Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-07
In Washington
Theaters

With the Show ut the Metropoli.
tan wednesday night was gala event.
Interest In this first all-color. all-talk.
ing picture was evident In the entnu-
siasm of the crowd.
ION With the Show" reveals a highly
effective combination Of. color and
sound. While It's producers can hardly
boast perfection In the color method
as yet, the picture must take rank as
an extremely significant gesture In the
forward march Of the talkies. No one
can longer doubt that the producers
are taking color seriously when
Warner Brothers, for one, announce no
less than 80 color Aims TO be marketed
within the next year; when RKO dis
closes that much Of It's big musical
special, Rio Rita" will be done in
technicolor; when First National plans
at least seven road shows with color:
when other companies, both here and
abroad. are wrestling with the prob
lens attached to color photography.
The cameras used to secure color eff
fects are diflcult and costly things to
build and require special training in
operation. But at this stage of the
technique the obstacles offered by color
are Lilliputian compared with what
sound recording offered . year ago and
yet sound recording has become an es-
tablisfed fact.
One clear need suggested by ION With
the Show" aside from Its color quail.
ties, Is that Of wide angle closeup to
bring the audience closer TO the dane
ing and singing ensembles In q talkie
way Melody" the "Movietone FolIies"
and others Of the same style. with
the present methods and the narrow
screen, only comparatively long dis
lance shots Of the chorus are possible.
But both West Coast and East Coast
studios are working on this snarl and
progress Is reported.
Vacations are intermittently thin
ming the ranks of personnel at TIE To-
cal houses. Cecil Vogel, assistant man.
ager at the Columbia, is of to Ken
lucky for a week. George Peters, as
sistant manager at the Palace, is just
back from that same State. Hardy
Meakin, chief Of publicity at the Fox,
with Mrs. Meakin, is enjoying briefly
the waves at Atlantic City and Irene
Weber, secretary extraordinary at the
same theater, is doing . hide away"
The reason for this shrewd covering
of her tracks Is confessed to be due
to the fact that last year the various
executive heads of the Fox local group
found her cooperation so important
that they called her three or four times
day by long-distance wire, seeking
information and aid which it Is the
peculiar talent Of eficient secretaries
to possess. This year. she says, she Is
not available for consultation In these
matters.
Rumor has it around the Fox that
John McCormack's Movietone feature,
for the making of which he sacrificed
his Fall concert tour, Is to be in road
show form, along with Ave or six other
Fox specials, before general release.
Wide interest attaches in anticipa-
ton to Adolphe Menjous first talkie,
Fashions in Love-" which holds the
screen at the Palace In the coming
week. Many who have wondered
whether or not the suaye comedians
will be cheered by advance reviews
from New York, where his initial sound
venture was received, If not with hys-
terra, at least with solid praise.
Zelaya, the pianist, who Ia to be fea-
tured In The Surprise Party on the
Palace stage this week, has lived In
Washington for 40 years; his wife Is
native Of the city, zelaya had long
success In vaudeville.
Menjou's fve-year contract with
Paramount has expired, and he plans
to 60 to England 10 make picture In
or at the most two, films o year and
take IL easy" he said. II am through
being rushed by producers. No man in
the business can make four pictures q
year and live. Why should any one be
limited by Hollywood. If q script calls
for a marriage In Notre Dame, no num-
Der Of Hollywood sets will look IS i'm
terror Of the real cathedral. shall do
just that--take pictures in Paris or In
the streets of London or anywhere on
the continent or the world. Yes, shall
make just two pictures Q year-sound
pictures"
Menjou, who speaks four languages,
predicts that in the future American
talkies will be duplicated In French
and German or In the language of any
country that provides quantity mar
ket Europeans In addition, will have
to learn English, he believes, just AZ
Americans will have to learn foreign
languages for the making of these pic
lures. If an opera singer can learn his
role in many different languages, the
movie player can do Is much, he de-
clares.
More than 2,0oO volumes Of American
and foreign war data were said to have
been perused for authenticity in the
making Of "She Goes to War;" Henry
Kings presentation now at the Column
bia, starring Eleanor Boardman. This
lady, by the way, was the original East
man kodak girl whose likeness was so
widely distributed In the advertising Of
that product. She is an interior dec
Miss Boardnaan came to the screen i've
wears ago by way Of an Arthur Hopkins
stage production, and very much against
parental seruples. Critics have hailed
her efforts In the current aim as her
best to date.