Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-24

ANY of the ptotoplay critics
A hail the screen version of
: Vl the stage play Front
Page" as one of the best
efforts of the producers during the
past year. I saw this picture at
the Broad Street Theater, in Co
lumbuS, Ohio, last Monday eve
ming, and, incidentally, was in
PRODUCED to a new method OF
censorship. If you remember
and how can you forget? -"Front
Page" on the stage contained quite
a number of modern wise cracks
several bit on the wrong side of
the line. Well, Ohio censorship
rules are quite severe, and 1t was
almost impossible to cut Front
Page" to pieces and yet retain the
continuity Of the story. There
fore, either the censorship offfcfals
or those who conduct the theater
proceeded to operate upon the
sound disks. Where a bad word"
appeared in the dialogue, It was
scratched out on the disk, thereby
making a blurred noiSe-and such
a noiseI-at that particular point.
To cut the wise cracks" alto
gether, would have ruined the
pictures. So the censors were kind
enough to allow the blurs The
latter, suppose, represent in
sound pictures the same idea as a
row Of asterisks in modern novel.
And even at that, Front Page" is
a splendid picture.
Ohio, after many months, has
decided to allow residents of that
State to view THE Big House.
This movie story of prison riot
was exhibited almost everywhere
in the country except in Ohio.
The cenSors had not forgotten the
prison riot at the Ohio State Peni-
Tertiary, in Columbus, when 322
prisoners lost their lives, and THE
Big House" in a way, seemed to
be fashioned after the story Of
the Ohio riot. The announce
ment that the picture would be
allowed in the State comes at the
time when one of the prisoners is
being tried for melting the riot.
One of the interesting exhibits at
the trial is movie reel taken by
an amateur during the burning of
the prison. The picture was made
from the roof of a nearby build
ing. 1t is termed an official ex-
hibit and will be screened for the
jury.
IN the annual announcements
of the film companies, not q
great deal of attention is being
paid gang pictures, and it is
probable that this tupe OF film
hos seen its best dap. There
has been q storm of protest
against the mOUie ganqsteTS:.
the studios haze turned to pic
lures out like a fiUUeT fdctoryS
endless chdtn;' but the end may
be in sight. Gang pictures 11tH
go the tCGy OF the screen musical
comedies and the bdckStdqe
drGnldS-grddualEy passing to
the things forgotten.
y ~
HOLLYWOOD is paying par
ticular attention right now to
what it terms ian interesting
triangle with no male menace. /"
The triangle is a struggle for
supremacy between three stars.
Greta Carlo, Marlene Dietrich
and Pola NegTi. And the peculiar
thing about this triangle is that
the stars are all foreign born.
Greta, up to the present writing
holds all honors. as far as the box
Office is concerned. She continues
to be the mystery figure of Holly
wood, where there are few mys-
terieS. She refuses interviews.
never dresses for public approval
vsc 4rxw ~Ra1~1sn g. L..
OF publicity. When she appears on
the streets of Hollywood, Carlo
wears a 81 beret. a heavy coat,
brown brogueS and a droopy frock.
She never attracts the tourists on
the West Coast, but she reigns
supreme. On the other hand,
Marlene Dietrich has blazed across
the Hollywood sky, and she is the
first opponent Greta has had. She
is said to possess more angles of
personality than Greta, and her
pictures will, in all probability, be
given free rein.
And now PoIa enters the tri-
angela lady girded for battle. A
star of the old and glamorous
regime. she will seek the movie
spotlight. She is said to have a
pleasing, husky voice which will
reproduce well by means of the
sound disks. She wants a new
and modern story as her first
sound picture-"a story which will
set a new standard for the Negri
name"
Nicholas N. Schenck. preSi-
dent OF Locus Incorporated,
tells In q JelU 1Dords Just uDh0t
he thinks of films used for Gd-
UertiStng purposes. He an
TounceS that Metro Gold,our-
Mayer mill not produce com
merciGI films, and that the
latter are antatr to audiences.
He is making determined
effort to induce other producers
and exhibitors to bar them from
all fYst-cLdSS theGterS.
+
R-K-O-RADIO comes forward
with its annual production
announcement, listing a number
of important picture for the COM
ing IL months. For instance. we
are to have Dolores Del Rio in
The Dove" Richard Dix and
Irene Dunno in Frontier" Dix
and Dunno in "Marcheta," Lily
Damita in THE Sphinx Has
Spoken" Irene Dunno in THE
Other Passport" Bert Wheeler and
Robert Woolsey in Girl Crazy"
Full Of Notions" and IAN at Sea-;
Edna May Oliver in Fanny Foley
Herself" Lily Darnita in THE