The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-02-04

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Superba Pr6sente lEtoile Ameri-
caine, Viola Tracy, dams La Couche
dor, Cinema M6lodrame de la So
ciete en- HUT Reels" There were
pages in the newspapers, "Premi-
ere Production sur lie Continent
d'Europe"-S chmolsky was doing
the job in style. "L'Etoile" herself
was coming all the way from Cali
fornia; and Bunny motored to
Havre to meet her, and oh, how
happy they were, a second honey
moon, with the old disharmonies for
gotten. He drove her back to Paris
no, almost to Paris, she must
board train outside the city and
make her entrance according to
schedule announced in the newspa-
pers. There were the shouting
thousands, the cameras, and the re-
porters, including those whose duty
it would be to cable the stirring
news back to New York and Angel
City.
The world grows one, and 1t is
the "cinema-melodrame de la So
ciete" that is doing (which is to
say the world grows American. The
premier here in Paris was the same
as a premiere in Hollywood, except
that the crowd made more: noise,
and sought to embrace its idol,
actually imperilling the idols life.
There was a double reason for ex-
element, because the man who had
played the leading part was no
common movie actor, but a real
prince from Roumania, who had
been visiting in Southern Califor-
MIA, and had yielded to the wiles of
Schmolsky and become a star for
a night. Now here he was in per-
son, on his way home to Roumania
having travelled on the train and
the steamer with Wee, so Bunny
learned. A tall, lean young man.
not very handsome, but used to at
tention; courteous, but easily bored,
wearing a quizzical smile, and re-
luctant to be serious-until he heard
Bunny express some sympathy with
the murderous and blasphemous
reds! After that, he preferred the
company of Bunny's sister.
When the Paris premiere was
over, Dad got him touring car of
royal proportions, and they motored
to Berlin, Bunny driving, with Wee
by his side, and Dad on the back
seat with his secretary and chauf-
feur for emergencies. 1t was all
just as grand as their tour to New
York; perfect roads, beautiful
scenery, humble peasantry standing
cap in hand and awe-stricken, SER
wants rushing to wait upon them at
every stop. All Europe owes us
money, and this is how it pays.
And then "Erste Auf-
fuehrung in Deutschland, Schmol-
SIX Superba ankuendigt," etc. And
the crowds and the cameras and
the reporters-the world was one.
This had been enemy country less
than six ears ago; but did any ex-
soldiers in uniform take station at
the theatre entrance, and forbid
American films to set too high a
standard for the native product?
They did not; and Bunny smiled,
remembering his remark to Schmol-
sky, "Vae victisiD and the latter's
reply, "Huh?"
They went on to Vienna. 1t is a
poor city now, and hardly repays
the advertising, but there is still
magic in the name, and it counts
with the newspapers. So here was
another premiere, less noisy but
more genial. Wee and her lover
were a little bored now; she had
had the last great "kick" that she
could get out of life. When a star
has had her continental tour, and
has got tired of it, she is an old
timer, blas6e and ~orld-weary, and
life from then on is merely one
thing after another.
The person with gift of perennial
childhood was Dad. He enjoyed
each premiere as If he'd never seen
the others, and he would have liked
to go on to Bucharest, where her
majesty the queen--herself a genius
at advertising-was to attend the
first showing, in honor Of Prince
Marescu. But another attraction
kept Dad in Vienna--the spooks
had followed himl His friend, Mrs.
Olivier had given him letter to
wonderful medium, and they went
to seance, and Wee was told about
the patent medicine vendor who had
raised her in a wagon--the very
phrases this man had used to the
crowd. BY golly, if it was a trick,
it was certainly a clever one!
There was only one cloud on this
second honeymoon, and Bunny kept
it hidden in his own soul. There
were youth" papers in both Ber-
lin and Vienna, and he considered
himself bound to call at their Of
fices and invite the rebel editors to
1Ynch and sand home 1affnrc far.