are dug oat after a number of years and ba- ; come sensational successes. The case of Lajoa Zilhay's play. The General." Is one ot these rare resurrections. i Last season, ten years after It was first written, the author palled the play from Its dusty storage place, rewrote parts of it, and was delighted In hearing It acclaimed a masterpiece of ..modern playwrlghting. after Its ' ' presentation In Budapest. So successful ; was the play . that Paramount acaolred the talking picture rights to the dra- zaa and it la today being nimea ' as "The Virtuous Sin.- with Kay r Francis. Walter Huston and Ken neth MacKsnna In the leading roles, f . Zilahy began writing at a re- - knit of a serious wonnd sustained ' In tha-World war. - His first atempt was a book of poems which was published. It followed these with his work - on Th General." No producer eoalJ b fonnd so no lar the work aslda and turned to klg oecond Play Turned ... ;'X W: : NX What He Why; Strives Himself First . Editor's Not: This i tha tetoni of brt aeries of Bandar articles which' develops an intsrriesr with I. W. Grif fith by AVsrren Nolan.) Despite his Innumerable cigar ettes, (a carton a day), his affec tation of a vague manner, his ag gressive modesty and his ner vousness. Griffith very definitely knows what he wants and why. Like Chaplin, he has done what he has done to satisfy something in himself. "I made The Birth of a Na tion' because I'm a southerner and I wanted to tell our side of it.." "No, I never thought of the In ternational market In picking themes; my spectacles Just hap pened to make money, in- foreign countries." "I "want to do a picture based on , the life of Sam Houston be cause he was a vigorous and dra matic figure, but there are those who don't like to put up money for historical pictures. "I, made 'Intolerance because It was the real stuff, it told the truth, no bunk or hooey. Outside of 'The Birth of a Nation' I think It's the best. Then comes The Avenging" Conscience.'- Sugges tion? Say In The Avenging Con science' I had a man tapping a pencil on a table. Just showing the pencil. Then I cut to the de tective looking at the tapping, which stopped. But then I show ed the tapping- of the man's foot. Suggestion Is old as the hills." , '-'Pure cinema, doing without subtitles? We started without them and In the beginning never used them In pictures, but they were good to incidate time lapses good because people come into movie theatres when the picture's half over and a sub-title can be cumulative. No, I'm not against the narrative sub-title. Isn't It better to fell an audience a man went to Cuba than to show him taking ,a cab, taking a boat, and all that, when the essentially Im portant fact to the- story is that he went to Cuba?" "Montage? I never heard the word until a while ago. -But-I know that the Russian directors, under orders from the . soviet school.; were told to study the last two reels ot Ta Birth of a Nationtand that was the begin ning of this montage talk. Me? I JU3t thought of rhythm, of chop ping up my scenes and individual camera shots as the drama quick ened, and If you'll look at that last reel you'll see montage. Say, that was sixteen years ago." - Hollywood Low-downs By HARRISON CARROLL. HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 18 Fol lowing in the footsteps of other film adventurers, Henry Hatha way, an assistant director at Par amount. Is sailing to the Orient in an attempt to photograph a picture that will rival "Chang," "Grass", and similar productions. Hathaway will back his own venture, but he has letters from Jesse Lasky, Douglas Fairbanks and other world travelers among the film colony. - India la to be the locale of the film, and Bombay the starting point of the project. The film man has Jast served as assistant ' director on "Tom Sawyer" at Paramount and has been promised his old Job If his plan falls. HIPPO COSTLY Universal sought far and wide for a hippopotamus to use - la "the Cohens aad Keilya la Afri ca." They finally procared one from San Diego, bat It la costing them ft a day. r : --v -a The Utter drama, . "The 8 1m Shining, became, a sensation. In qalck s accession he wrote "The Musical Clowns. Ielcle,, -SI-beria and others. He also wrote such novels aa. "Two Prisoners, 'Something la Adrift la the Wa ter." "Deadly 8prlng": and My ureac-granaiatners iove.- Tma yoarg passed while ho tarnlag out nine plapa, fire ela and 10 poems. t Last year ho draa-ged forth hs fjrst PUy aa H waa tremend Here is the president of the Fresh Air Taxi cab company himself, Andy, and Amos, his assistant, who will entertain Elsi nore audiences from Monday until Friday in "Cheek and Doable Check". Believe it or not, There's A Plot for "Checks' Amos and Andy Quite the Rage In Their First Appearance On Talking Screen The ears of the nation know Amos and Andy as radio friends, but it will remain for the eyes of many in Salem to know these two dark knights of the air when they appear Monday and through Fri day at the Elsinore In the picture titled from their, favorite expres sion, "Check and Double Check." The story which Is the vehicle for the first screen appearance ot Amos 'n Andy is one concerning the loss of a ..deed. The plot la Well carried, out involving in Its development the actual appearance of the "Fresh Air Taxi company" and its building.. The real Amos Is Freeman F. Gosedan, and Andy Is Charles J. Correll. They have become figures in the national life through sound. Personally they have no advantage of smiles or looks to "put over" their "line." In everyday life these two men have nothing; In common with Amos 'n Andy. It Is as though they did not exist and thus they become true Drs. Jekyll and Hyde. The 'dialect which has made these two people come Into life in the American consciousness Is a combination of foolishness invent ed by Correll and Freeman and an adaption from the Negro dialect. If one listens caretull It will be .discovered that some words are peculiar, to Amos only, others to Andy, and still others to the King fish. It will be a matter of great In terest to the public to "see" Amos n' Andy, an "air invention" of present day American life. Coincidence Aids Coogan Fame Quest J! Coincidence may be cited as the weak point of many a story, but It plays Important parts in the successes of mankind. For Instance, had Jackie Coo gan not gone with his mother to the theater one evening to walk home with his daddy,, it Is strongly probable that he would have never 'been the screen's most famous child actor. Another boy might have been carrying: the coveted role of Mark Twain's Immortal boy character today 4n Paramount's fllmization 1 of "Tom Sawyer" had not coin cidence 'placed Charles' Chaplin In the audience that same night. Jackie's father was appearing in an act with Annette Kellerman and they were playing a Los An geles vaudeville house. The act was third on the bill and, since this was an early hoar at which to finish work, Mrs. Coogan de cided to walk from the hotel to the theater to meet her. husband. Coincidence planned It that Jackie had taken a long nap that afternoon and was not sleepy. 8o. Instead ot being In bedhe went to the theater. This' aame force, often : called fate, placed Jackie In the wing ot the theater aa Miss Kellerman finished taking her curtain calls. She saw the lad. and. knowing that he could do ehildlih imper sonations, led. him onto the stage. Chaplin was Impressed at the hoy's work. ; At the time, he was preparing to start a new picture and already had a story In prep era tion. However, he quickly changed his plans after talking to Jackie, mad "The Kid" resulted.: The tact that Jackie had the title rolo and was titan a : part equal to that ot the famous com edlan made the boy an overnight sensation. Starting aa a child actor In the usual way. Jackie might never have received, such an Important role..' ..... .!- i DO YOTJ KNOW . That" John Barrymore and Thoaaas Metghan made their first ctae ajyeaxaneea in The Dltta tor." produced by WW1 Coir Iran Linow, Harry Earles and Lon Chaney in "The Unholy Three", the last picture to be made by Chaney before his death. This picture will show at the Hollywood today and Monday and Tuesday. . Look out for Mr. Fun; He's Here With Winnie "Hold Everything" Title for Miss Llghtner in Carefree Bill Now at Capitol The Grand will start the week with "Hold Everything," a laughj show with Winnie Llghtner of "Gold piggers of Broadway" fame, Joe Brown, George Carpentier, and Sally O'Nell aa the provoking force of lae-gh producers. Songs and foolishness stride through the show without regard to rhyme or reason and the re sult is that the audience is left carefree and happy to sit back and roar without a serious thought to mar the evening's amusement. Wednesday the bill Is a bit dif ferent. Lowel Sherman, Alice Joyce, Frances Dade and David Manner carry the action of a four cornered love affair through to a happy ending In "He Knew Wom en," ending bits of wisdom here and there and much dramatic ap peal. "The Arizona Kid" will be at the Grand for a return engage ment In Salem beginning with Fri day. It is a splendid picture hav ing as Its background the early Mexican and lower California Spanish life. Warner Baxter is the "Arizona Kid," and his work Is such as Is remembered long aft er the play has been seen. There Is beauty of good photography, er- cellent directing, and an absorb- m p:HB8fflllli" I JOZ E. EK)WN I XI I NNI E lIgH TN ER 'V . nAn I t - -- Yl ' 1 1 ' ' ''II ff. lng plot, worked out with artistry by the cast la "The Arizona Kid." Doug at Work On "Reaching For the Moon 9 Snpported by a large cast of noted screen and stage personal ities, several of whom are stars in their own right. Douglas Fair banks has launched camera activi ty on his new United Artists pic ture, "Reaching for the Moon," with Bebe Daniels. The story of "Reaching for the Moon." an original by William An thony McGuire, Is laid in present day New York, aboard a palatial ocean liner, and affords dynamic Doug an opportunity to wear mod ern clothes for the first time after several years of costume pictures, and to portray a sensationally suc cessful stock broker who cuts a swath la financial aifd love mar kets. The gowns and extreme habili ments worn by Miss Daniels and the bevy of beauties anticipate the styles of two years hence and are said to be the most lavish fashion creations ever designed for a mo tion picture. Little Dorothy Lee, comedienne. Is a one-woman humane society. She provides board and lodging for 17 cats at her Santa Monica, beach home. Lon Chaney at Hollywood In his Last Film "Unholy Three' Demonstrates Ability of Great Actor to use Different Voices, Faces The last picture to be made by Lon Chaney before his sudden death this fall was "The Unholy Three" , and this will be seen at the Hollywood beginning today and running through Tuesday. The power and artistry In the acting of Chaney Is well demon strated In this picture In which the main scenes are laid in a circus side show, and In a bird and pet shop. Lon Chaney In this picture did something that he had never- Incorporated in his work "before and that is ventrilo quism. Real side show freaks; and magicians were induced to appear as part of the "atmos phere' for "The Unholy Three". The plot carries tension and In terest to the end. Two" first run pictures will ap pear at the Hollywood this week. The first will begin with Wed nesday "The Sea Bat" with Charles Bickford. This story was filmed off the coast of Mex ico and Is called a "spectacular" marine picture which has to do with sponge and pearl diving. Much native life Is photographed In realistic fashion for the va rious sequences of the picture. Love, religious superstitions, dangers of sponke and pearl fish ing, native and white associa tions all work together to make an Interesting and different pic ture. The iecond first run Is "Cock O the Walk" ln which Joseph Schlldkraut ana Myrna Loy take the leads. And It was directed by James Cruze so if the names of successful people will let one gness right then this picture should be very good. The story Is one of Spanish life and is filled to the brim with love, intrigue, not headed fights, and - more love. DESERTS OWN STYLE Kay Francis has deserted her own individual style of halrdress for "The Virtuous Sin," In which she Is featured with Walter Hus ton and Kenneth MacKenna at the Paramount studios. Discard ing her sleek, short - bob, she wears her hair over-her ears and in a knot at the back. The ELSINORE ... . t - ranciion&M ' CALLAHAN. WARREX and 'JACKSON WHITNEY ROBERTS , ON THE SCREEN ; - - . WILLIAM COLLIER, SR. , ; v::;:"' - " ' fin -A-;- ''V ' V.. .; Gtiopc ratt" , From the story 'The Family Upstairs"- V; NOT SEXY NOT SPICY DELICIWS" DELIRIOUSLY CLEAN COMEDY FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY FROM SKTOSIXTY. Lowell Sherman and Alice Joyce in a bad moment for Sher man in the play "He Knew Women" which will show at the Grand Wednesday and Thursday. Robert E. Lee Gets More Applause Than Lincoln NEW YORK Robert E. Lee. the courtly knight who battled with his Army of Northern Vir ginia for a lost cause, rode to ward the cameras of David Wark Griffith, on Traveler, and the first night audience at "Abraham Lincoln." at the Central theatre, New York City, applauded with a greater show ot emotion than It had bestowed upon Lincoln, Grant, Sheridan or any other his torical figure depicted by Mr. Griffith in his film. Hobart Bosworth appeared In the role of Lee, and at his side rode one ol the few gentlemen in whom the tradition of the cine ma is embodied: the "Little Col onel" of Mr. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation." Henry B. Walthall, native" of Shelby City, Alabama. Le was weary, tired with the months of battling against great odds, and he stretched out on a cot for rest. Outside his aide approved a sen tence of death for a Union spy; but Lee, hearing this, came out and countermanded the order be cause the fighting would soon end and any information the Union had was therefore irrelevant. Mr. Griffith does not show, in this film, as he did in "The Birth of a Nation," the Appomattox Court House scene. But In a meeting between Lincoln (Walter Huston) and Grant and Sherman he makes Lincoln exclaim, "Shoot Robert E. Lee? They'll have to shoot Abraham Lincoln first!" Lincoln Very Lenient It Is, of course, historical fact that Lincoln, whether for politi cal or humanitarian reasons, wished to be lenient rather than vindictive toward the states that had -seceded, when the war was done. Simon Cameron, Lincoln's first secretar yof ar, has thus narrated how Lee might have had command of the other side had he wished to turn against the state that he distinguished and that his famous father, that "Light Horse Harry" who was George Washington's Intimate, had likewise honored. "It Is true that General Robert E. Lee was tendered the com mand of the Union army. It was SICK LEAVES ? Production on "The Stampede' was - halted yesterday, when Richard Arlen took to his bed with . influenza. Th.!s makes a clean sweep of the Arlen family, as Jobyna Ral ston has bibn seriously 111 for 12 days now. Mary Plckford is going through the most strenuous days of her screen career In making scenes for her latest United Artists picture, "Klkl." Refusing a double, she has been tossed about In bruising fashion on the sets of -the Sam Taylor production; LAST TIMES TODAY arco s MURIEL STRYKEB MARJORIB 7 BTJBXB the wish of Mr. Lincoln's admin istration that as many as possible of .the southern officers then In the --regular army should remain true to the nation which had ed ucated them. Robert E. Lr a Joseph E." Johnston were then me leading southern soldiers, John-, ston was quartermaster general and Lee colonel of cavalry. In the moves and counter moves in the game of war and peace then going, on, Frartcls P.. Blair, Sr., was a . prominent figure. The tender of the command of our forces was made to General Lee through-him.. I authorised Mr. Blair to make -the offer." James C. Young', la his biogra phy of Lee, - "Marse tfobert," brings out that Lee. suffered an guish of spirit through a harrow ing night before he came to his wife and told her of his momen tous decision to resign; from the United States army, in which he' had served so brilliantly after his graduation from the West Point academy, and never to raise his sword agaiu unless it be In de fense of Virginia. Mr. Griffith.' himself a Kentucklan, regards Lee as an intriguing subject for a film: Griffith holds that Ster -phen Vincent Benet, scenarist of. the Lincoln film, properly Indi cated this in his portrait of Lee. in "John Brown's Body," the; epic poem which gave Bene, a Pulitzer prize, ' As for his native South. Grif fith says "I made 'The Birth of a Nation .because I'm a soutber er and I wanted to tell our side of it." POLLYWOOD! Home of 25c Talkies SUNDAYVi MONDAY and TUESDAY Continuous Performance Sunday 1 to 11 P. M. - His Last Picture . The thrU that eemes H?TlV awe to a Kfetlaael r tVi Chaney aa surprising HJijf talkiac act the silent! LILALEE ELLIOTT NUGENT HARRY EARLES M0 hi pUf. ... - -' ous s access u snropo. Ur, Sr., la ItWT