Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-24


gered around in the all
and missed on several cylinders
. while vaudeville accomplished
:. complete noSe-dive, loud wall!
were heard from the vicinity Of
Broadway. What was to become
of the artists, the star stage at
fractions? How were they tc
/: show their wares and receive the
applause of the multitudes? And
most important of all. where was
. the next meal-ticket to come
from?
Naturally, the movies were
blamed for the Situation-at least,
as far as vaudeville was concern
ed. Other causes contributed to-
ward the killing off of the road
show. Vaudeville theaterS drop
ped from entertainment map, the
booking offices closed shop, and
artists packed their bags for long
tours of the European music halls.
>, But, almost over night, the en-
tire situation has changed. And
the movies can be blamed for
this, too; that is, the talking
movies, for the vaudeville stars
are making more money with less
effort than ever before. They have
deserted the stage and are ap-
pearing before the combination
microphone and camera. D. w.
Griffith, the producer and direc-
tor, has predicted that the legi-
innate stage will disappear within
five years. He may be mistaken.
and it is sincerely hoped that he
is, but the movies are certainly
taking the cream of the stage
writer's, actors and directors.
e Among the stage stars who have
gone to the movies are Jeanne
:, Eagles, Ruth Chatterton, Ina
Claire, Irene Bordoni, Eddie Cam
tor, Pat Rooney, Helen Twelve
trees, Charles King, Mary Dun
can, Sophie Tucker, Peggy Wood,
the Four Marx Brothers, Herbert
Marshall, Walter Huston, Richard
Bennett, Robert Armstrong, Paul
Whiteman, Ted Lewis, Al Jolson,
George JeSsell, Fannie Brice, Rob-
ert Ames, Claudette Colbert,
Maurice Chevalier, Moran and
Mack, Charles Eaton, Oscar Price,
Roland Young, 0. P. Heggie, Rich
ard earle, Helen Chandler, George
Arliss, Charlotte Greenwood,
Elliott Nugent, Basil Rathbone.
Dorothy Jordan, Chic Sale and
Clark and Mccullough. Play
wrights who have gone movie in
clude willard Mack, Robert Mil
ton, John Cromwell, Eugene
Walter, Kenyon Nicholson, Ben
Hecht, Charles Macarthur, John
Russell, Zoe Atkins, Clare Kun
mer, George Brooks, Elliott Lester
and John Hunter Booth.
William A. Brady recently in
formed the Actors Equity AsSo-
citation that "the legitimate stage
has but. three years to live" He
stated that, as an actor and a
manager, he could see that all
the money was being made by the
movies-talkie and dumb-the
latter being unhampered by many
of the restrictions placed upon
the legitimate entertainments.
THE United States is not to be
permitted to hold unchal-
lenged her monopoly of the Euro
pean sound picture market. For
months efforts have been made
in Berlin to bring together in
complete unif1cation all sound
companies of Britain, Germany
and France and combine these
with the enormously powerful
electrical companies. This organ
ization was effected a few days
ago, and it represents a combined
capital investment of 500, 600, 900.
A large program of international
pictures will be put into produc-
ton. the first being Relationships
"18l2,' under the supervision of
Clayton Hutton. Pictures will be
produced in Paris, Berlin, London
and the United States. Music
will be recorded for English,
German and French theaters.
WHILE the New York climate is
- not especially suitable for
the manufacture of photoplayS.
the sound picture has brought the
metropolis. back into the lime
light as a production center,
Studies that have been shut down
for years are being reopened and
rebuilt, while new ones, especially
designed for the new medium of
entertainment, are planned. Para
mount, Metro Goldwyn Mayer,
Warner Brothers, Fox, Pathe, r.
C. A., Photophone, the Victor
Talking Machine Co., American
Sound Films and the Biophone,
all have especially constructed
stages in and around New York
City. ALI of these are working
full blast at the present time,
concentrating on short subjects.
The four Marx Brothers are max
ing THE Cocoanut" in the studio
where Monta Bell has complete
charge. Other we'll known stage
stars who are working on short
subjects in the New York studios
are Eddie Cantor, Fred Allen,
James Barton and Donald Ogden
Stewart.
THE newest idea in movie mat
tiers seems to be the insurance
Of the voices of actors for the
period of production. Insurance
companies have been asked to
submit rates at the Fox Movie
tone studios at Beverly Hills,
Calf. eff an important players
voice goes bad in the midst of a
production" says one official Of
the Fox organization, sit means
an unusually heavy expense to
the production through keeping
large casts and technical stats
idle. 1t is impossible to double
a voice, once it is recorded in a
picture, although it is sometimes