The Washington times., 1929-02-11
GLEANINGS
AND

Bv ANDREW r. KELLEY

lneaCeF LnM WCchs
Out Hollywood way the story
is Mr.. Billings lives old Honest
Abe "a hours a day. He looks
like Lincoln, acts like Lincoln,
and talks like Lincoln. And,
they add, he viii never die
happy unless he's assassinated.
: You might dust off the stereo-
typed line about Washington
Bow Makes Good" and apply 1t
to Charlie Eaton. The kid is
in his first prominent role for
the talker and l found him bet
ter than adequate in "The Ghost
Talked" the Fox Theater's main
screen feature this week.
The estimable Frank Hughes,
who help. to speed this column
into type daily and is a COM
pendium of typographical lore,
reminds us that Mr.. Eaton's
father was once a printer at the
G. P. o. Which, to a printer,
is equally as important as the
fact that blond Mary, Of the
Ziegfeld musicals, and Doris,
of Broadway, are the most
famous of the Eaton girls.
To return to Charlie Eaton.
He lays the leading role in the
screen version of the Max Mar
Gin play, Badges" in which the
late Gregory Kelly was starred.
The movies have made it COM
pletely farcical and the corre-
spondence school detective who
nabs he million-dollar bond
thieves gets many a laugh. The
story suffers little in the tell
ing from uneven pace and the
mechanical reproducer Saturday
afternoon was cutting up like
radio with a weak tube, If you
know what ] mean. However,
Mr.. Eaton's performance was
highly commendable, in fact,
away head of that provided by
Helen Twelvetress, Wampes
star, who must add to her stock
of camera expressions before
she rates stardom.
The Raymond T. Bakers were
front row patrons of "Manhat-
tan Mary" at Polls last night.
The former director of the U. 5.
mint was once regular first
nighter with Joe Tumulty until
his recent marriage to Delphine
Dodge Cromwell, the automobile
heiress who holds the speed boat
record for the Potomac and other
racing waters.
Barry Norton has been or
dered by his film bosses to get
a hair cut before the cameras
grind again. Thus eliminating
one of our pet screen peeves.
IF and when young Douglas
Fairbanks gets the same instruc-
tions this is all the encourage-
ment we can provide for the
BARRIERS union at the moment.
"Wolf of Wall Street" gets
more action on the screen than
any talker thus far produced,
and Mr.. Bancroft is little short
of immense as the canny finar-
cier who is a sucker" in love
affairs. What laugh that boy
has.
They tricked up the story a
little to cover Baclanova's ac-
cent. She is the last one in the
world you would ever pick to
marry a fellow such as Bancroft
represents in this picture. But
she can act and requires no dou-
BILE for the singing. BaclanoVa
has a beautiful voice, a fact
which / discovered when she
appeared at Polls three seasons
ago in "Carmencita and the
Soldier" Towards the end of
the feature she turns it on with
all stops open for a love song,
which is real highlight.
Nancy Carroll has the great
est chance ever given a young
screen actress and while she is
good, she just missed an oppor-
tunity to be great in the big
scene. Her voice did not appear
to have the vigor and vehemence
for the dressing down she was
called upon to hand the stock
and bond baron.
See "Wolf of Wall Street"
and you can argue with the
cynic who says the takers are +,
only q passing fad.
They have an act from the
London 'alls at the Fox this
week (Omar and Nagle) and one
Of the boys walks the rail
around the orchestra pit dis
guised as cat with its tail up.
The National Players, who
begin their rehearsals today, cell
ebrated a get-together Sabbath
by occupying the boxes at Polls
last night and cheering Ed
Wynn.
You can credit the sound
films with bracing up the sup
Elementary screen programs of
our first run film houses. These
cameo Movietone talks filmed
nv Fox are as interesting as any
shots ever screened. This
week. as an example, you may
see and hear Walter S. Clifford,
the 44-year-old president of the
American Telephone and Tele-
graph Company, largest corpor-
alton in the world.
Though he is one of Amer
ica's most brilliant business ex-
ecutives. he was very much ex-
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