Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
BY sIGMUND RoMBERG.

WHAT is wrong with the musical
w pictures? Why does everybody
say that music and dancing have failed
on the screen and do not belong in pic
lures, and that the spoken word Is the
only logical survival of the three? To
give coherent answer is large order.
Let's take music first and try TO
ascertain Just what part 1t plays In our
daily life. Is music luxury, or IN It o
necesSity2
Isn't 1t fact that no Joyful occasion
can pass without the help of music?
Did you ever hear anywhere. even in
the remotest corner of the earth, Of o
wedding without music? II there should
be no instruments or mechanical repro
ducing instruments or musicians TO be
had, the guests themselves start sing
ing to express the joyousnesS Of the
occasion.
matter what creed or religion, without
music? Is there anything more. beauti-
full in ones life than the hymns sung
in church, with all the expression Of
belief and faith behind them?
So It goes also with state banQuetS,
wars, parades-any public or private
function requires music. Even in the
days Of the silent pictures the theater
was indeed unfortunate which couldn't
at least afford some one to play piano
music during the show. The first-run
houses employed large orcheStraS and
had scores compiled by distinguished
musicians as accompaniment for the
silent screen play.
Having established this, we ind that
music has been accepted as q necessity.
We also call attention to the fact that
music Is the only link between different
nationalities which needs no transla-
ton and which is understood wherever
people are. The same melody may even
have different words in different Ian
guages, IS for example, God Save the
King" Is the same as the German an
them Hell Dier in Siegeskranzs" or
MY Country, IT'S Of Thee" In America.
But In the final analysis that makes no
difference.
Regarding Broadway Successes.
Now, let's see what happens on
Broadway and how musical stage sue
cess comes about. Out Of about go
theatrical producers, 10 produce must
such works az something dangerous
something which requires q lot Of
money, special knowledge and q special
set Of writer's. To be q successful pro-
Queer of musical shows one must have
profound love for music, color, beauty,
and q genius ct blending al three.
With rare exceptions, an average
drama has cast from to 16 char
acters, generally only one to two acts,
very seldom three or more. In O must
cal production, besides q huge cast, q
large singing and dancing chorus
sometimes as many as 30 persons in the
enSemble-big orchestra, electricians,
stage hands, etc, the outlay alone for a
single musical number in an operetta
sometimes costs as much, and II not
more than the entire cost of pro-
ducing an entire dramatic production.
It Is obvious that the gamble one I'M
dertakeS who produces musical shows
Is in no comparison with that under
taken for q dramatic production. Few
producers, therefore, will attempt nusi-
cal shows.
BY the time the show reaches the
tryout stage on the road the producer
has put in at least $4,000 to 500, 600.
He must also plan TO spend an addi-
tional $4,000 or $4,000 in order to
save what he invested.
The results, Of course. justify the
gamble when q musical production
charges all the way from Sc TO So top
and plays for weeks and months To
such crosses as $4,000 TO $4,000 per
week.
Conditions In Hollywood.
Now to turn TO Hollywood, since the
beginning Of the talking pictures, since
Vttaphone and Movietone made IL pos
sihle TO transfer sound. music and the
spoken word TO q screen audience. In
the space Of o year and Q half every
major studio found that In order 10
keep up with time and the regular
theaters musical shows had to be pro-
duced.
The first step was 10 buy from
Broadway all the past and present
musical shows, no matter II success or