Inside Facts of Stage and Screen (March 8, 1930)

STAGE RADIO SCREEN PRICE 10 CENTS MUSIC Only Theatrical Newspaper on the Pacific Coast ESTABLISHED 1924 EDITED BY JACK JOSEPHS Entered as Second Class Matter, April 29, 1927, at Post- Published Every Saturday at 800-801 Warner Bros. Down- Vol. XI Saturday, March 8, 1930 No. 10 office, Los Angeles, Calif., under Act of March 3, 1879. town Building, 401 West Seventh St., Los Angeles, Calif. UPHEAVAL IN RADIO MAY CAUSE INRUSH FROM STAGE film colony NOT EXCITED or Grandeur came, was seen Equity’s proposed move toward failed to conquer Hollywood. organizing radio and television was Opening of the Fox Grandeur this week construed locally as fore- picture, “Happy Days,” at the casting the early advent of tele- Carthay Circle last week left the vision, and aroused a. riot of, dis- producing element of the picture cussion in, Los Angeles stations. colony cold, according to a survey Executives were virtually unani- opinion made by Inside Facts. mous in the opinion that Equity While sensational billboarding, had no place in radio, as it func- such as “A revolution is coming,” tions at present, and held that the had the general populace aroused, proposal showed knowledge by the to good boxoffice returns, ably A. E. A. that there would soon be abetted by sensationalizing of the a drafting of stage and screen peo- opening night, the picture makers ple for the aerial entertainment generally saw the new wide screen field. This could only be the case as nothing to get excited about. if television came into operation. Typical comment was given by The near advent of television one high exec whose company is was also seen in the wording of reported to have a wide process the new Hollywood standard con- ready for shooting when wanted. tract, which went into effect March “Why should we get excited?” 1. The usual “services of the art- he said in answer to a question. ist” clause is amended in the new “Except for a half again more document to give the producer the screen to right and to left, there’s right to broadcast the actor’s work nothing there to rave about. One by television. good star is worth twice that No Vote Here much extra screen.” Meantime Hollywood did not take kindly to the way the Equity Has Its Place vote was being conducted. Unlike The general attitude was that the ballot taken before the picture the wide screen would serve well Equity strike, which was sent out in giving larger ensemble effects, to all members in the mails, local especially in color, and also would people were practically disenfran- be available of for certain type chised in the present instance. All action pictures where more room they received was notice of the for action was required. But off- meeting to be held in New York setting this be the loss of would March 17. If they wanted to vote intimacy with the players which they had to make the trip back, the present size screen gives. All and that, of course, was a pretty in all, the prevalent reaction hefty procedure to demand. seemed to be that Grandeur or its The special meeting in New York equivalent in the stock of other is to vote on a proposal to amend companies, would be something the constitutional preamble, line 4, which, when the houses became now reading “art of the theatre,” gradually wide-screened, could be by adding the words “motion pic- used occasionally to good effect, tures, whether silent or talking, but that it would be a mistake to radio and television.” In another attempt to make it a general me- article, after the words “first and dium for the presentation of pic- second vice-presidents,” would be tures. The line of presentation HEALY AND CROSS added “third and fourth vice-presi- used in Paramount’s airplane bat- dents,” the latter two to handle tle picture, “Wings,” a couple of R K O Theatre, Los Angeles, This Week motion pictures, and radio and tel- years ago was deemed to be the evision, respectively. way wide screen would settle Complete Surprise down to usefulness. ARNOLD GURTLER HERE ‘OH, SUSANNA’ PLANS COMEDIANS TO OPEN First Advertising space for “H^ppy word of the New York meeting was brought to the Days” in the daily papers was in- Arnold Gurtler, of Elitch’s Gar- Plans are being considered to A new company of Murphy’s radio stations by Inside Facts, which creased over the usual allotment, recast “Oh, Susanna” which re- dens, Denver, arrived in Los An- Comedians is being formed by found the principal and reviews by the critics were reaction, both geles last week, and is stopping cently closed a successful run in Horace Murphy, with opening un- generally favorable. from executives and artists, to be at the Roosevelt Hotel. He is San Francisco, and to open it in derstood to be set for the Whittier one of complete surprise. Follow- Restricted Use Chicago in April. show, ing which came voluble here to obtain talent for the stock The a Boulevard Theatre a week from discussion Radio Pictures is the only other locally created affair, went over to of what would happen if a sudden shows at the Garden. Saturday. Murphy built this the- studio in town which has so far excellent returns both in L. A. and influx of stage artists came climb- admitted taking the widies seri- S. F. It is reported that, with a atre under the name of the Belve- ing up the studio stairs. Admitted- ously, and it seemed to be the be- held up in popularity, would never- salary cut by the cast to decrease dere Playhouse some time ago. ly television would cause a shaTce- lief up in radio that the others wouldn’t—not theless be held to the big cities the overhead, the play could have Most recently he had a company circles comparable or at least until the exhibitors had for a period of perhaps years, and continued in S. F. for some time even surpassing what happened in playing to good business in Phoe- recovered from the recent finan- that the smaller town ' houses longer, and that everyone in the Hollywood when the talkies sup- nix, disposed of it at a cial exactings of the talkies. Many wouldn’t feel any ill effect what- cast agreed to the cut except one Ariz. He planted the silent drama, with believed that the widies, if they soever from the innovation. principal. good figure. (Continued on Page 3) ; PAGE TWO INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 1930 FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEW RACKET M Matter of Trailers The N. Y. Attitude One phase of screen offering is a sadly neglected one. And The New York attitude toward talking pictures is surpris- that is the trailer field. ingly at variance from that of the balance of the country. Pic- The custom has arisen, though upon what assumption of tures which New York call bad seem to have a habit of being effectiveness is hard to determine, of picking out several big hailed throughout “the sticks” (which, in N. Y. parlance means scenes from the coming picture and showing these as a bid for the rest of the U. S. A.) as nifty offerings, and also seem to re-patronage of the current audience. But all too often these have the habit, disgruntling from the N. Y. viewpoint, of roll- scenes, being isolated and without climactical predication, are ing up good boxoffice. And the contrary also holds true. rather flat in the trailer showing, and their main effect is to Just why this should be so seems at first hard to understand, make the spectators believe the coming picture is not so hot. The newest racket in Holly- but a little closer inspection gives the answer. Consider the crop of books written by the New Yorkers. large their Then there is another phase to the matter, especially now wood for separating film people By and sophistication is of such an extreme hoity-toitiness that it rings that good singing is becoming a tremendous boxoffice pull. from their money is the foreign- with a distinctly false clank to is Some new singing star, not yet heard by the picture audiences, language gag. Not that this may anyone who not conversant not with the Metropolitan attitude. is in the coming film. Whole stanzas and choruses of the best prove in the long run to be a legitimate This ultra-sophistication mainly shows forth in the “smart” song he does in it are given. And what is the audience reac- field of business, but dialogue. now, suddenly, dialogue screen, tion? Why, to say, “So-and-So; sure I’ve heard him sing now. some of the ballyhoo stories spon- And comes to the and sored apparently the New York film critics are measuring it by the Why should I pay 65 cents to hear him again?” at present should be put on yardstick of literary dialogue. Not only in quality, but also in quantity, the trailers are the unfair list without delay. the N. Y. sticks’ ’are exacting. frequently a boresome part of the evening’s doings. Recently Trade papers recently have been “The less They are willing to have their characters talk like people a local house ran a trailer for the coming feature, one almost giving much space to activity of they know; they want the reac- tions depicted to their lives equal in length for the comedy, one for their next midnight Hollywood in the foreign lan- be those which are a part of own guage they want the stories and the conversations to be human.

Load more