The Washington times., 1929-05-23
IGLEANINGSI
- And -
SCREENINGS
BY ANDREW B. KELLEY

~ @@~A~@NASWN 80 AAA@hNmAA@4
Fox Movietone FOlIies Is an
other corking screen muaical
which can be heard distinctly
from first to last gasp. l was
snpong 3 limited and privileged
audience which witnessed q pre-
view Of this latest feature last
night-or early this morning
and my chief pleasure was in
personally discovering that
Stepin Fetchit is an ebony
cinder who is funny indeed
when you hear him More hit
tunes than the average musical
comedy boasts, dancing, fast
action and spectacle. Girls,
girls and more girls. HOWever,
the picture viii be reviewed in
these columns Monday. What
! can say now Is the attempt
Of Mr.. Fox TO ontdo Mr.. Zieg-
: field was worth losing the before
midnight slumber.
For the benefit Of the w. w.
w. club and those who cherish
fragrant memories II Wesley
Eddy, here is q brief account Of
his reception at the Penn Thea
ter, Pittsburgh, a. set down by
Harvey Gaul, Of the Pittsburgh
Post Gazette:
'The stage show Is Wesley's
Eddyfication, it Is all Wesley,
and in this : master Of cere-
monies we have q man who is
no accident under q proscenium,
but q talent who behaves like
n veteran, who Is . stage man,
a showmPu and who thoroughly
knows the technique Of his
game. II his predecessor was
juvenile and elevated beyond his
gifts, this Wesley Eddy hasn't
for q moment reached his ulti-
mate. He can sing a st. Louis
Blues" that would make Ethel
Waters sit hack and applaud,
and when he wants to 60 SEMI
mental be has the voice and the
ability to back it up. He Is
personable, impressiOnable and
a distinct acquisition to the
Penn stage. He opens with
clever skit and closes with elec-
tric applause. Watch him from
week to week"
The stage stars are holding
their own in the movies, but the
cinema exhibitors are confronted
with the task Of selling q foot
light reputation to regular pa
irons Of the leaping celluloids
in small towns where Broadway
means nothing but sin. Thus
Jeanne Eagels in @The Letter,
although conceded TO be great
actress and first-class all around
in this feature, is selling slowly
in the provinces. In fact, on our
F Street, she didn't sell enough
tickets to warrant a hold-over
week at the Columbia.
Now that the circus has picked
up and departed, it can be told.
For II the shooting Of a man
from q cannon is not 4 thrill
stunt which our fathers watched
a generation ago I'll eat Q bag
Of spinach smothered in cheese,
although I prefer cucumbers.
Barnum learned the trick of
selling them anything provided
it was dressed up in the right
superlatives, and the art has
not been forgotten.
Little Helen Kane, whom Para
mount expects to make q first
run star in the singing cinemas,
was spanked for . weeks pay
by the Actors Equity Associa-
tion for being too eager to take
up her Hollywood contract. The
Kane child appeared briefly with
Richard Dix in @Nothing But
the Truth" and then was signed
to d tWo-year contract. She left
Hammer TENS "Good Boy
claiming illness. Equity finds
that her illness was genuine,
but that she was lax in not
informing the producer Of her
recovery. The ''baby-talk" !" singer
has had ! remarkable rise,
being practically unknown one
year ago and now commanding
q four-figure salary. Incidentally
Paramount will not exercise an
option on the Richard Dix con-
tract when it expires soon.
Now and again one hears that
the craze for limericks has died,