The Washington times., 1928-11-24
GL E N INGS
AND
sc NINGS
Bv ANDREW r. KELLEY


play, The Big Fight" was one
of the early season calamities,
Tex Rickard still believes Jack
possesses box office strength
with the masses.
The picture will be a film YER
sion Of "Ringside," play which
Gene Euck produced and which
Broadway refused to sustain as
d paying proposition. Rickard
is credited with having been the
money man behind "Ringside"
and to have gone deep in the
red side Of the ledger in his
first venture as theatrical
'sangel." The talking movie is
seen as his effort to salvage
something from the debit sheets.
The fact that a play is
mediocre success or relative
failure on Broadway means little
III approximating its screen
value. Street Angel" one of
the most successful pictures ever
turned out from the William
Fox lot was made from Lady
Christalinda," which was dis
nal flop for Fay Banter. l
doubt much whether Jane C0Wl
counts Lilac Time among her
great successes, although It
takes rank with the big money
films III the Colleen Moore his-
tory. "The Home Towners
was one of George M. Cohan's
mildest successes as play. As
q picture it is coming DIVIDENDS
for Warner Brothers.
Colleen Moore's picture, just
finished. was made from the
stage play Synthetic SIM"
This drama began q very brief
career at the Belasco Theater.
and expired after, few weeks.
Willard Mack is at present on
the Metro EoldWyn lot with q
trunkful of plays which the
public failed to appreciate but
which will all sooner or later
find their way into the audible
and silent films.
On the other hand, "Abie's
Irish Rose which was the
most astounding success of CON
temporary stage history was
costly venture for Paramount.
Diplomacy, and "Trelawney
Of the Wells" highly successful
dramas of another generation,
met Indifferent success when
transformed into cellulold
stories.
All of which is by way of
saying it will not do to assume
. that because "Ringside' was q
failure as a play it is headed
for certain grief when the meg
aphone bosses start to work.
Jack Dempsey may make the
hit of his life as a screen
actor with the new technique
but / question whether it will
be with his voice. Those who
had the privilege of watching
Actor Jack, handed him rs per-
cent on his natural qualities as
personality thespian but only
about 25 per cent on the voice
asset. Dempsey speaks as a
high tenor when the expected
throat sound from a reputed
man ; killer should be bull
fiddle basso. However, Movie
tone or Vitaphone may work
some marvels, although my
guess is that other actors will
do the=talking and Jack will do
the fighting in the picture.
Which is fair enough.
Apropos of fighting, William
Haines, while on recent Wash
ington visit, told our mutual
friend, Charles Watkins, that
his next feature would be based
on the Gene Tunney Polly
Lauder romance. This news is
now confirmed by official procla-
nation from NJ e tr -GoldWyn.
Lucian Carey has written the
story which is called "The Duke
Steps Out" James Cruze will
direct.
If the advance blasts are true
it should mark the end of Will
liam Haines as smart aleck
screen actor, for which heaven
be praised. ] try my best to
like young Haines in his breezy,
fresh and insulting bragadocio,
but he is given to doing SO many
irritating things on the screen
that it takes more than the last
few hundred feet of albright
stuff to square him with me as
a movie hero.
Gene Tunney, whatever his
faults and virtues, has never
been accused of being fresh. In
the months that he has been a
headline celebrity his life has
been crowded with incidents
that ought to make great film
drama. 1t seemed to me that
he displayed rare common
sense and good judgment when
he turned. down all fabulous
Hollywood offers, once con-
WINGED after the failure of "The
Fighting Marine" he could
never knock out John Gilbert.
One tour over the vaudeville
circuits was sufficient expert
ence for one never at ease
stealing bows. Then his re-
tirement from the ring game,
profession which gave him his
fortune but which he never
liked. That should be an abun-
dance of plot for great pic
ture.
"The Duke Steps Out" ap-
pears menacing as a. title. In
fact it sounds very much as
though the film folk were plan