Evening star., 1927-04-03
Flashes From the Screen
BY G. E. NELSON.

NELSONe
confidence OF the new actor. Movie
stars were employed to teach Hop
per to form All aggressive manner
and the final result is said to be a
remarkable one. The book agent $
resemblance to Col. Roosevelt VIII,
however. prevent him from securing
other movie work. acting as a boom
erang.
"CLIDE, KELLY, SLIDE is an
- excellent example OF what all
intelligent producer and a director
who uses his imagination, can 90
with a hackneyed story. The plot
OF the piece is as old as base BAH
itself-the disgraced player IS III
serted into the game at the last mo-
mcnt, strikes out the opposing slug
ger and then slams home run TO
win the contest-but the story is
made into one of the best pictures
seen in Washington in many moon
Considerable OF the credit tor the
success of the production goes to
the frecklc- faced lad who is bet
ter screen actor than Jackie Coogan
ever was or ever will be.
x x = x
VXTASHINGTONS first downtown
w experiment in Little Theater
of hlmdom makes its bow April !,
and it will be watched with interest.
The new theater is located on Ninth
street between F and G. streets. The
Film Guild will offer as its first pic
ture The Armored Cruiser Prince
Potemkin.' (And please pronounce
Potemkin as "Po-chum- kin with
the accent on the "chum. y This
production. in which the Moscow
Art Theater played All important
part, is an outstanding feature OF
the film world. 1t has had long
run in New York and was given a
private showing in Washington dur
ing the Winter.
DRANK J. REMBUSCH OF Indian
apolis has started more trouble
for the producers. He appeared be-
fore the Department of Justice III
Washington last Saturday and filed
a charge OF monopolistic practices
against the motion picture producers
and distributors of America, repre-
sented by the Will Hays organiza-
ton.
Rembusch, who is the owner of IS
Indiana theaters, heads a revolt
against the rigid contract enforced
throughout the industry by pro-
ducers and distributors, and he re-
quests William ]. Donovan, assistant
to the Attorney General, to begin
an investigation under the antitrust
laws. The investigation will prob
ably be taken up if supporting evil
dence is produced.
Verbally and in complaints to the
Department of Justice. Rembusch
charges the Association of Producers
and Distributors with being trust
of the first magnitude. Motion pic
ture theaters, he says, are compelled
to obtSin their films from producing
companies forming the Hays organ
ization, and then, i'll many cases,
compete with theaters owned and
operated by the producers. Objec-
ton is made to the uniform contract
which Rembusch says the theater
owners are required to sign with
the producers if they are to receive
pictures for exhibition purposes. In
a nutshell, the following is the main
charge: That the film companies
dominate the industry in such way
that no one may operate a theater,
produce or distribute pictures unless
a member OF the Hays organization"
Any way one looks at the matter,
there is trouble for some one.
WHILE one worries over censor
w ship in this country, it might
be timely and fitting to consider a
censorship measure which is being
deliberated upon in Italy's Chamber
of Deputies. The bill is described as
"the most drastic censorship meas
ure ever framed and it will guar
antee 100 per cent moral and polti-
cal purity of the screen, stage, paint
ings, books, newspapers, phonograph
records and advertisements"
Under the proposed law. double
approval of a special committee of
the ministry of the interior and the
project OF the province must be Sc
cured before presentation. The pre-
feet will have virtually absolute
power OF rejection without appeal.
Violations carry penalties ranging
from light fines to imprisonment for
three years.
* X * X
THE Hollywood directory lists IS
motion picture producing COM
panies. These are exclusive of the
companies and studios outside the
limits of the city.