The Washington times., 1929-08-05
SCREENINGS
aAND =
gle ANINGS.
By ANDREW B. KELLEY

Heigh no, everybody, heigh
no. When Adolphe Menjou
sailed for Europe looking for q
Job, Managing Director Miller
Of the Hotel Warwick IN New
York, assigned his imperial
suite to the editor and entour-
age as a repose base during the
annual inspection Of Broadway
shows, motions picture studios
and Annie Oakley whoopee In
general.
Well, my dears, it's q nice suite
with fresh cut roses supplied
regularly, makes its own lee
and not even the noise Of VIII
liam Anthony Maguire's busy
typewriter in the apartment next
door can penetrate. Then just
when was becoming accus-
toned to living like q man with
q Hollywood salary, along comes
q copy Of q New York evening
paper telling Of the penury to
which Mr.. Menjou had been re-
duced. He had, said the story,
been compelled to live in
modest hotel suite owing to an
impending shortage Of funds.
Such reportorial inaccuracy is
unpardonable.
From time to time / will COM
ment on what an editor observes
while loafing. Who cares, sorne-
body asks. Well, who ordered
that 90 degrees weather?
Once upon a time ! was fool
ish enough to believe that Earl
Carroll would some day chal-
lenge for the glory that Ii Zieg-
fields in this difficult business Of
producing revues. After witness
ing sketch Book" the latest
Carroll musical, / am ready to
do penance for the error.
Mr.. Carroll, it seems to me,
covets the unsavory prestige Of
the peep show producer in the
Shiny carnivals which are barred
from the more respectable
towns. At least sketch Book"
is the rawest and commonest
collection Of cheap stage dirt /
have ever seen assembled on
one stage. It has neither or
iginality or cleverness to COM
mend it and even Will Mahoney
is compelled to resort to his
familiar vaudeville act to regis
ter with the customers.
It was q relief to get the
fresh summer air Of Seventh
Avenue after a tiresome session
with brazen vulgarity. Eddie
Cantor wrote the skits and it
must have been when he was
recovering from pleurisy for there
are more pains than laughs in
the comedy interludes. Mr..
Ziegfeld is reported to have
turned down his 5000 q week
comedian when he suggested
that his writings be the book
for a new FoIlies. Showing
again, Ziggy is q wise producer.
Since this column is supposed
to contain an occasional item Of
spot news this seems an appro-
pirate point to note that Metro
Goldwyn's super special film,
'sThe Hollywood Revue" win
play a two weeks engagement
at the National Theater before
the new season on e Street is
well under way. In fact the
M-G-M celluloid musical which
has John Gilbert, Marion
Davies, Norma Shearer, Bill
Haines, Bessie Love, Charlie
King, Joan Crawford and every
other star in the Metro Goldwyn
constellation except Lon Clancy,
has been booked for tour Of
the Erlanger theaters at $1.5O
top and two shows daily.
The Erlanger booking offices
in New York are busy filling
in open weeks with $3.50 film
features and don't be surprised
any day to hear that the choicest
specials produced by Pathe,
R-K-O and the big independent
companies will have their first
Washington showing in the Err
nger-Rapley playhouse.
Some time this afternoon the
motion picture magnates of
Washington will sit down and
begin discussion Of new con-
tract with the local stage hands.
The agreement with the boys
backstage runs out soon and it
is an open secret that they win
ask for more jobs, basing the
demand on the additional work
entailed by the talking filluIns.
On the other hand the mana
gers are said to feel that less
jobs should be in order. There
are other moot questions to be
threshed out before the new
agreement Is committed to black
and white.
Those who were expecting
Wesley Eddy back at the Pal
ace in the early fall must be
prepared for bad news. Wesley
will soon leave the Penn Thea
ter, Pittsburgh, where he has
been displaying his wares, but
il will be for q journey to Flat
bush. On August "a the Loew
interests open q new cathedral
of the cinema in the city across
the big bridge and Mr.. Eddy
win inaururate the master Of