davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17

JUDGES Of the contest In search Of
y the ideal Miss Columbia" have mar
rowed the field from $4,000 contestants
to two young women whose beauty and
general qualifications for first honorS
are nearly equal.
The two lucky contestants are Miss
Lesley Beth Storey, entered as Miss
Tower Magazines" and Miss Dorothy
Dawes, entered as Miss Film Fun"
both of Brooklyn, N. Y, and winners of
the individual contests staged by the
magazines which named them. Thir-
teen prominent magazines and many
newspapers joined in sponsoring the
contests.
The winner, posed as Miss Column
bia," will have her likeness used as the
company's trademark on all films dis
tributed by Columbia. She will win
Hollywood, to be entertained by famous
will be awarded q weeks contract at q
salary Of $3.50.
Individual winners in various contests
conducted by IS far magazines were
Dorothy Brown, Des Moines, Iowa,
Screen Romances; Jean Ecker, West
Palm Beach, Fla, Motion Picture Mag
azine; Donna Barton, Tulsa, Okla, Mo-
ton. Picture Classic; Dorothy Dawes,
Brooklyn, N. Y, Film Fun; Vera Martin
Countess Vera de Muller), New York
City, Screen Book; Bernice Maiwald,
Laconia, N. H., Moving Picture Stories;
Lesley Beth Storey, Brooklyn, N. Y,
Tower Group; Meta Diane Neuberg,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
The Lily of Budapest.

COME OF the stories that spring out
Of Hollywood during this wonder
full machine age would hatch an egg
If it were imperative that an egg be
Matched abnormally. The movie doesn't
stop at anything needed to prepare the
way for its onward march. This has
become more apparent as time flies on.
The latest evidence Is its enlistment of
the famous press agents who used to
stir the public pulse and heart in the
days when the legitimate theater had
full sway. Those chaps could revivify
the dead If they had a mind to.
Here's one Of the new type of stories,
or rather the substance of 1t. because
space forbids free quotation of the
writer, one of those T. p. r. o. AS
doubtless so well known to the pro-
fession.
After preparing the mind with sug-
gestionS of predeStination and free will,
with more Of the psychic long DOR
mant in the vocational atmosphere of a
mind used to burn the midnight oil, he
unloads new kind of nostalgia.
1t seems that Daryl Francis Zanuck,
a director of the Warner Bros. studios,
was urged by this nostalgia to visit
again the haunts of his childhood.
Succumbing to the impulse, he found
himself in Budapest-joyouS city and
famous for its gypsy music no less than
for its fairylike night life. And it was
while wandering amid this life, a la
Haroun Al RaSchid, that Daryl met
lovely dancer and singer, the toast of
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
Art and the Movies.

make small cardboard models Of sets to
be built, so director and players may
better visualize coming action. Other
men constantly are busy Sketching i'm
portant properties which must be acclI-
rate in makeup or period, because of
their use in cloSe-upS in important
scenes"
Our individual artists are left abso-
thing for which they are best suited"
an enterprise as large as q picture
studio things must travel in a direct
line. This causes our division OF labor
among units, and the large expenditures
of physical materials, paper, pencils,
drawings, charcoal, etc, which are re-
quired to keep flowing smoothly river
of artistic achievement.
art is as well served by efilcient
methods as any other lines OF en-
deavor," is Mr.. Gibbons conclusion.
Mr.. Gibbons pet book discloses the
following art efforts in a period OF a
few weeks: Interior of Weber and
Fields Music Hall, New York; control
room of a Zeppelin; dormitory room,
Spanish College; detective headquar-
tiers, Scotland Yard: stage, Academy OF
Music, New York, 1858: cheap San
Francisco cafe; a Russian petty court in
the days of the Gear; a ships brig;
shower room of base ball team; a
fashionable dog show; barracks OF
royalist soldiers, empire period IN
France; coal mine tunnel, and throne
room, Austrian palace, before the war
What is art, anyway?
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17

II LILLIAN GISH once said, according
to Donald Henderson Charles, that
motion pictures never would be art as
she understood it, because too many
different arts, trades, professions and
individuals are concerned in the making
Of single film.
without going into the question of
what is art, information is at hand
which reveals that the art department
at the Metro oldwyn- Mayer studio
last year designed 1,044 separate sets,
used AIT 800 feet of drawing paper and
drew 90 miles of penciled lines.
Records of I. Lloyd, who won the
1929 "art directors award" of the Acad-
envy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci
ences, disclose further that the average
number of sets in each film is %, and
that for each of the % sets an aver
age of IL different drawings is re-
Quired.
The art director attends story con-
9erences with writer, director and star.
I'VE begin first with a work sheet in
quarter-inch scale" says Mr.. Lloyd.
"Then we make individual sketches In
inch scale, or smaller, and finally, for
the most important details, full-Size
drawings are made. Each film requires
an average OF 245 detail sketches"
He, Lloyd, illustrated his words with
fIlll-size drawings Of sections Of beams
required for Madame Satan" exact de-
tail of show cases required for Our
Blushing Brides" and pipes of an organ
loft for THE Singer Of Seville.
I'm addition" he continued, eve
have two men who do nothing but
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17

WHEN Gertrude Ederle tore . hot
lane through the choppy waters
Of the English Channel between France
and England for new record for that
sport, says d. H. Clarke, one Of Holly
woods literati, comments were heard
to the effect that perhaps, after all, the
male is not the most durable of the
species, and various arm chair obServ-
erS strained themselves sufficiently to
look up q bit Of data here and there
on the ability of the female to stand up
under punishment better than the male
Somewhere, it was written that the
feminine body contains fewer nerves
than the masculine body and, at least, Is
able to stand pain better.
When Metro Goldwyn-M Mayer, having
finished preparations for turning the
book Trader Horn" into q Aim, an
nounced that one white actress, for the
role of Nina T.. would be taken along,
with Director w. s. Van Dyke and his
company, practically every young lady
who was an actress, or who thought she
was an actress, tried 70 get the billet.
Van Dyke, after a series of photo
graphic tests, decided that he would like
Edwina Booth to play the part, but
warned Miss Booth that it would in
volve a great personal risk, plenty Of
hardship, little of fun and q deal of
work, with only modicum Of pleas
ure.
That didn't bother Miss Booth at all.
In khaki trousers, flannel shirt and felt
TARA she up and accepted the job. She
spent six months in districts infested
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
What About Mary?

WITH the shutting of the studio
doors the other day and the sus-
pension of activities on the Forever
Yours" lot there was closed possibly a
chapter in the annals of the motion
picture. For rumor has it that Mary
Pickford, dissatisfied with the work on
this picture, is being tempted to actu-
ally desert the industry which she has
been SO instrumental in building up
This is really an alarming situation,
If such a rumor may be credited, and
it is In no way helped by the fact that
Douglas Fairbanks claims little interest
in the talkies and may very likely give
up screen work for o life Of golf on the
broad and open fairways.
The withdrawal of two such spotlight
celebrities viii certainly not be apt to
boost the fate of the talkies. Seem
ingly imperishable f1gureheads, Mary
and Doug have done more to SOW the
seeds of American film popularity
abroad than any other players. They
have carried good will from one coun-
try to another with an almost Lind
bergman finesse. They have become
furthermore, civic leaders, as well as
actual leaders. in their particular field.
Perhaps the tone of finality that
seemed to be apparent when produce
ton activities were suspended on the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
The Snoring Picture cAlbum
BY Robert e. Sherwood.

I France, which is reminiscent of one OF
Lon Chaney's lurid offerings.
/ have seen several other French
films, each of which seemed to contain
as much dialogue as did Strange In
terlude." It was good dialogue, more
natural and less stilted than the lines
in most Hollywood takers, but a good
rs ,er cent of it could have been elimi-
mated.
, In one respect do French films lead
the world. That is in the highly i'm
portant matter of love scenes. Although
spoken dialogue has killed most of the
romance in productions of the Carlo
Gilbert school, it has made no differ
ence whatever when the language
| spoken happens to be French. There
are some amorouS passages between
Marie Bell and Jean Murat in a picture
called THE Night Is Ours" that are as
| pleasantly warm as anything that has
been seen since the old Flesh and the
| Devil" days.
Certain American sound films still
can cross the worlds frontiers with tri-
umphant ease. These are Walt Dis
ney's Incompatible animated cartoons
Mickey the Mouse" and SILLY SYM
phonies." During the temporary alb
sence of Charlie Chaplin from public
view I should say that Mickey the
Mouse" is the most popular movie star
on earth. His every appearance is
widely advertised and wildly acclaimed
in cities, towns and hamlets all over
the map.
Read what the scholarly critic Of the
London Observer has to say about q
Mickey comedy elegantly entitled "Frol-
licking Fish:
"Disney's new cartoon-rhythmic
fluid and formally beautif lis as ex-
citing bit of cinema as anything that
the screen has yet produced, and con-
veys to the spectator a sense of vast
ness quite incompatible with its short
footage through the unity of its feeling
for fine form and its understanding of
the cognate expressive arts"
The foregoing remarks are commend
ed to the attention of Walt Disney, to
whom they will probably come as news.
In the same review of "Frolicking
Fish" the Observers critic goes on to
ask some pertinent questions, as fol-
lows:
1T is inevitable that we should ques-
ton, after 10 minutes of such pure per-
sonal enjoyment, the value of the per-
sonal actor to the modern screen. Is
the figure of man essentially pho
tographic In terms of motion? Is he
1SbudAy' a1l0 cALouIo 4ic US1 Onc CuIChLd
first and finest concern. Has he not
rather stood in the way of development,
blocking out from the cinema a COM
bination Of images in the rhythm of
the abstract and the inanimate that
would give the directors work a new
and fuller meaning and set the screen
margin as deliberate framework for
an ordered composition in timer"
It is entirely true that there isn't a
director or actor in Hollywood who has
nothing to learn from observation of
the amazing performances of Mickey
the Mouse" and of those systematically
graceful, though unidenti flable, crea-
lures which prance through the silly
Symphonies"
tCopyright, 1e3o)
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17

the town. an exquisite dream Of lowell
ness and exotic charm, whose facile
familiarity with the soul of art and
its elusive technique was utterly be-
You'd the ken OF the vulgar mind. Yes,
even though she had q name-Lotu
Loder. But what's in a name?
Daryl clinched her with a tempting
contract; hurried her to glorious Amer
lea, the welcome goal of yearning souls
doomed to be born abroad; assigned
Vina Delma, "the best-seller novelist"
to write an original story around her
wonderful personality, setting its To-
Gale in the center of war-worried Ger
many, linking it's incidents with the
American army of occupation at Co
blenZ and centeriHg In its love inter-
est an American doughboy-think Of i'll
They have called 1t "a Soldiers
Plaything," suggestive Of heartache and
abandonment. There are songs such
songs, in 1t, and Harry Langdon is the
American doughboy. And then there
are Jean HerSholt, Noah Berry, Frank
Campeau and Mary Astaire-oh, lots
of others who will help to point moral
and adorn the tale.
And will the vulgar populace flock to
see it when 1t comes along? Yea, ver-
lily. The little managers of the big
theaters throughout the length and
breadth of the land will be fairly pack
ing EN- in, day and night-lnleSg
something goes wrong.
This story is simply another illuStra-
ton OF painting the lily, or art for arts
sake,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
Another Discovery.

MOTION picture stories originally are
spoken, not written. Putting them
on paper is q comparatively minor
phase of their creation, according to
two Of Hollywood's prominent writing
teams.
Grover Jones and William Slavens
McNutt talk out" the plots and situa-
tions for their stories before touching
typewriter. George Marion, jr, and
Percy Heath do likewise. Both teams
are under contract to Paramount.
Jones and McNutt have written ac-
ton melodramas, including The
Mighty" Dangerous Paradise" and
Burning Up" When assigned to q
story they spend days discussing the
characters, the plot, situations and Incl
dents.
After the story really is formulated
they write 1t down, working in news
paper fashion. McNutt is the reporter
turning out the copy" Jones acts as
editor.
Marion and Heath have written musi-
cal productions rather than melodrama.
Their method Of work, however, Is quite
Lets Go Native" featuring jeanette
Macdonald, Jack Oakie, James Hall
and Skeets Gallagher, was their first
team vehicle. They worked 1t all out
through many hours of oral discussion.
Then Heath wrote the story in action
form, while Marion concentrated upon
the humorous dialogue.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17

Pickford picture has been exaggerated.
Perhaps the picture, as in the case Of
the Gloria Swanson film, Queen
Kelly" was merely constructed un-
skillfully and Scrapped, only to start
over again on something else. Miss
Ptckford, again, may have preferred to
work with somebody else, another actor
or another director. In that case the
gloom that seems to be hanging over
Hollywood would not be justified.
But gloom there is, and that Of no
uncertain color. A hint that Miss Pick
ford has reached the opinion that, the
first bloom Of youth having departed
from her cheeks, she Is no longer
anxious to face the camera is also be-
ing suggested. There should be no fears
on that score. Since her popularity
may be said to be certainly more than
skin deep, and since actresses far ahead
OF her in years are reaping great and
famous rewards, there is no doubt that
there is fertile field for Mary.
Whatever may be happening, one
hopes that this cessation in activities
Is merely passing fancy. Although
her films in the past few years have
been few and far between, Miss Pick
ford will always be "Our Mary and
too young and gracious a personality
to betake herself to the sticks and the
hinterland.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
THE REVIVED FRONTIERS.

A YEAR ago an Austrian professor
~ predicted to me that English
"A would soon become the universal
4 4 language. He believed that ma.
tives of France, Germany, Fin
land, Uruguay and other countries
would abandon their own languages and
adopt English, in order that they might
be capable of understanding the sub
tletieS of American talking pictures.
That prophecy was made at time
when Al JolSon's voice was ringing
around the world and when the Messrs
Warner were meeting with but Scant
competition in foreign markets.
Now, however the situation has vast
~ changed, and the Herr Professor Is in
q position to realize that he was all
wrong (and glad of it, too. no doubt
When English-speaking films are ex-
hibited to French audiences they stamp
and Screech and whistle through their
teeth and announce that the shad-
French or shut up. Audiences in Uru-
quay and elsewhere presumably do like
wise.
The various countries of Europe are
now making sound films of their own,
and Hollywood, reluctant to part with its
dominant position, Is eagerly trying to
produce additional versions Of its pro-
auctions in French, German, Spanish
and Esperanto.
I recently saw three versions of an
English-made film. run off one after
another, and it wac interesting to OBJ
serve how grotesquely different they
could be. In form, all three were ex-
actly alike: the costumes. the lighting,
the direction, the arrangement Of scenes
and, of course, the story itself were the
same in all three versions. But there
were different actors-English, French
and German--rendering the dialogue in
their own languages, and this changed
incredibly the quality of each film.
The German version was much the
best, the French was next best and the
English the poorest. might add that
I speak no German and but little
French-which should indicate that ap-
probation is in inverse ratio to COM
prehension.
One German talking picture. ''The
Blue Angel" Is already internationally
famous, and deservedly so. It is Su-
perbly played by Emil Jannings, who
left Hollywood in disgust, and Marlene
Dietrich, who has been imported thither
by the enterprising Mr.. Lasky.
In THE Blue Angel" Mr.. JanningS
again appears as q gullible, fatuous,
iovable old fellow who Is lured to dis
aster by a bad woman. It is the same
role that he enacted so memorably In
variety and THE Way of ALI Flesh"
But this time he is better than ever, for
the reason that he has SO perfect an
excuse for his downfall in the glorious
person of Miss Dietrich.
To date THE Blue Angel" represents
Europe's only considerable achievement
in talking pictures. Most of those that
have been produced in France and Ger
many are too full of words and too de-
void of action, for the local directors
have not as yet learned the lessons that
have been so forcibly brought home to
Hollywood. A melodramatic exception
IS 1.-THE Roofs of Paris" made In
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
"Hokum'' in Films.

"EIOKUM has a legitimate place in
entertainment, 80 long as it does
not attempt to masquerade as reality,
says Frank Tuttle, Paramount director.
Some of the most delightful screen
entertainment is afforded by comedies
and melodramas that deal frankly with
unreal characters and exaggerated sit
uationS," says Tuttle. For example,
no one believes that any school teacher
conducts classes by singing 'boo-poo-
a-doop' songs. However, that didn't
keep audiences from enjoying Helen
Kane's school room sketch in Para
mount on Parade
1T is only when an attempt is made
to present 'hokum' as serious reality
that it becomes Objectionable. In such
circumstances it is an affront to the
intelligence of an audience"
Tuttle says that this is an era Of
sincerity in the show business.
Serious subjects are dealt with in q
sincere, honest manner" he declares.
Light subjects are treated in light
vein. There is much less pretense than
there was few years ago."
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
The Stronger Sex.

with all sorts Of insects and Wild ami
mails and many varieties Of disease, tn-
GLIDING various fancy brands Of fever
one, or maybe 1t was two, OF the brands
of fever she herself contracted while
she was in Africa.
Even her return to civilization didn't
end Miss Booths adventures. She
hadn't been back long before news
papers began to carry stories that she
was very i'll as a result of her work In
the jungles. As q matter Of fact, she
did have q recurrence Of fever and
suffered severely with it. But after q
long siege, during which she continued
to smile, she recovered. OF course, the
chief reason that Miss Booth kept on
smiling may be that she had figured
that If Trader Horn" on the screen
is as successful as its sponsors plan,
her position as the only feminine mem
Der of the cast won't hurt her any In
her profession.
Regardless Of everything, however,
those most familiar with the case fig-
IRE that she is member of the
stronger sex, which conclusively proves
that the stronger sex is unquestion-
ably feminine.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
Bless You Sister. "

CLARA BERANGER has been engaged
~ by Columbia Pictures to make an
adaptation of the famous Alice Brady
stage play, Bless You, Sister," which
will be brought to the screen under the
title 1.-THE Miracle Woman" with Bar
bara Stanwyck in the Alice Brady role.
Miss Beranger has had a long and
eventful career as q newspaper and
short-story writer Her work in pictures
covers q period of years and a number
of outstanding scripts, among them see
narios for Or. Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde,
Miss Lulu Belts" Grumpy" THE
Forbidden Woman" "Craig's Wife,
Almost Human" THE Little Adven-
turesS," THE Idle Rich" and This Mad
World"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
Bedtimers for Grown-Ups.

EDDIE BUZZELL, well known stage
comedian, is making his West Coast
debut at the Columbia studios in the
comedy novelty, Bedtime Stories for
Grown-ups" Eddie Buzzell enacts the
role Of the radio broadcaster, and is sup
ported by a large cast headed by Mil
dred Harris.
The story is by Mr.. Buzzell, and was
written in collaboration with the news
paper humorist, John p. Medbury, Of
Maybe I'm Wrong" fame.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17

che story Of a young wife who falls out
of love with brutal husband only TO
become enamored of q charming youth,
Sir Arthur Renard. In doing SO, how
ever, she loses her Swear -old child. No
mere mans love Is able to assuage her
grief and-presto-th denouement, UNI
expected and dramatic.
Among the first-nighters was Charles
Chaplin, the comedian, who was en-
thusiastic over the acting Of Georgia
Hale.
Just now-and this news comes
through william Huntington-Mrs.
Barney is busy completing another
drama which viii be produced early IN
the Fall. A postscript adds, Natalie
Clifford Barney's new book, THE One
Who Is Legion" has just been re-
leased In London.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
Eccentric Dance Recipe.

ECCENTRIC dances are more difficult
- than straight acrobatic routines,
because to be really funny performer
must first perfect the straight" steps
and then burlesque them. So declares
Nina Olivette, whose antics provide
much of the comedy in Paramount's
production of the Schwab g. Mandel
show, Queen High"
1T is a mistake to try to originate
an entirely new eccentric dance" Nina
explains. "Such q system Is tmpossi-
bly, dif1icult and the finished routine
seldom gets laugh.
MY method is to learn an acrobatic
dance-the syncopated clog, the Black
Bottom, the Charleston or any of the
others-and then, by relaxing all my
muscles, try to give the appearance Of
falling apart while performing 1t. The
effect always seems to be funny"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
Talkies Hit Scotch Actors.

TalkieS have caused many actors IN
Scotland to be idle, and distress is ram
pant. A few actors with big names and
we'll won regulations are still earning
large incomes. but the rank and file
are "at liberty" Among them is an
asthetic- featured waiter in a second
rate restaurant, who two years ago was
receiving $3.50 a week as the detective
in q crime drama. Many others are
seeking any kind of work in order to
live until "the stage comes back"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
Jack Oakie In Danger.

IN his next picture, not yet titled, II
is said that Jack Oakie will have 9
story centering about a champion light
weight boxer of the American Navy
who has been shanghaied aboard a for
eign warship. Paramount has even con-
structed a battleship in its studio, re-
CARELESS of the recent naval pact, fol
use in this picture.