Evening star., 1927-09-25
FLASHES

iC OpculUS OF tue DCW TON HcdtSl, Z,
with Roxy at the helm. marked a
big event in theater affairs of the
National Capital. and the Autumn
and Winter promise unusual activity
where the lights are low and strange
things fash upon the screens.
Some person with mathematical
turn OF mind and leaning toward the
theater has figured out the Broad
way situation as regards the movies
and the "speakies.' and his conclu-
sions arc interesting, whether the
totals are exact or not. This chap
says that the screen is steadily en-
croaching over New I0rk's theater
belt and that 1T has already drawn
few gaSps from the gentle souls
who worship the drama" He states
that his figures show that seven out
OF ten legitimate attractions fail on
Broadway, while half the screen
offerings click.
This situation may mean any one
of several things. For instance, it
may be that the photoplays are
fashioned in manner better suited
10 the public taste. Or it may mean
that the p;;otoplay public is not as
discriminating AS the one which at
tends the other theaters. This
would be open to argument. The
TACT remains that the photoplay has
captured large part of the street
OF theaters. Broadway. 1t may be
that the big, crashing orchestras and
the presentation idea" has had
something TO do with the drawing
power of the screen attraction-and
again, it may not. 1t has been
noticed and commented upon. how
ever, that no matter how large the
orchestra, how long the leader wears
his hair. or what the nature of the
presentation it is the picture which
really draws the crowd. The house
records< in New York have been
broken when super-pictures were the
big attractions. If the picture is not
a good one. business does not hold
up for week.
The Washington houses are going
IN Tor good pictures. They will ex-
hlbit the best the market affords
and the Auturn and Winter season
VIII be one to look forward to. The J
bookings for several weeks ahead
give a good line on the character of
the attractions which will be offered
the photoplay fans during the months
to come, many of the big pictures
of the year being scheduled for first
showings in the Capital.
THE Spanish stuff expert" of
= Hollywood. Paul S. Gigarola. is
acting as technical director with
Richard Dix's new picture, The Gay
Defender The production will be |
based upon the life of Joaquin
Murietta. a famous bandit of the
early California days. The story is
an original one by Grover Jones, |
adapted by Ray S. Harris, Sam
Mintz and Kenneth Raisback.
THE special ability of Wallace
= Beery TO consume great quant-
tics of food and to eat early and |
often has played no little part in
his successful screen career. The
star is known as the champion two
fiSted. catch-aS-catch-can eater of
the Ho1lywcI1 circuit. In one of the
scenes Douglas Fairbanks
pi9...-~..r.z'4l Hood" Becry gnawed |
s~sss; Sly at .;-r of lamb while |
keeping up re- IRE quip and jest
With his court testers. and this had |
its effect upon directors and. au-
dienees.
But Beery has faced the biggest
eating task of his career in his new
picture, Now We're in the Air"
which is being directed by Frank |
Strayer. The star was forced to eat
for an entire day at a banquet of
roast pig, baked spare ribs, boiled
cabbage, potatoes and other we'll
known products of the family gar
den. And little Raymond Hatton-
about quarter the size of Beery-
was forced to go through the same
meal At the end Of the day Beery
was heard TO remark: There was
a time when such a meal would have
been accepted as half pay for the
Job, and that was not so awful long
ago. But | certainly hope | never
again see another spare rib. Movie
prosperity has ruined this sort OF
stuff for me-"
THE Cecil B. De Mile studios ad-
i NIT that the temperamental star,
Tetta Goudal, has requested that her
contract be Cancelled and that this
has been complied with. but Jetta
herself simply shrugs her beautiful
shoulders and states that she re-
mains with De Mile and that she
has made no other affiliation. The
star was recently supplanted by
Tacqueline Logan in the lead for
Rupert Julian's The Leopard Lady"
If the studio officials state that the
contract has been Cancelled, it prob
ably has, regardless of Miss Goudal's
shrugs.
THE United Artists deny the re-
i port that John Barrymore will
make personal appearances with his
new picture. The rumor was cir
cuIated from Hollywood that Barry
more was to receive salary OF
$4,000 per week as presentation ma
terial, and that he was to follow All
Tolson in the New York theaters
The latter recently received $l7.500
for one weeks appearance on Broad
way.
X X
..THE SOMME." one Of the big
L British war pictures. is having
successful run in London. The
producers had access 10 German war
records for the picture and much
of the armament used in the actual
campaign was employed in making
the battle scenes. British heroes OF
the war are given prominent parts.