The Washington times., 1930-03-03
CLEAN INGS
AND
SCREEN INCS
By ANDREW q. KELLEY

They are kidding the radio
at Keith's this week. The mo-
ments allotted on the program
to- Freddy Clark and his RK-
Olians In the orchestra pit are
devoted to melodiously trimmed
barbs aimed at the stars Of the
nicrophone.
The early morning health
exercises are satired as is the
kitchen advice Of that mistress
Of the saucepan, Ida Bailey Al
len, Of WMAL. Walter Dam
fosch and his piano interpreta-
ton Of the classics provide a
giggle and then Amos n Andy
get a bit of attention.
Saturday afternoon the RK-
OlanS were reading the lines
from manuscript Cat least some
Of the actor-musicianS were)
and so the toutrensemble had
!. the general effect Of q dress re-
hearSal. However, the audietce
reaction was decidedly favor.
able, which is the real test Of
entertainment value and the
radio will survive.
Rudy Vallee, by the way, de-
votes a chapter Of his vivid au-
photography (Vagabond Dreams
Come True) to this very thing
the "hokum" band as con-
traSted with the musical groups
which copfine numbers to the
straight SharpS and flats. To
call Mr.. Vallee as a witness
we find:
THAT is where the hokum
comes in. The band that can
put on little Skits and comedy
numbers with props and appa-
ratus has a tremendous edge on
dance orchestraS that simply
produce beautiful, rhythmic mu-
sic. Such an orchestra might
rightly be termed an entertain
ing orchestra because they en-.
gage the eye while they entfce
the feet to dance and soothe
the mind with music"
This can be paraphraSed to
lit the theater orchestra. But
with proper difference to Freddy
Clark, hope the Actors Equity
starts . jurisdictional dispute
before the Musicians Union in.
augurateS o comedic test as Q
qualification for membership.
Dorothy Herzog, whose Holly.
wood writings regularly adorn
these pages, has blossomed ss q
fiction author. Her modern girls
portrait Of a modern girl, Just
OFF the McCauley Press, is called
Some Like It Hot" The hero
Inc, we are told, has all the
trankneSS, fleetneSS and emo
Nonal freedom of the reckless
new generation. .
A picture can be as full of
stars as a plum pudding with
raiSinS, but audiences will in
variably pick their own collec-
tive favorite. So on Saturday
afternoon all the high Salaried
contract players on the Fox
payroll paraded on the screen
in Happy Days." but the sal
utory applause was for Janet
Gaynor and Charles Farrell,
with a hand here and there
for Gentleman Jim" Corbett,
who Is a novice in films, though
. postgraduate of the ring.
Runners-up in popularity were
El Brendel and the rough-house
team Of MacLaglen and Lowe.
The fall-apart dress suit of
Brendel, which served him long
and faithfully in vaudeville, is
now producing laughs for the
movie patrons.
One Of the Pathe shorts on
the supplementary film pro-
gram at Keith'S this week Of
ferS a hunting episode with a
real thrill. It is called "The
Fighting Feline" and may cause
tender folks to Shu6der al
though the marauding cat de-
stroyed by the dogs is Of a
species that preys upon barn
yards and domestic game and
has State bounty upon it's
head as cruel nuisance. When
the pack finally run the prey
to cover, the hounds circle
around and bark viciously, but
keep prudently away from the
menacing claws. Suddenly q
wire-haired airedale closes in
and takes a death grip on the
enemy. Manager Corbin SHIELD,
Of Keith'S, reports that he spent
six solid hours screening shorts
and then his patience and loss
OF sleep "as rewarded by COM
Ing across this Give one"
The child labor law barred
the little girl used in Ziegfeld's
"Show Boat" to impersonate
AlEn IN the convent scene.
1t leSsened the appeal Of this
particular dramatic episode but
the code recognizes no excep-
tion.
This week Babes in Toy
land" gets around the statute
by using a troupe of midgets
for the March of the Toys"
number in the Herbert revival
at Polls.
Theater managers now realize
that the statute as applied to
the District stage is unusually
harsh. It was slipped quietly
into the code without any
representative Of the organized
theater being heard on the mat.
ter. Efforts are now being