The Washington times., 1929-01-26
GLEANINGS'
AND
SCREENINGS
By ANDREW &. KELLEY


Western Union complex.
The King Of Glorifiers aver
ages 500 day with Newcomb
Cartons telegraph corporation.
Ziggy never likes to be further
than five minutes away from
the nearest Morse operator and
the alert Mr.. Cochran has con-
tracted the habit. He has been
sending this department hourly
bulletins from Broadway, each
telling of the signing Of a new
actor or an old favorite.
The mob scene in front Of the
Lambs Club yesterday was oc-
casioned by the fact that the
news had circulated among
& 10000 actors Mr.. Cochran was
Inside with ten Equity contracts
calling for jobs. The last COM
n1unique stated that Helen Wal
lace, Arthur Rhodes, Robert Bris-
ter, Charles Hampden and Fred
die Sherman had signed on the
dotted line. Mr.. Sherman is a
new one.
p. S.Today's 10 a. M. wire
bulletin reports Wilfred Lytell.
new leading man; Mary Newton,
new leading woman, and Aedi-
son Pitt, new director.
The Loew circuit has exer-
cised an option on the services
Of Wesley Eddy. He has been
signed to q new contract, with
an increase in salary, which win
keep him employed until 1881.
Possibly somebody more ex-
pert with statistics and the law
of averages might figure this
out but the fact is: Attendance
at the Friday midnight shows
ut the Earle Theater furnishes
an almost exact barometer on
the business of the week.
F'rinstance. the seven.day gross
receipts will be fair, good, or
big in precisely the same ratio
that the before midnight per-
Torrance attracts.
Since Frances Noyes Hart is
4 Washington authoress and
Monta Bell is a Washington
director, assume there is some
interest in how their joint
screen entertainment The Bel
lsl1ig Trial Ilaea sllsed up in its
BIOadway show ID d.
al composite Of al the metro
pulitan reviews brings this re-
suit:
1. That the picture is novelty
introduced with its conventional
news reel start which continues
right into the action of the
trial.
q That the technique and
method of storytelling is sini-
liar to '.On Trial" with its
flash backs giving the action
described by witnesses.
3. That the breaking into dia-
logue after' one half of the pic
ture is screened is abrupt and
not altogether satisfying.
4. That the screen tale is so
bnrdened with detail it does not
permit of real Characterization.
a fault which many found with
the novel.
5. That the musical accom-
panilnent creates anachronistic
atmosphere for q murder trial.
8. That most of the honors
90 to the director, with no out
standing actor.
q. That the screen action ends
with the acuuittal and in an
.epiloguish finish the audience
Is asked to retain the secret Of
who killed Mimi Bellaniy.
diyulge no secret iii stat
ing that Kate Smith put Lafay-
cite Square and the Savoy
Musical Comedy on the man for
three weeks in January and she
departs with genuine regrets
from Producer Cook. However,
the fame of ZiegfeId musical,
/. es. Sally" and the most fa-
nous Of the Princess Theater
successes, "Oh, Boy" are ex-
pected to keep the box office
active. Then comes @Good
Morning, Dearie,o the musical
brought out BY Dillingham; to
bring fame for Oscar Shaw,
Louise Groody, Harland Dixon,
Mary Callahan, not to mention
starting the vogue Of the Tiller
girls and precision dancing.
1t costs q tidy penny in roy
atty to play these musicals. but
it bears out Producer Cooks
promise that he would secure
the best available girl-and-tune
shows for his Washington sea-
son.
Roland S. Robbins, who
looms ais new stock impre-
sario in Washington, is not al
together "a stranger to the
repertoire theater. He was
treasurer for some years Of the
Castle Square Theater in Bes-
ton where a stock company,
headed by John Craig and
!, Lillian Lawrence flourished for
many 62-week seasons. Il was
there that Alfred Lunt (who is
now considered by many the
finest American actor) first ac-
uuired experience as 4 juvenile.
Mary Young (Mrs. John Graigl
was the second woman and Dom
aid Meek, the character villain,
doomed often TO Be hissed.
Lillian Lawrence went to Holly
wood and before her death had
the pleasure Of seeing her
daughter. Ethel Grey Terry,
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