Evening star., 1930-03-30
The Snoring Picture cAlbnm
By Robert E. Sherwood.

r T has been my emphatically avowed
belief that there could be no real
future for musical comedies or
4 operettas on the screen, and tnat
the great film Loving public would
soon announce that 1t had had enough
of the meaningless melanges OF technl-
colored chorus girls and mechanical
boop-a-Ciooping that have been seen and
heard with such appalling frequency
| since THE Broadway Melody"
have uttered this prophecy over ana
| over again, and reiterate it now. But
I may as well add to it the confession
| that 1t is still lamentably far from ful-
| flllment. The girl-and-muSic shows ap-
| pear to be more popular now than tncy
| ever were. The Broadwayization OF
! Hollywood Is assuming absolutely over
whelming proportions.
| Witness these alarming evidences:
Lawrence Schwab. one Of the smart
| est and most successful Of the Broad
way musical comedy producers, sponsor
! Of such hits as Good News, The DeS-
ert Song" 1.-The New Moon" and Fol
| low Through" has announced his in
| tention to quit the theater cold and de-
| vote himself henceforth to the movies,
where the real money is to be made.
| Edgar Selwyn and Arthur Hammer
/ stein have done likewise.
L
| of the musical shows produced in New
| York next season will be backed, secret
| ly or openly, by the movie magnateS
/ themselves, with q sole view to giving
l these entertainments Broadway repu-
| tations before their tranSpoSition to the
| screen.
All the important song writers. with
| the possible exception OF George Gersh-
win, have been Seduced by Hollywood
| 1oII ATon10 fhaTa are .Ipr0n1R Kern.
| irving Berlin, Vincent Youmans, Walter
! Donaldson, De Sylvia, Brown and Hen
| derson, Rudolf Friml and Kalmar and
| Ruby.
when you hear a new song hit these
| days you ask, What picture is that
| from?"
AS to the performers-operatic, musi.
| cal. comedy and vaudeVlne-tneyve al
| gone celluloid, from Lawrence T1bbett
and John Mccormack to Eddie Cantor
and Beatrice Lille, and there Is every
reason to believe that they Will continue
| to practice their artistry In the sound
proof studios. If they don't it will be
only because their imitators have crowd
| ed them out
There's no question of doubt that
we're in for a protracted orgy OF an
| singing, au-danclng, alI-coloreo Hull
| stroSitieS.
| We can only hope that here and
| there, amid the welter Of sweetie songs
! and chorus routineS, there VIII be an
occasional Anna Christie" or Men
| Without Women" to remind US that the
moving picture can deal honestly ana
| effectively with the less obvious, less
noisy and more important human emo
tionS.
THREE young Broadway song writers,
I III - CNFlxy PrnWn aIl0
raw Henderson (steadfast collabor-
| ators), have Just arrived in HOLLYWOOD
/ 10 work out q contract that demon
! strates clearly the complete triumph OF
/ iazz. They viii make four pictures Tor
| FOX and one for United Artists, which
! viii keep them busy for the next TWO
| years. Several companies are even now
| negotiating for their services from 1SSz
| on.
| among the worlds most accomplished
| hit makers. They have supplied lyrics
| and music for three or George whites
! *ScandalS," for Good News, FOLLOW
| Thru" Flying High" and other spec
| tacular successes. In addition to Vhfch
| they have turned out such pest senerS
as "Annong My Souvenirs, together
| and sonny Boy" and all the songs and
dialogue for the unnecessarily popular
sunny Side Up
! So Talented trio as this one deserves
| to be highly paid and De sylvia. Brown
| and Henderson intend to get their just
deserts. Although they once broadcast
the doctrine that The Best Things IN IN
/ Life are Free" they have managed 70
sell their services to William Fox for
| q minimum of 100000. Over and
\ above that guarantee. they win receive
| all the profits on their songs and sub
stantial share of the proftS derived
from the four pictures on which they
/ work.
TO make sure that all that is coming
| 10 them actually reaches them. they
have taken along their own expert ac-
| countant to keep his eye on the Fox
books. It seems that art has at last
learned how to be artful.
Which brings to mind the experience
| of Montague Glass, who made the great
| mistake Of selling his Potash & PERL
mutter'' to Samuel Goldwyn on a roy
atty basis. Instead of being paid nat
! sum for an outright sale, as is usually
the case, he agreed to accept per-
centage of the profits. In due course
| of time the Goldwyn office started
sending statements to Mr.. Glass, listing
all the debts and credits so that he
would have an exact estimate OF his
share of the booty, if any.
Glancing at the debit side of these
statements. the author happened to
notice an item of some $1,000 for an
expense incurred by Mr.. Goldwyn in
rendering a banquet to several promi-
nent exhibitors, Ito promote interest
in the picture"
when Montague Glass considered the
cost of this feast and realized that he
had unknowingly been sharing In that
cost he sent telegram to Mr.. Gold
wyn, asking: Did you have to serve
pheasant?"
Presumably If Mr.. Fox decides to
tender q similar banquet for exhibitors,
the De sylvia, Brown and Henderson
accountant will be on hand to check