Evening star., 1928-11-25
FLASHES
THE closing of the Rialto
| Theater-wnether 1t be

that the big show palace Will Soof
be running again in full blast
However. from present indica
tions, it appears that the Nlntf
street house will be closed tol
some time.
The Rialto, one of the most
beautiful and comfortable thea
ters of Washington, was also one
of the first large houses OF It's
kind in the city. It was among
the first, if not the first, to IN
stall a full symphony orchestra
making a speciality of high class
musical entertainment. Many
we'll known conductors have per-
formed in the orchestra pit
Super-pictureS were big drawing
cards, and one of the outstanding
features of the theater in recent
years was the premiere American
showing of the great film, The
Hunchback of Notre Dame"
The theater was also one of the
first of the city to inaugurate
stage programs, many stars ap-
pearing on the Rialto stage be-
fore other Washington palaces"
took up the elaborate preSenta-
tions. The Rialto'S biggest week,
and record-breaker at that
time for the city, came when Gilda
Grey came as the stage attrac-
tion. 1t was reported at the time
that the dancer received a check
for $4,000 as her share OF the
hoy off7ce rpceiOtS
x x x
CARL LAEMMLE, president of
~ the Universal Co., is going to
the public concerning the sound
picture riddle. He wants to know
Just what the public thinks OF
the "noiSies" and he has asked
the theatergoers to write his COM
pany. At the present time
Laemmle and his associates are
- ding about 100 letters each
letters that are received
all over the country-Some
lem condemning the sound
), others praiSing them to the
IS. There is considerable doubt
in the mind of this writer as to
the value of the "letter plan" 1t
would seem that the box Office
receipts will eventually tell the
story of whether the talkieS are
a failure or a success. However,
Laemmle'S plan gives the movie
fans a chance to voice their
opinions. Aside from the subject
of sound pictures, the voice of
the public" in thousands of
letters, goes on record in this
manner:
In regard to happy endings:
The majority of fans seem to favor
the happy ending, but they agree
that rather than force an ending
the sad one is preferable.
Changing a famous book or
play: Most fans would rather
have some we'll known work
transferred to the screen "as is"
unhappy ending included. How
ever, a large number feel we are
justified in changing the ending
if it in no way detractS from the
story.
Which sort of picture do you
like best? Here, naturally, there
is a great divergence of opinion,
but the list is headed by love
stories, comedy dramas, thrill pic
lures, college pictures and under
world stories.
Teams" in pictures: The fans
like stars to team" in two or
three pictures, but get tired Of
seeing them together continually.
The star, director or popularity
of story or book: The star, pop
ularity of story, director and
author seem to influence the pub
lie in the order named.
The title: Few fans go to see a
picture because of the drawing
power of a title.
The talking pictures: The fans
who have seen talkieS seem re-
luctant to Judge them at the
present time. But they feel that
there is great room for improve
ment. Response is negative and
unenthuSiaStic.
Pictures without stars: The fans
vote that a good picture without
star or stars will draw them to
the box office.
Lavish settings, costumes, ETC.:
Simple story, well told" is the
vote of the writer's of letters.
This covers large part of the
letters received by the Universal
Co. There is no way of knowing
whether it represents the general
feeling concerning the photoplays
but Carl Laemmle considers that
it does.
A ND. as regards the talking pic
lures themselves, some of the
letters sent to Laemmle were
pretty strong in their language
For instance, writer's of letters
termed the newest entertainment
as "vetriloquiSm" and others
stated that the sound picture:
were cheap limitations of stage
stuff" and that we were headed
back toward the real silent drama
OF course, others praised the
talkieS to the skies.
The croSS-eXamination of the
public has revealed very little a.
to what the public really wants
but 1t shows an inclination on the
part of a producer to try to fine
out where the public stands.
There are certain stars of the
Charlie Chaplin, Lon CLANCY anc
Emil JanningS order. who will al.
ways draw crowds, regardless o.
the fact that good pictures may
be produced without stars. 81
that no comparison can be made
in this way Also, there is no way
Of telling whether the public de.
sires a happy ending or a tragi,
one. All this depends entirel,
upon the picture. The average
happy ending is forced into G pic
ture, regardless of the nature o
the picture itself. The happv end