The Washington times., 1930-03-24
JOURNALISTS
RULE SCREEN
THIS WEEK
BY ANDREW r. KELLEY

weather permitting, JonlCa Will
raise the first curtain tomorrow
CTuesday) night. It has COM
pany of so and employs II extra
musicians in the pit.
Francis P. SagerSon, advance
courier of "Jonica," has been ex'
plotted as a press agent with
psychic powers and endowed with
the strange gift of prophecy. Mr..
Sagerson was unable to glimpse
lar enough ahead on Saturday
to prevent about 1000 playgoers
from being disappointed last
night.
Keating, the magician, was re-
ported very mad, yes, almost
ready to go to court to restrain
Producer Ziegfeld from using a
canary disappearing trick in Ed
Wynn's Simple Simon" WHAT
Keating heard was that a chorus
Of Ziegfeld's glorified beauties
had been rehearsed in the vanish
ing bird business and would do it
as number. Well, Simple
Simon" opened and there was no
disappearing Cd1LdAJ oNSAAS'
All of which by way of introduc-
ing the fact that Master Of Cere-
monies Bobby Gillette is doing
the where does the canary 60
trick on the Palace Theater stage
this week. And it's a good trick
even though 80 per cent OF the
audience figure they know how
it's done. AS Thurston says, the
best magic tricks are the simple
ones the public feels 1t can
solve, creating thereby a glow OF
audience smartness.
I've said it before but there's
no harm in saying it again. Uni
verSal Pictures has one custom
in the making of features when
puts the U. Company a mile
ahead of all opposition in audi
ence consideration-it runs the
names of the players in the cast
before and after the action is
screened. Some day sage fellow
will hire himself out to Holly
wood at 100000 year, or per-
haps more, and get credit for be-
ing smart by suggesting all pro
ducers follow the practice OF Uni
versal. The mere fact that to
inaugurate this desirable change
would cost nothing may be an
other reason why Hollywood
thinks the suggestion is no good.
Ex-newspaper writer's are DOM
mating the F Street screens this
week. Herman j. Manciewicz,
erStwhile of the New York Times,
adapted Honey" from the play
Come Out of the Kitchen" In
which Ruth Chatterton starred.
The Manciewicz touch can be OBJ
served all through the Nancy
Carroll feature, even to fitting the
mild little stage comedy with a
brace of tunes. It plays as ex-
travagant farce and introduces
little Mitzi Green, child actress,
slated to be a Paramount star.
in some saucy comedy dialogue
about ten years more matured
than her stature. Given just a
little bit more to do. "Skeets"
Gallagher might have hooked the
honors Of Honey" a la Jack
Oakie.
wells Roots, former motion pic
ture editor of the New York
World, gets program credit for
Suggesting" the Franz Lehar
operetta, Gypsy Love-" be made
into "The Rogue Song" as a good
screen story for Lawrence Tibbett.
Whoever suggested the Tibbett
baritone be engaged for the talk
ing celluloid deserves a diamond
medal, for it certainly is an ac-
quiSition and the leather Croix
de Stupidity is reserved for the
suggeStor sticking Laurel and
Hardy into a picture where they
certainly do not belong.
Len Hecht, the Chicago journal
list, who started the vogue for
crime pictures with "Underworld"
turns in another excellent exhibit
in Roc dhouse Nights" Written
expressly for the screen it plays
smoothly with excitement and
comedy deity intermingled. The
part of the generally Soused re-
porter was written especially for
Charles B. Ruggles and fits him
Snugly. Helen Morgan is not so
happy. This is her second Para
mount picture. and to me it in
dictates that the singing queen of
the night clubs has a talent not
readily adapted for the cameras.
Her first feature, Applause,
which witnessed in the making,
failed to make the grade on F
Street and her performance in
this latest feature is disappoint-
ing.
Jimmy (Schnozzle) Durante
makes his debut in the talking
pictures in "RoadhouSe Nights"
with every indication that Para
mount has hooked on to a
comedy 1t will soon be glad to
feature in big type. A funny fel-
low. His rough nonsnese in
"Show Girl" was the real hit of
the Ziegfeld musical although
Ruby Keeler was the advertised
star. The team of Clayton, Jack
son and Durante was developed
in the New York night clubs from
which it graduated into big time
vaudeville. 1t is strictly a Broad.
way name which must be sold to
motion picture audiences on what
it can do via the screen. MesSrs.
Clayton and Jackson do very lit
tie but Jimmy Durante does
n1AF0tV ManV hava cYyo0acRad