The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1929-03-29
IGLEANINGS
AND
SCREENINGS
BY ANDREW r. KELLEY

featuring Dorothy Knapp, "most
beautiful girl in the world" in
his pretentious musical, Flor
eta" may lose him his $685.
100000 "angel," who is Mrs.
Anna Wightman Penfield, one
of the three wealtiest women in
the world.
Mrs. Penfield, the widow Of
Frederic CORTLAND Penfield, the
Wilson Ambassador to Austria,
backed "Fioretta," as a tribute
of interest in the musical ea-
reer of Messrs. Bagby and
Romelli, two youthful COM
posers who are sons of her hus-
bands intimate friends. They
wrote the score and Mrs. PEN
field advanced 100000 to pro.
duce the musical. Since then
she has been compelled to pay
more until the show can be-
gin paying for ITSELF" Earl
Carroll( producer, is down on the
books for $4,000 weekly as gen.
eral manager.
What Tres Mrs. Penfield, ac-
cording to New York reports,
is the continuance of the beau
tiful Miss Knapp in the name
role, a part which could appro-
priately use the voice of prima
donna. Dorothy cannot sing. The
wealthy patroness deeply re-
sented the release of Vivienne
Segal, originally slated for this
role and playing it for one week
in Baltimore.
Mr.. Carroll has endeavored to
have other prima donnas 90 into
"Fioretta," but none were al
lured by the prospect of play
ing a second fiddle to the Knapp
charms and prominence.
The producer has just re-
turned from London and faces
a law suit brought by Mrs.
Marie O'G. O'Connell, who seeks
10 per cent of the 100000 con-
tributed by Mrs. Penfield.
1t is Rex Smith, a slash and
tear author, who is the latest
to blister John Gilbert as
Symbol of a vanishing type in
motion pictures" The article in
the current issue cf the Theater
Magazine is a more severe blast
ian the vitriol poured upon
Metro-Goldwyn's ace star by the
very outspoken Jim Tully re-
Gently. Hollywood thought that
Tully went too far and the tur-
bulent Irish boy was the victim
of social ostracism by the five
figure salary stars.
L. Stoddard Taylor is our
attention caller and remarks
that any figure worth such
display of venom must have at
tanned an eminence which in
spires envy. Here is one of the
dun dunn literary shots of
Author Smith:
"He had to overcome the
handicap of his face. 1t is
rather plain off the screen and
marred by an unattractive nose.
He was smart enough to realize
that characteristic must be
found which could be capitalized.
The eyes had it. They were
ingenuously mellow and moony.
He practiced smile to go with
them. After the combination
was perfected, publicity and
photography was perfected"
FINALLY audiences became con.
scious of the fact that he was
always posed carefully with those
strainingly expressive eyes and
that monotonous, toothy smile
dominating the picture. They
discovered that there was no
evidence of anything behind
them.
Talking pictures will COM
pletely extinguish this decres-
cent star. His voice is as ar
tificial, for professional pur-
poses, as his acting qualifica-
tions. 1t would be laughable
= in a dramatic role. The time
has come for him to buy a home
in Nice, or farther away, I'M
less he is willing to endure
the desolation of being for
gotten before middle age"
Well, flappers, what do you
think of that? Personally l
think Mr.. Smith looks at Mr..
Gilbert with a jaundiced per-
spective. He cites " A Woman
of Affairs" as a feature in
which Greta Carlo completely
submerged handsome Jacks
talents. AS a matter of fact
"Affairs," was Michael Arlen's
"Green Hat" and the story and
the play, as we'll as the picture,
had Iris March as the supremacy
dominating character of the
fiction. Director Clarence Brown
made a relatively true adapta-
tion and the Carlo role, domi-
mated, of course. AS to the
Gilbert voice, l heard it via the
sound boxes in a "Trelawney of
the Wells" special trailer and
it came out satisfactorily, of
masculine timbre and certainly
with clarity and robust quality.
However. the best way to
meet violent prejudice is to face
it with the facts. So | clip
from the current Variety, where
it is displayed under a Los An
geles dateline of March 26, the
following:
"After completinp 'ReIemp-