drama’s amateurs here prepare for busy season

DRAMA’S AMATEURS HERE PREPARE FOR BUSY SEASON — —————————^ A —-- ■ ■ *

PRODUCING GROUPS INCREASE -j-

Number of Players and Character of Productions Contradicts Accusation Capital Is Cold to Theater—Handicaps Numer-

ous but None Has Proved Insuperable—Houses Needed*

By Margery Rice. HOULD all other signs (all, you

would know It is October In

Washington by the din o( ham- mer and saw in church base-

ments and the ring of voices in school auditoriums as a small army of non-

professional technicians and actors start work on the amateur theatrical season.

Washington has been reviled from time to time by various writers who believe the city does not appreciate good theater and who deplore the fact that “it will not support even

one legitimate theater.” Whether their criticism was merited is doubt-

ful. however, in the face of the very keen and widespread interest in the drama evidenced by the several hun- dred persons who put their time and money into the amateur productions.

A year or two ago a count showed that there were no less than 200 different producing groups, including church and fraternal organizations, presenting plays in the city during the Winter, and since that time the

number probably has increased. The membership varies between the different groups, but everywhere the tendency is upward. The Blackfriars Guild, one of the largest organizations, boasts a membership of 80. The Columbia Players have about 70 active members. The Drama Guild has a producing group of 40 to 60, as does the Washington Community Players. The Montgomery Players, the Pierce Hall Players, the Mount Pleasant Players and others have

large memberships, and there are

many smaller groups which produce regularly.

Some of these organizations play to well-filled halls as a rule, though most of them run their shows for only two nights. Others have small sub-

scription lists, but can count on a

large audience for a particularly pop- ular play. All of them are self-sup- porting; there seem to be no theatrical “angels'’ in Washington.

Not only are Washingtonians join- ing the producing groups in large numbers, but they are paying out good money for formal training in

acting and stagecraft. The Clifford Brooke Academy, started several years ago by the then director of the Na- tional Theater Players, has prospered. The Anne Tillery Renshaw School of

Speech reports an increased enrollment, as do other such institutions. And last year saw the founding of still another type of educational in- stitution when Constance Connor Brown opened the Studio of Theater Arts.

Ailc tuiwwrui uicaiAi gv/v two

etart in Washington during the war.

when a number of producing groups made a practice of presenting plays at nearby Army camps for the amuse-

ment of the soldiers. Shortly after the war public school buildings were

opened for the use of dramatics or-

ganizations and other community type projects, and then the players’ clubs sprang up like mushrooms. Of the groups organized during that period, only the Columbia PlaVers and the Drama Section of the Arts Club sur- vive. As old groups disbanded, how-

ever, new ones arose to take their places. In most cases utilizing as a nucleus players and technicians who had already got their preliminary ex-

perience in the defunct organizations. At the same time dramatic groups were being organized in the high schools and colleges of the city, and a constant stream of theater-minded young people has come out of school and into the players’ clubs of the city.

"AT PRESENT the school groups are *"*■

very active. The high schools produce regularly. American Univer-

eity has an active theatrical organi- eation. George Washington Univer- sity’s Cue and Curtain Club has been presenting three plays a year since it was organized In 1931 by Constance Connor Brown, who was then an asso-

ciate in the Department ol Public Speaking at the university.

Even though the various groups are

•ble to make expenses ana can, within certain limit*, get the rights to the plays they want to present, so many difficulties lie in their way as to make producing a real struggle. Chief of these is the lack of suitable stages and auditoriums.

There is, of course, the attractive Wardman Park Theater, which was built for the old Ram's Head Players when that organization was the town's foremost producing group back In the early 20's. When “Bobby” Bell, their sponsor, left the city, the Ram’s Head Players broke up, and since then the Wardman Park Theater has been used by a score of acting groups.

Church halls and school auditoriums •re also available during the Winter, and for many reasons such houses are never ideal for theatrical productions. In the church halls the stages are email and the audience must be seated in chairs placed in rows on a flat floor with the result that only a few of the seats are really good from an audience point of view. Church or-

ganizations meet, of course, in and near these halls, and it is frequently Impossible to select dates for plays so that they do not conflict with some other gathering in a nearby room.

The clatter of knives and forks as a church supper was coming to a con- clusion next door has ruined many an

otherwise good first act. School auditoriums, on the other

hand, are likely to be so large that both players and audience are lost in their vastness. The chairs in school auditoriums are not as comfortable as theater seats should be.

the least of the difficulties en-

countered in using these impro- vised theaters have to do with staging. It is impossible in most cases to have the use of the auditorium for more

than one or two days before the first performance, and oftentimes the show must be rehearsed elsewhere than the atage on which it is to be played right up to the final dress lehearsal. Some- times the sets must be built elsewhere and moved to the building where the production will take place. Groups frequently find themselves forced to

put up their set, arrange the lights on It and hold their one dress re-

hearsal all in one evening, which

means a session lasting from late

afternoon until 2 or 3 o'clock the next morning.

As a result of this situation, the

goal of every one of the larger producing groups la a theater of its own. At the moment the BUckfrlan Guild

seems nearer this Utopia than any of the others, for it has the exclusive use of its Guild hall at 2115 Fifteenth street northwest. The money is lack-

ing to enlarge and improve the stage to make it usable and the Guild is still producing in the church hail next door, but at least it has a place of its own in which to rehearse, build scenery and hold meetings and try- outs. The Montgomery Players like- wise have found a building which is ideal for their needs but-there again money is lacking with which to re-

model and equip it. A number of the other groups are making a leal search for buildings which they can adapt for their own use and their technical directors and stage crews may be found prowling through alleys and peering into likely looking buildings almost any week in the. year.

When a group has rented a halt re-

hearsed a cast, and built and put up its sets, however, plenty of difficulties still remain, and Washington’s amateur producers frequently find themselves in very tight spots.

There was the time the Blackinars Guild encountered the Fire Depart- ment in the person of an inspector sent out to Wardman Park Theater to

make sure that the sets for "Peter Flies High” tVere fireproof. The croup had constructed the sets with great care, for this production was to be the high point of the year's schedule, but nobody had thought to fireproof them. So when the Inspector touched a match to one of the "flats," as the acid test, it began to burn merrily. The fire was put out quickly, but the

inspector would not permit the piay to go on that evening unless the sets were fireproofed. So the stage crew

commandeered a number of Waid- man Park Hotel employes and hired them, at union wages, to help spray the flats with the chemical mixture which makes them fireproof. When the spraying process was finished ilie sets were as fireproof as asbestos, but the lovely maroon walls of the draw- ing room required for the first act had turned to a horrible mixture of red and pink streaks. They were still wet with the chemical spray when the curtain rose that night, and when the first act set was hauled up to make

way for the second act the players found themselves working under flats that still dripped maroon-colored liquid.

piRE figured in a dilemma which confronted the Columbia Players

back in the days when Paul Mallon, who has since become famous as a

columnist, was an ardent little theater worker and a member of this group. Mr. Mallon rushed home from work one evening to get the elaborate cos-

tumes and properties for the production in which he was to appear that night to find that his apartment house wps on fire and a cordon of police re-

fused to let him enter the building. The curtain rose on the play at something after 9 Instead of the scheduled 8 o'clock.

| The stage at Pierce Hall is small, so the Columbia Players had designed the set for “Moonshine and Honey- suckle" so that it rested flat against the back wall and left no room for a

person to cross from stage left to stage right behind the set. So it Is '-asy to imagine their consternation when they found that the curtain had gone up with a leading player and all the guns needed during the act on the wrong side of the stage. But some one thought of the window on the other side of the stage, and. seizing a

stepladder from the work shop, a stage hand rushed outside and around the building and boosted guns and player through the window in time for en- trance from the other side of the staff*

The Roadside Theater’s stage crew had a bad moment last Summer when the ceiling of the "Trilby” set col- lapsed shortly before curtain time. But Karl Gay. who is an old hand it setting things to rights backstage, climbed up on a ladder and with a few well-placed screws fastened the ceiling back where it belonged so

swiftly that the delay was not noticed by the audience..

The Washington Community Play- ers. who, under the direction of Bess Davis Schreiner, produce on a grand

i scale at the Sylvan Theater during the Summer, have the weather to contend with. One night last June an audience of several thousand had gathered on the slope southeast of the Wash- ington Monument to watch a production which was just getting under way, when with some suddenness the rains

; descended and the floods came. As one man, the audience rose, gathered up the blankets and pillows it had been sitting on and rushed for its au-

tomobiles. The actors stuck to their posts until they saw that they had

I been entirely deserted, then they, too, made for shelter. Latqr in the sea-

j son Miss Schreiner tried in vain to : find a date to present her production of "Romeo and Juliet,” but time after time inclement weather prevented the use of the Sylvan Theater, and the project finally had to be abandoned entirely.

However, those who work In Wash- ington’s non-professional theater are not easily discouraged, and the plays are Improving in quality, quantity and workmanship. Last year the Colum- bia Players, who are Incorporating the repertory theater idea into their schedule, tried a season of six plays and found it a financial and artistic success. This year they will do five new plays and will repeat Checkov’s “Uncle Vanya,” last year’s outstanding success, which they have kept in production as the nucleus of the new reper- toire. The Drama Guild and the Pierce Hall Players will also do six shows this season, and a number of other groups an adding one more plays to their schedules.

Vf ANY of the world's great plays turn up with more or less regu-

larity on Washington’s non-professional stages. Last Spring the Studio of Theater Arts produced “A Doll’s House” and found that the town flocked to see Ibsen. Now the Pierce Hall Players are opening their season with “The Wild Duck,” by the great Scandinavian, and at least two other groups are planning Ibsen plays for this Winter. Shaw is alyays to be seen locally; the Drama Guild will be- gin its season with his play. “You Never Can Tell.” The Washington Community Players have recently tried Shakespeare, and with great success. ▲ large and snt.hiHastto.audl-

I

ence greeted their production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" last Win- ter. and when the "Dream” was re-

peated at the Sylvan Theater last Summer, «d less than 12,000 people crowded the slopes under the Monu- ment to see It.. Every group Includes some modern plays in its schedule, and they are frequently the work of the best contemporary playwrights.

The increasing Interest In the theater in Washington has brought forth several projects which are without an

exact parallel anywhere in the coun-

try. One of these is Constance Connor Brown's Studio of *Theater Arts, where a group of ambitious young people ar^ finding the serious study of the theater to be almost pure pleasure. Miss Brown is putting into practice her own ideas for instruction in acting and stagecraft, which she has de-

veloped over a period of years spent on the professional stage and as a

coach and Instructor in college dra-

matics The students also study his* tory of the theater, eurythmics and other allied subjects, for it is Miss Browns theory that any person will

be a better actor, or technician, If

he has some knowledge of the branches of theater work other than his own special line. The studio was

organized only a year ago, but the James Kelley and Sally Hinman of the Studio of Theater Arts In a scene from the Somerset Maugham play,

“The Circle.’*

The Drama Guild of Washington putting up the set for "Ladies of the Jury."

success of its methods is apparent in its first season, both in the individual work of its members and in the ex-

! cellence of the three plays that were

; produced by the group last Winter.

.-

With the cl«e of school last Spring, the studio moved to Glenora-on-Lake Seneca, and spent two months in in- tensive work fci speech and acting technique, with time out, of course,

for frequent gwims In the lake and hikes In "the glen.”

Another recent outgrowth of Wash-

ington amateur work and one which amounts almost to a phenomenon is

the Roadside Theater. Organized in the Spring of 1934 by a group of George Washington University students, the movement met with much success.

i

Photoplays in Washington Theaters This Week WEEK OF

OCTOBER 20

Academy 8th and G Sts. S E.

Ambassador ]8th and Columbia Rd

Apollo R24 H Si. N.E.

Arcade I Hyattsville. Md._ | Ashton

Clarendon. Va. I ! Avalon ; 5613 Connecticut Ave.

Avenue Grand 645 Pa. Ave. BE.

Cameo Mount Rainier. Md.

Carolina ; 11th andN C. Ave S E

Central : 425 9th St. N.W.

Cirde 2105 Pa, Ave N.W.

Colony Ga. Ave. and Farraaut

Dumbarton 1439 Wla. Ave. N.W.

Fairlawn Anacostia. P. C.

Hippodrome K near 9th

Home 13th and C Sts. N.E.

Jesse 18th nr R I. Ave. N.E.

Little 9th between F and G

Milo Rockville. Md.

Palm Del Ray. Va.

Princess 1119 H Bt. N.g.

Richmond Alexandria. Va.

Savoy 3030 14th Bt. N.W.

Seco Silver Sprint. Md.

Stanton 6th and C Sts. H E.

State Bcthesda. Md.

Sylvan 104 R. I. Ave. N W.

Takoma Takoma Park, D. O.

Tivoli 14th and Park Rd.

York”*

4

Sunday Charlie Runlet and

Mary Boland In •'People Will Talk.”

Also "Make a Million." Kay Francis and George Brent in "Goose and the

Gander." Marlon Davies in

"Page Miss Glory Silly Symphony's “Robber Kitten." George Raft and

Frances Langford In "Every Night at 8.”

Comedy. News.

Dark.

Katharine Hepburn In

"Alice Adams.” Cartoon._

Joe E Brown In

"Bright Lights." Band reel.

Norma Shearer and Fredric March in

"Smilin' Through.” Cartoon. Band. Newt.

Eddie Cantor and Ann Sot hern

“Kid Millions."*_! •'Hot Tip.”

"Red Heads on Parade."

_Betty Boop. Norma Shearer and

Fredric March in "Smilin' Through.”

_News._] Katharine Hepburn

in "Alice Adams.”

_Popeye._ Arllne Judge and Kent Taylor in

"College Scandal.” _Newt,__

Tom Brown and Sir Guv Standing In "Annapolis Farewell."

_Cartoon._-J Norma Shearer and

Fredric March in "Smilin' Through."

Cart. Novelty. News.1

Claudette Colbert In j "She Married Her j Boss.”

Silly 8ymphony._ Katharine Hepburn

In "Alice Adams."

_Cartoon._ Irene Dunne.

Walter Huston and Edna May Oliver In _"Ann Vickers.*' Clark Gable. Jean Har- low and Wallace Beery

In "China Seas." Cart. Novelty. News.

Dark.

Robert Voung In "Vagabond Lady."

John Boles in _

"Orchids to You."

Dark.

James Gleason in

"Hot Tip.” _Comedy. Janet Gaynor and Henry Fonda in "The Parmer Takes a Wife.” Comedy. Cart. News.

"Men Without Names" and

"Cheers of the _Crowd." Edna Best and Peter | Lorre in the “Man Who KnewToo Much.” Chase comedy. News.

Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll in

"The 39 Steps.” Comedy. Cartoon. Burns and Allen

In “Here Comes

__Cookie."_ Will Roger* In

"Steamboat Round the Bend.”

"Crime Doesn't Bay.** Clark Gable. Jean Har- ow and Wallace Beery

la "ChJniMMai."

4*

Monday Charlie Ru-rales and

Mary Boland in 1 "Peoole Will Talk.”

Also "Make aM.Illon/; J Kay Francis and George Brent In "Goose and the _Gander."_

Marion Davies In "Page Miss Glory."

Silly Symphony's "Robber Kitten." George Raft and

Frances Langford in "Every Night at 8."

Comedy. News.

Spencer Trscv in "Dante's Inferno."

Katharine Hepburn in

"Alice Adams. Cartoon.

Joe E Brown in

"Bright Lights." _Band reel Norma Shearer and

Fredric March in "Smilin' Through."

Cartoon. Band. News

Eddie Cantor and Ann Bothern

in "Kid Millions."_

Hot Tip.” • Red Heads on

Parade.” Betty Boop.

Norma Shearer and Fredric March in

"Smilin’ Through. _News.__ Katharine Hepburn

In "Alice Adams."

Pope ye. Arline Judge and Kent Taylor In

• College Scandal." _News._

Tom Brown and Sir Ouv Standing in "Annapolis Farewell." _Cartoon.

Peter Lorre." Man Who Knew Too Much." Ricardo Cortes In

"Manhattan Moon." Claudette Colbert In "She Married Her

Boas.” BlUy Symphony._

Katharine Hepburn in

“Alice Adam*." Cartoon.

Irene Dunne. Walter Huston and Edna May Oliver In

_"Ann Vickers." Clark Gable. Jean Har- low and Wallace Beery

In “China 8eas.“ Cart. Novelty. News. Robert Tavlor and

Jean Parker in "Murder in the Fleet."

Comedy. Novelty. Robert Yount In "Vagabond Lady."

John Boles In _

"Orchids to You." Claudette Colbert and Michael Bartlett In "She Married Her Boat." Cart. Newt.

James Gleason In

"Hot Tip." Comedy.

Janet Qaynor and Henry Fonda In "The Parmer Takes a Wife.” Comedy. Cart. Newt.

"Men Without Names" and

"Cheers of the Cro wd."

Edna Best and Peter Lorre In "The Man Who KnewTooMueh.” Chase comedy. News.

Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll In

"The 39 Steps.” Comedy. Cartoon. Burnt and Allen

in “Here Comet

_Cookie/* Will Rogers In

"Steamboat Round the Bend."

"Crime Doesn't Pay.” Jlark Gable. Jean Har- ;0W and Wallace Beery

la "Chijnt^get*." d

Tuesday Marlene Dietrich in "The Devil Is a Woman." Also "Mv Heart Is Calling Kay Francis and George Brent in "Goose and the

_Gander."_ Marion Davies in

• Page Miss Glory." Silly Svmohony's

_ "Robber Kitten."

Robert Young and Evelyn Venable In "Vagabond Lady."

_Comedv. News.

Spencer Tracv in "Dante s Inferno."


•‘Alice Adams. _Cartoon._

Joe E Brown

"Bright Lights.” Band reel.

Noel Coward and Julie Hayden in

"The Scoundrel." Comedv. Cartoon.

George Raft 1n •The Glass Key." Evelyn Brent In

'Symphony of Living." Ted Lewis and

Nat Pendleton in "Here Comes the Ba nd"_Comedies._

Claudette Colbert in "She Married Her

Boss Color rhapsody.


"Alice Adams. Pope ye.

Katharine Hepburn ind Fred MacMurray in "Alice Adams.”

Comedy. Shows, 7. 0. Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell in

•We re in the Money.” Musical. Oddity,

’eter Lorre. "Man Who Knew Too Much.” Ricardo Cortes in

‘‘Manhattan Moon." Sir Guy Standing

‘Annapolis Farewell.’’ Cartoon.

Jean Harlow and Clark Gable In “China Seas.”

Comedy. Cartoon. Irene Dunne.

Walter Huaton and Edna May Oliver In

"Ann Vlckera." George Burns and

Oracle Allen In •Here Comes Cookie." Comedy. Cartoon.

"Robert Taylor and Jean Parker In

‘Murder In the Fleet.” Comedy Novelty.

Paul Muni In “Scarface."

Clive Brook In •Loves of a Dictator." Claudette Colbert and Michael Bartlett In "She Married Her Boas.” Cart. Newt. bouglass Montgomery

In "Harmony Lane.”

8port Teel. Warren William and Margaret Lindsay in The Case of the Cu- •lout Bride.” Comedy. 'Princess Charming”

and "Death Prom a _Distance."

Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll In

■The 39 Steps.” ^aurel and Hardy com. 'red MacMurray and Madge Evans In “Men

Without Names.” Comedv. Novelties. “Ann Harding in The Flame Within.

Mona Barrie In •Ladles Love Danger."

Will Rogers in "8teamboat Round

the Bend.” •Crime Doesn’t Pay.”

Joe E. Brown

Wednesday ! Marlene Dietrich In! •The Devi! Is a' Woman." Also Mv

Heart Is Calling ! Claudette Colbert in !

"She Married Her Boss

_Band- reel. Sylvia Sidney

in "Accent on Youth " Todd and Kelly com.

Spencer Tracy and ! Virginia Bruce in I 'The Murder Man.”

Comedy. Cartoon. John Boles and

Dixie Lee in "Red Heads on

_Parade."_ Sylvia 8ldney

In "Accent on Youth.”

Joe Cook comedy. Greta Garbo

in "Anne Karenina."

_Variety. Madge Evans and Robert Young in “Calm Yourself."

Com. Cart. Novelty. George Raft in

"The Glass Key.” Evelyn Brent'in

“Symphony of Living." Ted Lewis and

Nat Pendleton in "Here Comes the Band.” Comedies.

Claudette Colbert In "She Married Her

Boss." Color rhapsody. Svlvla Sidney

In “Accent on Youth." _Comedy. Katharine Hepburn and Fred MacMurray

In "Alice Adams.” Comedy. Shows. 7, 9. Norma Shearer and

Predric March in "Smilin’ Through."

Cartoon._ Arllne Judge and Kent Taylor in

"College Scandal.” Comedy. Novelty. Sir Guy Standing

In "Annapolla Farewell."

Cartoon. Jean Harlow and Clark Gable In “China Seas.”

Comedy Cartoon. Ann Harding and

Robert Montgomery in "Biography of a Bachelor Olrl." Will Rogers in


Cartoon News. Gene Raymond and

Ann Sothern In “Hooray for Love.” Comedy. Cartoon.

Paul Muni In "Scarf ace.”

Clive Brook In “Lovea of a Dictator.” Claudette Colbert and Michael Bartlett In "She Married Her Boea." Cart. Newt. Douglass Montgomery

in "Harmony Lane.”

__8port reel. Dick Powell and Joan Btondeil in

"Broadway Oondo- ller.” Comedy. Cart. "Princess Charming”

and "Death From a

_Distance.” Robert Donat and

Madeleine Carroll in "The 39 Steps.”

Laurel and Hardy com. Fred MacMurray and Madge Brans In "Men

Without Names.” Comedy. Novelties.

Ann Harding in “The Flame Within."

Mona Barrie in "Ladles Love Danger."

Will Rogers In "Steamboat Round

the Bend." “Crime Doesn't Pay."

Joe E. Brown

A

Thursday Lew Ayres and Mae Clarke in "Silk Hat Kid" Also "Red Blood of Courage."

Claudette Colbert in "She Married Her

Boss." _Band reel._

Sylvia Sidney In

"Accent on Youth " Todd and Kelly com Norma Shearer and

Predric March in "Smilin' Through."

Cartoon. Band. John Boles and

Dixie Lee in "Red Heads on

_Parade." Sylvia Sidney

in “Accent on Youth.”

Joe Cook comedy. Greta Garbo

in •‘Anne Karenina.”

Variety. George Raft and

Frances Langford in "Every Night at 8.”

Comedy. News, Ida Lupmo in "Smart Girl.”

John Wayne in "Westward. Ho!"

Robert Armstrong and Edward E Horton ini

"Little Big Shot." Comedies. I

Greta Garbo and Fredrtc March in | "Anna Karenina.” __News.J

Svlna Sidney In

"Accent on Youth.” __Comedy. Norma Shearer and Fredric March in "Smilin' Through."

Comedy. Shows, 7. P. Norma Shearer and

Fredric March in "Smilin’ Through." _Cartoon._

Arltne Judge and Kent Taylor in

"College Scandal. Comedy. Novelty. Katharine Hepburn

In "Alice Adams.”

Wrestling match. Pred MacMurray and Uadgf Evans in "Men i

Without Names." Comedy. Novelties. 1 Ann Harding and

Robert Montgomery In “Biography of a Bachelor Girl," WU1 Rogers In


Cartoon. Newa. _

Jban Blondell and Glenda Farrell In

•We’re In the Money.” Pur Gang. Novelty.

Jane Wither* In

Paii^Luka* In ‘Age of Indlacretion." Joe X Brown and

Ann Dvorak In "Bright Light*." Comedy. News. Tullio Carminatt

In "Paris In Spring.”

Variety. Dick Powell and Joan Blondell in

"Broadway Gondo- lier. Comedy. Cart •Paris in the Sprint”

end "Whet Price

_Crime!"_ Paul Robeson and Les-I ie Banks in "Saundert

of the River.” Comedy. Novelty. Robert Young in "Calm Yourself."

Comedy. Cartoon.

Loretta Young in "Shanghai.”

Will Rogers in “Steamboat Round

the Bend." Crime Doegn't Pay."

Mary Ellis in "Paris tn tha .Sprint". ■port ntf.

Friday Lea Ayres snd Mae Clarke In "Silk Hat Kid" Also "Red

Blood of Courage." Marta Egserth in "Unfinished 8vm-

nhony." _Novelty._ Burns and Allen in Here Comes Cookie.”

Cartoon. _Musical.' Norma Shearer and

Fredric March in ■ Smilin' Through."

Cartoon. Band. George O’Brien

in Zane Grey's

"Thunder Mountain." Norma Shearer and

Fredric March in "Smilin' Through.” _Cartoon._

Laurel and Hardy in

"Bonnie Scotland. Comedy.

George Raft and Frances Langford in "Every Nicht at 8.”

Comedy. News. Ids Luplno In "Smart Girl."

John Wayne in “Westward. Ho!”

Will Rogers in "Steamboat Round

the Bend." “Crime JDoesn't^Pay/;

Greta Garbo and Fredric March in "Anna Karenina."

News. Gary Cooper and Richard Arlen in •The Virginian."

_Comedy. Norma Shearer and Fredric March in "Smilin’ Through."

Jomedy. Showg. 7. P. James Gleason and

Zasu Pitts in “Hot Tip.”

Comedy. Cartoon, 'red MacMurrav and dadge Evans in "Men

Without Names." Comedy. Band.


"Alice Adams.” | Wrestling match,

'red MacMurrav andi dadge Evans in "Men,

Without Names. SerialL

Sylvia Sidnev and William Collier. Jr., in

"Street Scene." Cartoon. Comedy.

Will Rogers in ; "Steamboat Round

the Bend." Cartoon. News.

Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell in

•We’re in theMonev.” : »ir Gang. Novelty.;

Jane Withers In “Ginger."

Pgul Lukaa in ’Age of Indiscretion.' Joe E. Brown and

Ann Dvorak in "Bright Llghta.”

_Comedy. News. Norman Foster in

Superspeed.” _

"Last Wilderness. _Cartoon. Spencer Tracy and

Virginia Bruce in "Murder Man."

Comedlea Cartoon. •Paris in the Spring"

and "What Price

Crime!"_ Betty Furness In

'Keeper of the Brea.* Also "Baby-Face Har-

In t ton." Maureen O'Sullivan and Joel McCrea in "Woman Wanted ”.

Comedy. Cart. Serigl.

Loretta Yount ia "Shanghai.”

Will Rogers in "Steamboat Round

the Bend.’’ ■Crime Doesn't Pay." Norma Shearer and

Leslie Howard in. "Smilin' Through.”

4

Saturday Arline Judee end Kent Taylor in

'■College Scandal." Also "Miracle_R;drr/_' Laurel and Hard' in

"Bonnie Scotland No 5 of "Roaring

West.’ Variety. "Ho» Tip."

"Thunder Mountain" and

"Keystone Hotel." Joe E. Brown In

Bright Lights." Cartoon. Comedy. _Tartan serial. Spencer Tracv in

"The Murder Man."

Our Pang comedy. William Boyd in

"Hopalong Cassidy "Keystone Hotel."

_Sport reel. "3D Steps."

"Red Heads on Parade

_Cartoon._ Alice Brady in "Ladv Tubbs."

Tim McCov in Jus- tice of the Range."

Matinee — "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." Night —Joan Crawford in "No More Ladles.”

WUl Rogers in "Steamboat Round

the Bend." ^Crime Doesnjt Payjf

Spencer Tracy In "The Murder Man.” Laurel and Hardy In

"Firin' Uppers." George O'Brien in Thunder Mountain.” "Keystone Hotel."

Sport reel._ Spencer Tracy and

Virginia Bruce in "The Murder Man "

to. 8 of Tartan aerial. Svlvla Sidney in

"Accent on Youth.” Charlie Chase comedy. Serial t matinee only).

Greta Garbo and Predric March in "Anna Karenina.”

Cartoon. Musical reel. She Gets Her Man.” "Thunder in the

Night.” _Cartoon.

Edmund Lowe in "Thunder in tha

Night." Jso "Welcome Home." Sylvia Sidnev and

William Collier, jr.. In "Street Scene.”

Cartoon. Comedy. luck Jones In "Stone

of Silver Creek.” Cartoon.

No. 1 of 'Tarrtn.” Spencer Tracy In

•It's a Small World.” >w Ayres In “The iilk Hat Kid." Serial.

Nancy Carroll in ‘Atlantic Adventure."

John Weyne in “The Deeert Trail." Joe E. Brown and

Ann Dvorak in. “Bright Lights. Comedy. Newa.

Sir Ouv Standing In

Annapolis Farewell.” _Cartoon.

Edmund Lowe In "Black 8heep.”

rim McCov in "The Fighting Marshal."

“Silk Hat Kid” and “Fair Warning.”

“Betty Furness In •Keeper of the Beee.” Also Baby-Face Har- _inston."_ Jackie Cooper and

Mary Astor In "Dtnky.”

Serial. Cartoon.

James Dunn in "Welcome Home."

Leo Carrillo In “Winning Ticket."

Ted Lewis In “Here Cornea tha

Band." jport reel. Cartoon.

Jackie Cooper In

v

“Becky Sharp” Profit Spur to Color Films

Jock Whitney’s First Feature Color Film Gets Out of the Red, Thus Causing Con-

siderable Hollywood Speculation. By Mollie Merrick.

(Copyright. Ifc35. by the North American Newipaper Alliance. Inc.l

HOLLYWOOD, October 19.—Jock Whitney’s modest assertion that

-‘Becky Sharp’ is now out of the red; we have paid all expenses, and from now on it will be pure profit" Is giving Hollywood some-

thing to think about. “With all «ur costs back,” says this very quiet producer, “we should

show a neat profit on this first long picture venture we have made in techni- * «

When Jock Whitney decided to make a long color film, Hollywood resolved it would not be stampeded Into copying this young man, believ- ing he had taken on more of a job than he was able to swing.

When many difficulties—including the death of Director Lowell Sher- man, which necessitated delays, the choosing of a new director and the re-shooting of much of the film—ran the costs of this picture up from the >700,000. which was the initial cost figure, to $1,000,000, the producers who had kept out of color smiled.

But now, as Whitney asserts he is making what he terms a "neat'’ profit on the picture, they have something different again to think about. Be- cause, in the meantime, Alexander Korda—acclaimed king of the cinema world today by Hollywood although he refused to remain here and make

pictures—has said all the pictures of the future will be made in color. Alexander Korda is the reigning spirit of London films, has bought exten-

sively into United Artists, owning an

equal fifth with Mary Pickford, 8am Goldwyn, Doug Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin, and is accepted by them as

as an autocrat in matters gelatin. But Hollywood, chary of color, is not

to be stampeded into the manufacture of colored films which cost more

money and require far more artistic

equipment in the technical staff than does the ordinary gray and white or

black and white picture. The camps, as they stand today, are pretty evenly divided.

Three or four months ago. when I discussed the matter of colored film with Warner Bros., they stated very positively they would not go in for this new and expensive departure. They indicated they could make ‘‘Captain Blood" for $700,000, whereas, if they went into color, it would cost them $1,300,000. Today, Warners, with their attempted deal with technicolor. will make "The Green Pas- tures” in color.

In my opinion, it is pretty certain that Warners will make "The Green Pastures” in technicolor if only to

avoid the curse which has befallen all pictures with exclusive Negro casta. They have, to date, been artistic suc-

cesses in many cases, but inevitable financial failures. King Vidor's great Negro picture “'Hallelujah” couldn't

get by at the box office in spite of the fact that every critic in the country gave it highest praise as a cinema classic. •

"The Green Pastures” in color will be a sensation whereas made in con-

ventional black and white it would seem repetitious.

In the days when Warner Broe. little dreamed that they ever would film "The Green Pastures” they cleverly took the Negro idea of Heaven as

depicted in this play and introduced it into an A1 Jolson picture. The sequence was the setting which ac-

companied a song called "Going to Heaven on a Mule.” Willy Pogany made settings of unusual and whim-

| sical beauty. The entire picture sequence was sensational and drew much comment, although everyone who had seen “The Green Pastures” readily recognized the inspiration

Warners find themselves up against a unique situation, for they now own "The Green Pastures.” and therefore turn their eyes to technicolor to save themselves from a disillusioning simi- larity of releases.

"The Trail of the Lonesome Pine.” which Walter Wanger is making, takes color out of doors to the Kentucky mountain district, and should be a

most interesting film. Wanger is one of those who agree with Whitney and Korda that all films will be colored in the future.

| In fact. Walter Wanger voiced this ; theory to me before Korda expressed | it to the world. He would have re-

leased "The Peacock Feather.” with Ann Harding, long ago had that actress not suffered a breakdown and been forced to take a complete rest during the tune this technicolor film was scheduled.

Jock Whitney’s "neat” profit un-

doubtedly will sway Hollywood more and more during the coming months.

Those Intractable “Props” BLAME

hand props” if film edi- tors age prematurely. Ralph Dawson, for instance, has in- numerable gray hairs on his

temples. He's been worrying about "hand props” for years at the War- ner Bros.-First National studios here and in England.

You don't know what "hand props” are, probably, but neither do most

people, save those who work on the

stage or in pictures. "Hand props” j are hand properties—I. e.. eyeglasses, cigars, cigarettes, pipes, hats, canes, magazines, lipsticks, handbags, letters

; and other objects actors and actresses ! use for bits of business.

In cutting a picture “hand props" I assume great importance, Dawson

| says. Most players forget them. In a long shot they have cigars in their left hands and in close-ups they have the cigars in their right hands. Or in a cooking scene an actress will flip pancakes with her right hand for the long shot and flip them with her left hand for the close-up—unless the script girl or director catches her at it.

There Is one actor in Hollywood | who never forgets his "hand props.” Dawson says. His name is Paul Muni and Tight now he is remembering them in First National's "Enemy of Man.” in which he plays the microbe hunter, Dr. Louis Pasteur.

"Mr. Muni realizes the importance of handling his ‘hand props' at the proper time, regardless of the num-

ber of takes." Dawson says. "As a

result, it is simple to get a smoothly cut picture. It is possible to change the camera angles in cutting without having to worry about his cigar being in his mouth when it should be out or his glasses on his nose when they should be in his right hand.

"He so thoroughly steeps himself in the character he is portraying that he works out to the finest detail, each little movement, gesture and piece of

DANCING. <

MAE DAVISON Rail Room Clanra Tues. and Thun.

Latest steps including the Plccolino. Beginners. 8 ta 9. Practice and Teaching. 8 to II. Tap. aerobatic, adatie. ballet, toe. Spanish. Russian. Irish classes and private lessons by appt. Children's classes Saturdays, S3 month. Phone National 3311.

Clifford Brooke Academy of Stage Train* ing in the Dramatic Arts

NEW DANCE DEPARTMENT For Children and Adulta

Complete Amateur and Professional Course In all types of dancing

BaUet—Tap—Aero batie^- Soanisb—Modern

Fall Term Beraa Oct. 7

1000 Conn. Ave. N.W. National 8248

%

business before he comes on the set. Unconsciously, If the scene calls for him to remove his glasses, he in- variably removes them at the same

point of action. "You see, the eye follows the mov-

ing object on the screen. For that reason, the film editor usually cuts or changes camera angles at the point of movement, such as sitting, rising, turning or gesturing. But if the actor does not always make these move- ments at the same point in the dialogue it makes it difficult for the editor to cut the picture smoothly. The best edited picture is that in which one is not conscious of cuts. That is why Mr. Muni is so partic- ular about never changing his actions and pieces of business, no matter how many different angles are photo- graphed.”

DANCING.

PEYTON PENN STIDIO. 1743 T Si. N.W. Met. 3050. Private lessons by appointment. Social dancing a specialty.

_ _

Prof, and Mrs. Acher's Studio' 1127 10th »t. n.w. Class and dancing Fridays. H.'Mt to 11 :.*IO p m., with Berryman's Orchestra. Prl« rate lessons by »»pt. .Met. 1180. Ett. 1900.

•

CATHERINEBALLE Introducing Her New Social Adult

Dancini Instruction 'COCKTAIL) Hour Saturday. 4 to M

Ballroom Instruction Clasa Tuesday 8:30 to 9:30

Private Lessons by Appointment For More Details Call POtomac 533 8-J

“EDWARDF. MILLER STUDIO" 811 17th St. N.W. Na. 8003 _It it it dance ice teach it._

NARO LOCKFORD DANCE STIDIO

State and ballroom danrlnr taught by Mr Lockford. a professional dancer. Private and class instructions (or ndulta and children. Bovs' classes In acrobatic. Russian, Spins fnrminc. Enrollment necessary.

Class, $3.50 Month 1333 Connecticut Avenue N.W.

Dec. 33011 and Georgia 8110

I Canellis | | Dance Studios j; I 607 loth St- N.W. DIM. 7089 * j V‘ Spanish and Ball Room Danrint. j | S* Ballet. Tap, Llmberlns. Acrobatics j

CLASS PRIVATE > ;

i50c LESSON $1.00 | £ Instruction siren in »oor own homo ji £ or club. Special Rates to Groups. J

I DANCE-LESSONS AT THE THAYER STUDIOS COST :

LESS THAN YOU EXPECT

You are taught individually by conscientious and sympathetic, tal-

ented teachers who will make you a marvelous dancing partner. Visit the studio for a guest lesson and

learn how easy and simple it is to

master the most difficult steps. Studios open until 10 p.m.

LEROY H. THAYER 1215 Conn. Ave. MEtropolitan 4121

drama’s amateurs here prepare for busy season

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