The Washington times., 1929-05-06
SCREENINGS
BY ANDREw x. KELLEY

and Pennsylvania Avenue will
dare tell a great publisher he's
not so hot as movie actor.
Away from the incense burning
it can be told Frank B. Noyes
Is the star of Movietone
short at the Fox Theater, his
week. The material provided
for the cameo talk is a post
inaugural bon mot on Secretary
of the Navy Charles Francis
Adams, which has been retailed
in Mr.. Noyes' own journal as
well as every other Washington
newspaper and consequently has
not the saving grace of fresh
ness. Mr.. Noyes suffers from
the same screen fault as a dis
tinguished predecessor in Movie
tone, Andrew w. Mellon-he
does not know his lines. AS a
consequence he casts his eyes
down every so often for the COM
forting support of the written
memorandum. Naturally, it de-
stroys any belief that the speech
is impromptu. At registering
nervousness both Mr.. Mellon
and Mr.. Noyes are better than
the paid actors.
Having said this, it is but
fair to add, that for me these
Movietone shorts of the anointed
are a corking asset to any
program.
Admiration for President
Hoover, which has been mount
ing since March 4, is not les
sened by the revival of an au-
thentic story that he once tried
to capitalize the public taste
for amusement for the benefit
of the Hoover exchequer. 1t
was in his Leland Stanford days
when a dime was a good sized
tip and leg o mutton sleeves
were the last word for the
ladies.
Paderewski was the star
Hoover endeavored to promote.
He made contract for a re-
cital by the Polish piano genius
and guaranteed the artist $4,000.
Promoter Hoover had partner
and both did their best to put
over the concert but the public
failed to buy enough reserved
seats in advance to assure sue
cess. When the day of. the con-
cert arrived they did not have
the guaranteed sum and the out
look was for failure all around.
They decided to visit Mr..
Paderewski and give him the
facts, trusting the artist would
accept what money was available
and give at least part of a con-
cert.
Paderewski, as Hoover told
the story. greeted them cordially
and offered them those long
Russian cigarettes which he
used to have made for him in
Kiev. Then he asked them all
about it, why they were giving
concerts, how much money they
had, what their local expenses
were. When he had from them
a clear statement of their assets
and liabilities, he told them to
take enough out to pay all their
expenses and to give each of
them $10O. He would be salts
fled with the rest. For this he
promised to give the entire re-
cital, which he did.
Paderewski is scheduled to
give a concert in Washington
next season, so if you read that
he has been invited to the White
House for honors you will know
one of the reasons.
Baclanova is fast becoming
blonde Theda Bara. Para
mount evidently feels the Rus
sian acts best when she is
vamping all over the movie lot.
Her big hurdle is, of course, an
accent that must be woven into
her characterizations. In "a
Dangerous Woman" Originally
titled "The Woman Who Needed
Killing") she continued the heart
wrecking handicap began in
'Wolf of Wall Street" One
victim blows his brains out and
another is on the way to high
blood pressure from her Ian
gourous caresses when her hus-
band decides the time has come
to give her poison. The story
is Obvious, except for the we'll
contrived finale. / suggest that
whoever has charge of these
things dress Baclanova more at
tractively. l like the lady's
voice, but if anybody resembling
her approached me with those
menacing gestures / would repeI
her with something like, "Go
away woman, I'm picking
winner in the big race, and your
attentions cannot be honorable"
She just fails to look devastat-
ing.
Beginning Tuesday, every
theater actually on Broadway
will be playing motion pictures.
Eleven theaters, ordinarily de-
voted to the drama or stage
musicals, have gone cinema.
Which is a reminder that the
National Theater's talking equip
ment will be ready for opera
tion this week. The $4,000
apparatus for the chattering,
films will stay silent until next