The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-04-27

y .th of insurance month.
 
 It is simply to get an ideal projection of themselves that people read book or go to the theatre or to the movies Its workaday world, and few, fl any, are able. to play the part in il they would like to, or think they would like. to. We are all dreamers; if the world doesn't give us our dream, then we want to find it in the world that the book, the. stage or the screen gives us There we want to have pictured for us the romances, the adventures, and life has denied us. l T think that all normal people have the same dreams, the same ideals. ] don't think there is human being who dimly, hasn't thought the same things that Shakespeare did. That's why he has his universal appeal. A writer is great in the ratio that, with his strong CT mind, he makes the average man see what otherwise he sees dimly.
 Despite. the cynics, the underlying thing, that makes for enduring success is .wholesomeness.F The reason for. this was we'll put by a poet. He said that though our feet are in the mud, our eyes are on the stars. Ttake the plays and the books that have won enduring popularity, or what we. call fame their drift is wholesome.
 NsThere is more cOntentment in doing right than in doing wrong. That may sound like phrase from copybook but don't blame the copyboko; it has been said over and over again. from tipe immemorial, by men whom the world regards as its greatest. And so, when we turn to our ideal world, whether we seek it in book or on the stage or screen, we find satis- faction in seeing the decent thing. The book or play that presents something else may have a flash success, but il will never find place among the books or the plays that humanity refuses to let die. .r I.e
 No, I have no formula--at least, I've never been conscious of having one If read or hear or see something that interests me as a story, it may make good theme for me. I just have the feel, That's good story"
 Juryman S-George M. Conan
 T don't think it's possible for any one man to sit, up and say: This is what the public wants.' believe the public has a mixed appetite. In this amusement business, just the same as with grocery goods, if a man wants a Worcestershire sauce, he doesn't want catch up; if he wants BeIasco show, he doesn't want Conan show.
 "Yes, there are a lot of men in the business who disagree with me, who argue that the public doesn't know or care who. is the producer of show. But 1 believe. that the public expect certain things of certain producers of certain actors.
 ''I feel that have Conan audience, that there are lot of people who, when they see the Conan label on show. come to be served with the kind of gools that Conan turns out. A man might bring me a great play, and, if it wasn't suited to my way of produc- tion, could make a great failure of it. I've often read plays, and said to the author: There's money in this play, but not for me. Take it to so-and-so- he's the man for this play I don't know how other fellows judge plays, but if play hits me between the eyes, why, that's the play l want.
 Must a play have a love interest I don't care. whether it has or not, They call me the Formula Kid, 'sbut, as a matter of fact, don't. give rap, for the, old formulas In the show that I'm playing now, fThe Song and Dance Man. instead of marrying the girl as everyone expects me to, hand her over sto the other fellow. The thing has been done in tragedy. I don't want to take any bows omit, but | think this is the first time iGs been done in light comedy. love to fool the audience. And it's my experience that if you give lit q chance, an audience will sit out front and root for something new.
 'The' only secret , know about the theatre is that there isn't any secret. It's just plain horse sense. Don't waste the audiences. time. Make it say |: This fellow is a good story teller-he gossips we'll. You know how it is in a club; how the crowd will sit around a table listening to one fellow talk i; and then the other fellow comes in, and they say, oh, gosh, look who's coming now and there's general fade-away. We'll, it's just the same with an audi ence@there's no mystery about il"
 s Juryman 4-JOhn Golden
 What does the public want?" To forget their trouble! Just look at the matter for a moment; the doctors tell us that every 24 hours ought to be divided into three. parts--eigth hours for work, eight hours for sleep and eight hours for recreation. With most of us, work is not question of what the doctor recommends; we have to work whether we want to or not, a lot of us at tasks that are monotonous and distasteful. .. -...A
 Civilization multiplies mOnotonous jobs. We all have to sleep. What are we going to do with what's left of our .24 .hours-make ourselves happy or un- happy? People have plenty of dullness, plenty of problems in their own lives. They. don't want more of the same thing when they go to the theatre No i; what they want is something that will change their mental attitude, something that will give them contentment. Make a man laugh at night, and he'll sleep better and so to his work more cheer fully the next day.
 x ''It's true that there are good many salacious plays on Broadway, but their popularity is only temporary. You can't name a single salacious play that has lived. They only run for a season or a part of season. Lishtnin' broke all