The Washington times., 1929-12-26

This department spent mucn
Of the holiday racing through
young Man Of Manhattan" q
volume by Katharine Brush,
which was found In the toe Of
the Yu1e stocking. Paramount
proposes to make it into q
movie in the very near future
with Moilta Bell slated to direct.
It was written by q young
author whose first printed at
tention came through movie
column she conducted on the
Boston Traveller I should say
that her desk was adjacent TO
the sports department for the
Toby Mclean Miss Brush nom
mates as her fiction hero is
q hard drinking, square shoot
ing, often broke. baseball scribe
who smells genuine.
Since the movies like to Wis
ualize the sometimes glafilor-
Gus and intense moments which
are often the imprinted chap
tiers in the lives of many mem
bers Of the Fourth Estate. I am
glad they picked this one which
bubbles with incidents and
scenes familiar to those who
frequent the bleachers and foot
. ball stadia. Damon Runyan.
Grantland Rice, Westbrook
Pegler and others Of erninence
in the writing of sports are
woven into the fictional back.
ground and those who know
'en and look sharp may discern
more by Lines" of the sports
departments.
Finicky Journalists may OBJ
ject to the sports correspondent
who gets SouSed and has one
of his fellow craftsmen West.
ern Union his football lead and
story. But such things have
happened ana they help to
make this tale salty.
Young Man of Manhattan
is not as well written as Ben
Ames Williams newspaper yarn,
'fSplendor," but it seems to
have all the ingredients neces-
Sary for a colorfull talkie with
a pip of a romance to boot.
In the late afternoon /
dropped into the wellfilled
Keith Theater for my first
glimpse Of Hubert Prior Vallee,
of Westhrook, Me-, small
town boy who in the space of
two years has raised his salary.
from $50 a week playing a Saxo-
phone to $4,000 leading q jazz
band and slipping the baton
under his arm while he croonS
tunes which make girliSil hearts
go pitter-pattel.
The radio made Rudy Vallee
what he is today, and it viii
continue TO be his strongest
suit. The, closeup camera dis
illusions those who would call
the reddish haired Rudy hand.
some. Marshall Neilan enjoys
a reputation as a director who
can take 8 green banana talent
and make q pretty tasty screen
salad. In Rudy Vallee,S case
he must have found q pupil
who was painfully sdignified
and apparently frightened by
the unfamiliar requirements Of
Hollywood genius. Watching
Vagabond Lover" you couldn't
help thinking what a much bet
ter acting job Eddie Nugent
would have done with the lead
role. But Eddie can't sing like
Rudy and has no exalted repu-.
tatiOfl.
Rudy can sing. no foolin,
and they have given him some
srackerjack tunes for his first
picture. He is plugging them
hard over the radio and the
tie-up presents the perfect AL
lance between the loud speaker
and the box office.
News is scarce over the holi-
days but q rlInlor that sounds
substantial has Brooke Johns
coming to the Fox Theater soon
as a master of ceremonies.
Brooke likes to call himself d
local boy since be owns q farm
Of many acres and COWS at Nor
beck, a town adjacent to Rock
vile and Olney and less than
q gallon Of gas away from the
y. G. line.
Mr.. Johns has recently com.
pleted d long engagement ais
AZ. G. at the Stanley Theater,
Pittsburgh. and before that.
hossed the stage shows IN st.
Louis and Chicago.
James Leo Sullivan, who rep
resentS the Columbia Typo
graphical Union In the first
night crowds and follows the
Times stock ticker as daily
duty, became engaged over the
holiday. says an item which /
will fitch from the society de-
partlneiat.
The diamond solitaire was
slipped upon the finger of Miss
Ethelka Kearney. well known
In washington musical circles,
where she has appeared pub
ncly as a soprano soloist.
Charles Hampden, who has
an "A. B. degree from Mr.
Cochran,s stock company and
was last seen here as an or,
chestra soloist at the Earle
Theater, received fat role for
Christmas present. He
opened Tuesday night at the
Assembly Theater ins NeW York,
playing the duke dead rOle)
III seThe Novice and the Duke. :,