Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-19

stage and motion picture
affairs. The i'll wind which blew
the stage almost out of sight has
materially aided the motion pic
| ture industry, stars and stage
| technicians flocking to Hollywood
True, some have not lived upon
the fat of the land out on the
West Coast, but a large number
of them have made good, shutting
out the old-time stars and form
ing a new group of screen leaders
At best, stage successes are Short
| lived; very few plays have eX-
tended runs on Broadway, while
a success in Hollywood means
enough engagements to keep q
player busy for many day. The
| fact that only a few of the sue
ceSseS leave New York for the
road" is another matter which
has driven the players Westward
A half-dozen short runs (includ-
ing rehearsals without Salaries)
! do not make up for a single sue
cessful picture. And one success
full picture means a good movie
| contract.
Richard Bennett, father of the
Bennett girl star and sometimes
known as Americas fiery war
horse of the theater," describes
the show business as "a racket "
and he adds Art has left it." AT
the present time he is in Holly
wood, assisting Daughter Con-
stance in making a picture for
Warner Brothers, and when in
tervieWed concerning the present
state of the theater, he said:
I'm not going to try out plays
for anybody. If they haven't a
play that's good enough for pro-
duction at first reading, they can
keep it. There's enough trash be-
ing sold around without my going
out of my way to dig up more
I've refused three stage offers al
ready this season and I'll refuse
300 before I'll do anything I'm
ashamed of. I'll go back to the
stage when I get good and ready
and I'll never go back until
they can do better than Holly
wood for real stories"
Bennett, a veteran of IS the
atrical seasons, does not think that
| the theater of today is better thar
the theater of 20 years ago. How
ever, he points out, There are
more fly-by- nights to notice"
The musical end of the screen
business is about the only branch
which has not cut into the ranks
of stage players. Many of the
singers who first went to Holly
wood for the screen revueS have
returned to New York. This, of
course, was occasioned by the fail
ure of the musical films. They
were plugged too hard for their
own good. Nearly all of the
vaudeville short reels are manu-
featured in New York studios,
while the players are filling en-
gagements in Broadway theaterS.
On account of this ill wind"
the New York stage will hardly see
such players as Will Rogers, Ruth
Chatterton, Maurice Chevalier,
Eddie Cantor and others during
the coming season.
ONE of the most interesting in
- cidents of moviedom concerns
the picture, THE American
Tragedy" This story, when it
first appeared from the presses,
was in two volumes, and large
part of the second volume was a
repetition of the first. That is,
the first volume detailed a crime,
and the second took up the evil
, dence in a court room. That it
could be turned into a motion
picture was no small feat in itself
and there were many readers who
claimed that the picture could not
be made success. However, Para
mount took up the job, and now
the picture is completed
But, with the work finished, the
trouble has really started. Theo-
dore Dresser, the author, claims
that his novel has been changed
in such a manner as to make it
almost unacceptable. The pro-
ducing company comes back with
a statement that changes were
made only where they were eSpe
cially needed. The author seems
to be very angry over the COM
pleted product, and he has even
threatened a journey to the courts
in order to prevent what he terms
a mutilated version of his story
| being sent to the movie theaterS
AS a sort of halfway measure,
Dresser was allowed to appoint a
jury Of writer's to witness pre-
view of 1.-THE Tragedy" Then
the latter were to give their opin-
ion. The writing men turned in
a report that, in their opinion, the
story had been changed consider
ably, and they stood by their fell
low craftsman. Now, however, il
is the turn of the producing COM
pany to have a verdict by jury
The latter has been appointed and
the movie is awaiting its decision
It goes without saying that this
new jury will take sides with the
producer-and there you are.
In the meanwhile those who
have been privileged to view the
new picture have expressed favor
able opinions, aside from what
changes may have been made.
Looking at the matter from the
standpoint of the public: If the
picture is a good one, we should
have it. Good pictures are toe
few and too far between. If "The
Tragedy" does not closely follow
the story, we will be satisfied, ano
even apologize to Mr.. Dresser fol
liking the screen story more thar
the original novel.
X *k
WHO said the moratorium was
" a flop? Even the motion pic
ture producers expect it to helr
their business. According to the
Motion Picture Herald, American