Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-11
mis- screen super-extrava-
y CANA. King of Jazz" at

THIS screen super-extrava
ganZa, king of jazz" a
q least settles one problem
which has been more or les
worry to the theatergoer. I
shows what has become Of vaude.
Vile. The latter form Of enter
tainment was supposed to have
suffered a lingering death, bu
from the grave it comes, reincar.
mated with movie soul.
Tt has long been a contention
OF this department that the screen
was a fitting vehicle for the revue
type Of production, although thi.
has not been a general opinion
among the writer's on movie
affairs. king of Jazz" is a gilt
tering example Of Just what we
have always maintained-that
the screen Is an ideal medium fol
the reproduction Of such enter
tainment material, and that, az
time goes on, the photoplay thea
tiers will develop this form Of
vaudeville"
To many ardent theatergoers
there has always been a certain
amount of mystery concerned with
the passing OF vaudeville. It was
a class of theatrical entertainment
that, while not being 100 per cent
popular, attracted a devoted audi
ence-patrons who were year-in
and year-out customers. But dur
ing the past decade, with the or
ganization Of new booking units,
there was a mad scramble for
talent. Salary bids went to a
high level; stars signed contracts
calling for salaries which were
beyond all reason, and this re-
suited in top-heavy programs. A
vaudeville star, with the hilltop
Ding location on the program, re-
ceived nearly all Of the box office
receipts; the remainder of the
program suffered, being made up
in nearly all instances, of cheap
attractions. This alone did much
toward killing OF the vaudeville
theater-nine bad acts and one
good one. Top-heavy programs
cut down patronage, and theater
managers were unable to pay the
large salaries demanded by the
stars.
with the movies, however, all
this has been changed. Such q
production as king of Jazz"
starring Paul Whiteman, can be
made up entirely of star numbers.
The income from a successful
venture Of this type is enormous;
khe featured players are employed
for one performance; they are
not on a 52-week pay roll, although
their compensation for a single
picture far surpaSSeS single per-
torrance on the stage.
It would seem that vaudeville
has gone movie, but in a manner
which is Of special benefit to all
producer, exhibitor and patron.
~King of Jazz" carries out q pre-
diction made a long time ago
that the screen is an ideal medium
for revue entertainment-come
music, dancing and elaborate
stage settings. Other big pictures
OF such a character are to follow
as q natural course.
X 4 X n
BECAUSE his remarks have con-
siderable to do with the
movies, this column is finding q
place for q statement by Sam H.
Harris, president of the Organized
Legitimate Theater Managers
Association, in the current issue
Of the Quill. Mr.. Harris, who has
turned down an offer to give up
the legitimate theater and go into
sound production, blames the low
state Of the theater to a large ex-
tent upon a present-day lack Of
showmanship. Quoting from the
Harris statement:
with all due respect to Ber-
nard Shaw, the legitimate theater
is not going to be washed up or
killed by talking pictures: We
have had time to think 1t over
since the novelty of talkies gave
managers a pain in the neck. We
find the movies are still a long
way from giving satisfactory per-
forn1ances of the spoken drama. I
believe that every patron of the
talkieS will become a potential
theatergoer II producers will
select good plays and take steps
to control the competition. I still
insist, as I did nearly a year ago,
and as other producing managers
have said, that we cannot expect
the show business to come back
OF itself. Let us get back to the
principles Of advertising our
shows. Put more effort behind
the job of selling the gods. We
can. do with more showmanship.
Economics of the theater prevent
US from using the expensive ad-
vertising displays taken by the
movies.
81 say we are spending every
thing on productions and letting
the shows sell themselves. It is
against every sound business
axiom. Shows will not sell them
selves these days. Owing to labor
troubles, the crash in the stock
market and unemployment, the
show business in some cities has
been spotty, but that is all the
more reason for putting more
effort into our exploitation"
Many Of the movie production
units have gone back to circus
methods in exploiting pictures,
and 1t may be that the legitimate
Hheater will follow along the same