davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1931-12-06

/ " 49, O4@4-O4f 4AelO &OI1s UCCIl
n on the mind of Charles
l Y Chaplin. Just as he has
bothered other acting folk
SINCE they began to be graded
IN emotion. This great tragic
tragedian Napoleon, that isl
whose marital, continental, tri-
umphal and digestionaI trou-
bles made him great in the
eyes of the world, has har-
roWed more thespians by his
memory than any other DOW
er OF history. The sad thing
is that Shakespeare couldn't have
dropped around during his life
time and written him in his
greaSe-paint annals for the edi-
f1cation of theatrical posterity. If,
for instance, Napoleon could have
uttered, ITO be-or not to be-" he
would, no doubt, be more popu-
lar today than he is.
Mr.. Chaplin is said to be Civ
ing up the films in favor of evok-
ing a f1esh-and-blood Maple. !"
He has threatened to shake the
dust of Hollywood from his cross
eyed feet and to jump headlong
into something as eloquent as
New York'S Theater Guild. After
years and years and years of
making people laugh, he will, per-
hapS, attempt to make them cry
(Since Mr.. Bonaparte was said not
to be particular laugh king
and he will appear in a tri-cor-
nered hat, with hand thrust
through the portals of his coat
and lntone, "On to Elba," or, per-
hapS, some other lugubrious ditty.
1t seems rather a shame that
just at this particular hour, when
people would give anything to be
able to smile, that Hollywood's
chief maestro of the laugh should
turn to drama. 1t sounds almost
as bad as if Will Rogers should
suddenly announce that he will
write a daily ode for the papers
This because, while Chaplin NAV
have the heart and soul and all
the great abilities of a fine dra-
matte actor, he is still the most
successful of clowns and the one
who has done the most in one
continued vein to making the
films light, silly and wonderfully
dlgeStlble entertainment.
Mr.. Chaplin, who grew out of
a London fog and has recently
been back, in it, has, of course,
had his Legitimate" experience.
At a tender age he played Billy"
in a production of Sherlock
Holmes" when that gentleman
vas the idol of Trafalgar square.
And he has had his hand at di-
recting pictures other than the
hilarious ones centered around his
own person. But this age knows
him as the great Chariot" (this |
IN Paris, and he has delighted |
the young and old by being his |
own ridiculous self.
x u x
PERHAPS, the London fogs have
removed his sense of hurnor.
Certain it is that the sudden i'm
Evening star., 1931-12-06

pulse to give way to Napoleon
| came to him while browsing
admid his tea and Scones. At
any rate, this comic virtuoso has
written two full acts of a Ma
poleonic saga which has to do, it
is said, with that familiar legend
OF Bonaparte'S escape from st.
Helena and of his ultimate COM
ing to the United States.
Does Mr.. Chaplin think that
there fingers among us now land
certain of the old regime do a
full-fiedged offspring of the great
little general? Is there a LAig-
lon hiding down in New Orleans? =?
Or a great-grandson selling bonds
on Wall Street? Is this play 60
ing to reveal Auntie Zilch-ugly.
plain, unpopular Auntie Zilch,
whom the relations always
froWned upon-aS the bearer of
neo-noble blood, as the direct
descendant of all sorts of crowned
heads, who has hidden Napoleon
&c Jewels in her stockings for
years?
If there is to be the escape from
st. Helena and subsequent excite
mentS there would, of course. be
no Josephine. And that seems
rather too bad. There haven't
been many notable ones on the
stage, and even legs on the screen.
Who would be good one these
days? How about dark-eyed Kay
Francis? Wouldn't she give Ma
poleon a good run for his money?
Kay Francis and Charlie Chap
lin! Well, the latter will have to
eat a lot to look like Napoleon,
and he will have to grow frownS
on his brow, and slightly
hooked nose in the bargain. But
is it to be straight drama, or deep
dyed melodrama, or a Milnesuue
WhlmSy on the Emperor's later
cavortingS? The film world won
ders-and so do we all. Please,
Mr.. Chaplin, statement!
WHILE traditional characters of
FINLAND are deserting their
homeland, it seems as though
Washington had seen several
young actors recently (more
than actresses, perhaps, al
though the "Follies" ladies were
not to be sneezed att who would
be particularly valuable to the
screen. Has, for instance, that
gentleman who gave such stir
ring performance in "The Grim
lnal Code" and who was seen
here a week or so ago with une
overebulient Mae West.
Russell Hardie, done anything on
the screen-and If not, why not?
And also has Robert Douglas,
Whom FIR rancine Larrimore
Snatched out of the very teeth of
London, been given a try before
The camera?
Since it is evident that day By
lay in every way the old order
IS giving way to the new, it seems
Is though these two clever actors
night give it good boost. Fur
hermore, these columns guaran-
zee that they will be blazing forth
n screen lights before the next
eason is passed. AS for Alexan-
Ter Woolcott, he could certainly
i've the Marx Brothers something
o think about. So why doesn't he5
Evening star., 1931-12-06
Years "Ten Best Plays"
And an Actors Important
Part in Creating a Success
An Interview With Otis Skinner-Playgoers Con.
cerned With What Pleases Them Individually.
Preservation of the Great Actor.
By W. H. Landvoigt.

TO the critic profoundly rich
in the knowledge born of
L long experience and his
general efficiency in pick
ing out the moth-eaten spots in
plays that have come under his
scrutiny it may be easy to sur
vey the productions of a season
and calmy designate "the 10 best
plays" This "10-best play" habit
is Of movie origin, but now its
contagion has reached the legit-
innate theater. The voice of au-
thorlty rings the bell and all the
little voices chime in with an &c
static emulatiop< that creates a
harmony which sweeps the ordi-
nary theater patron off his feet,
however securely they may be
planted in the earth. There is
no diSputing an erring guess. You
must take it or leave it, for when
it appears in cold print the mat
ter is definitely settled. Often,
however, in the metropolitan
journals, rather than elsewhere,
one occasionally finds a voice cry
ing IN the wilderness that has the
audacity to give reasons why the
experts are all wrong. And some
times these stray post-mortems
are quite clear and convincing. It
doesn't matter much to the
world, however, which, as a rule,
simply rolls over in it's armchair
and comments more or less upon
the entertaining qualities of the
arguments, pro and con, without
concern as to the ultimate deci-
sion. PlaygoerS, like the picture
patrons, are concerned only with
what pleaSes them individually,
and that settles the matter so far
as they are concerned.
r ECENTLY, it seems, Prof. Will
liam Lyon Phelps of Yale, an
eminent guide to the good things
to be found in the theater, named
a Scant dozen of the productions
that thus far have delighted New
York. His list includes The Bar
rettS of Wimpole Street" with
Katharine Cornell; the Norman
Bel-Geddes production Of Ham
let"; Grand Hotel" Julius Cae-
Sar," Hamlet" and The Mer-
chant of Venice" as presented by
the Chicago Civic Co., including
Fritz Leiber and Helen Menken:
Mourning Becomes Electra" 4"
Payment Deferred" with a su-
perb English actor. Charles
Laughton; Streets of New York, +"
Evening star., 1931-12-06


hand. Unless the prophecies
Of those statiSticians who are
bowling calamity from the house tops
theS: days are entirely in the wrong,
it will be hard pull for some of the
producers merrily grinding out gelatin
entertainment to keep their heads above
water under present conditions.
1t is the unanimous agreement of all
interested in the manufacture of talk
ing pictures that Irving Thalberg and
Louis B. Mayer, directing the destinies
of Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer Studios, have
made the most brilliant record for sue
cesses in picture production during the
past year. This opinion would seem
to be more than strengthened by the
New York banking crowds, meeting in
executive session, and voting unani-
mously on the ability of this team.
Some time ago in these columns I
gave the inside story of Irving Thai
berg's theory of picture making-names
backed by sound stories But first and
foremost capitalizing personalities to
the world. That this method of pro-
cedure has had the most startlingly
successful results the action of New
York bankers proves.
But the Thalberg method has been
successful only from the standpoint
that he has backed his personalities
with good stories and good dialogue.
Other studios have had box office per-
sonalities. But they have filled their
mouths with utterly unusable lines and
put them in such silly situations and
Evening star., 1931-12-06

demned. 1t will enable soroa
folks also to determine whether,
AFR all, Shakespeare was right
IN saying, The plays the thing" :"
II he meant that the actor didn't
count IN the matter. New York
is too well seasoned to tolerate
bad acting. That is WhV the
original cast is so STRONGLY de-
manded by the hinterland The
original cast is certain to contain
good actors, 1t also diScloses Whv
the way Of doing things on the
stage often determines whether
that thing is offensive or not
The acting of the Lunts. for in
stance, in The Reunion in
Vienna" Splendidly illustrates
why superb acting saved an other
wise inferior play and caused if
to be ranked with the most de-
hght1uI offerings of the season.
IF, then, the actor counts for 81
much in the theater, is it good
policy to let him fade out of evN
istence? Age ultimately kills off
everything human, and SLOWLY
but surely the great players of the
theater are passing away, Ger
tainly it is matter of concern
to keep the players, who make the
play ever competent, ever at their
highest pinnacle of theatre art
And what are our producin0
managers, who have made thei1
living out of them, some of thew
their fortunes, done to protect
the succession of acting ability
and efficiency? What are they
doing today? The theater lives lives
in its actors, not in it's nIavS
Magnificent character portraV3ic Il;
by the actors have done - more Tto
than anything else to keen tho
immortal Shakespeare high in The
heaven of the literary World, i, AN an
idol OF classic luster on the sta@e m
through the centuries Ie when
otherwise even he might have
faded and passed out from The
mind OF man. The preServatin', @
of the great actor is possible "1rTu or,Iu
in the legitimate theater toy fo,.
him1 ~" Will llllu
Evening star., 1931-12-06
Drastic Salary Slashes
For the "Cinema Giants
One Theory of Picture-Making Is Favored by w all
Street.-The System of Hollywood Salaries
and Change to Be Made.
By Mollie Merrick.
JEAN HARLOW
"pLATlNuM eLCNDE~ d
EASkE

HOLLYWOOD
- could not survive In the other
l Hollywood far
0UNons "ou" ee " oe d"
th
Evening star., 1931-12-06

O the critic profoundly sde-spittng old fashioned
in the knowledge OF melodrama; The
long experience me ftooI GaSWorthyS play
Evening star., 1931-12-06
Stage and Screen Attractions This Week

BEIAsCO-"The Beautiful" Opens tomorrow evening
NATIONAIr-"Mr Whistler" Opens tomorrow evening
GAYFTY-Jimme Show" (burlesque) This after
and evening
ON THE SCREEN.
-"platinum Blonde" This afternoon evening
FOx-"x Marks the Spot" This afternoon and evening
PALACE-"Rich Mans Folly" This afternoon and evening
R-KO KEITHS-Are These Our Chidren?" This afternoon
and evening.
RIALTO-"Frankenstein" This afternoon evening
COLUMBIA-"The Champ" This afternoon and evening
METROPOLITAN-"The Dreyfus Case" This afternoon and
evening
Evening star., 1931-12-06

a Side-splitting old-fashioned
melodrama; The Guest Room" 4"
THE Roof" GalSWorthy's play,
admirably produced and acted, u
and School for Scandal" with
Ethel Barrymore. Five of these
well recommended entertain
mentS have Succumbed for lack
OF audiences" and among the
i've are the Norman Bel-Geddes
Hamlet" Ethel BARRYMORE
School for Scandal" The Roof"
GalsWorthyS pay, and Payment
Deferred" which. however, is to
make a try for existence in Chi
cago. DR.. Phelps is a booster, )"
not a "knOcker," according to
Percy Hammond, and, perhaps,
that was why he had no remarks
to make concerning at least a
dozen other plays more or less
we'll recommended by the critics
who reviewed them in the metrop-
oils. But even nine of them. to-
gether with the Fritz Leiber
ShakeSpearean company, have
disappeared from the New York
map, some with the hope of sur
ylval elsewhere and others to
hope no more. Among these are
The Good COMPANIONS" "The
House of Connelly" The Lady
With a Lamp" and-old-tim
would you believe it?-"Naughty
Marietta" an Erlanger enter
prise.
4 RECENT interview with Otis
Skinner, by William Engle, a
staff writer of the New York
World-Telegram, really classic in
the beauty of its embodiment.
pointed out a truth uttered by
Mr.. Skinner, who at 73. enioys
distinction in the American thea
ter that is safe beyond the reach
OF enVlouS rivals. The play
wright" says Mr.. Skinner, shows
the way, and the actors create
the play" Continuing, Mr.. Skin
ner said: There's always some
thing creative in putting on a
play. It's the actors work to
make it live, breathe and stand
on It's own feet. You might say
he builds the fireplace, puts in
andlronS, piles the wood; but it's
up to you lthe actor to make the
nre; II 1t doesn't burn, it may
pc because the wood is green, or
the fireplace is defective"
II may be we'll for the playgoer
or movie patron who is seriously
interested in theatrical enter
talnment to let this observation
sink deeply into remembrance,
Tor 1t will help in solving many
olfncultieS in determining why
some plays are extolled when they
seem to be filled with faults for
which others have been con-
Evening star., 1931-12-06
Critics of the New York
Drama Come in for Their
Share of Very Harsh Words
No Result From Heated Debate on That Subject
The Theater Situation Around Times Square,
A Few Real Successes
By Percy Hammond.

n UDLEY FIELD MALONE in
debate with John Anderson
last week accused the New
- York drama critics of offenses
ranging from sabotage to
mayhem. Most of them, said he, are
ignorant, prejudiced, Wise-cracking and
stuck-up-a hindrance to the drama,
rather than a help. Although himself
e practitioner and advocate of CON
structlVe criticism he suggested no
real remedies for the situation. And
ne shifted at Mr.. Anderson's sane be-
llef that a reviewers chief duty is to
the patrons Of the theater not to its
employeS-to appraise results. not to
tutor authors, actors and producers.
Mr. Malone being a SagaciouS counsel
or as well as one of the dramas most
anectlonate followers, should know that
the eVll he rails against could be eradi-
Gated overnight. All the managers
nave to do Is to forbid us Vandals from
attending their exhibitions. The law
permits them to refuse admittance to
dlspleaSing persons, and why thev do
not exercise that privilege more fire.
quently is their own fault, not that of
the reviewers. IF you will promise to
write a puff we'll let you in" they can
say, otherwise the gates are shut"
RROADWAYS casual funeral bells
were tolled last weak over the nase-
Evening star., 1931-12-06

4 BOVE The sobs of Times Squares
failures is to be heard the laughter
Of success. Alex Woollcott, former
drama critic, is causing buttons to
burst and sides to split by his cordially
cynical observations in the witty Mr..
Behrman'5 synthetic comedy, Brief
Moment" Ed Wynn, the first clown,
turns ennui into gay enthusiasm by
his clean, legitimate and irreSistibly
funny antics in The Laugh Parade;
and it is said that joy is unconfned at
The Band Wagon" The Cat and the
Fiddle" Mr.. Whites Scandals" and
MI. Carrolls "Vanities" Miss Ruth
Gordon Is amusing many people at the
Playhouse in SWeetmeat entitled "A
Church Mouse; and Miss Helen Hayes
is enlivening her public as sirupy
and fanciful demi-rep in Mr.. Molnar's
side show, The Good Fairy" 1 re-
fuse to be gloomy about the state Of
the drama in Times Square, so long as
the serene Miss Katherine Cornell con-
tinuea to turn them away from The
Barretts of Wimpole Street" and there
is an audience for Mr.. Merivale and
Miss Adrian Allen in "Cynara." In case
you think the stage is dying, try to
make your way through the frenzied
line in front of the Theater Guilds
box office and plead for a ticket to
Mourning Becomes Electra"
What else Is there to talk about this
morning? Little if anything, except
the brazen burlesque shows in and
around Broadway and Forty-second
street How they get away with their
vulgarities is a question to be asked
Of Mayor Walker or Mr.. Mulrooney'
his police commissioner.
Evening star., 1931-12-06

exceeded in the streets mortuary rec
ordS Some of them had a right to
live Payment Deferred" and
The House of Connolly" for instance
but others deserved the knell and the
shroud. One of them, In Times
Square" especially earned it's gate it
was such a shabby insult. I suspect
that every innocent person who went
to see it in hope of entertainment
registered VOW never again to go to
& theater. There has been scores of
similar infirmities this season, crippled
and idiotic menaCes to the prosperity
OF the stage l wish that the Actors
Equity Association, the theaterS most
powerful supervisor, would extend its
discipline in protection of audiences as
well as performers. 1t demands that
producers deposit a bond to insure the
payment Of wages and salaries. But it
is Indifferent to the welfare of the
actors best friend, the playgoer. Why
not give him a chance, Mr. Gilmore,
and save him from such things as
The Venetian" Hot Money" Miss
Gulliver Travels" and Marriage for
Three? Equity should establish a CEN
scrship to prohibit the producers from
making fools of themselves and their
customers.
Evening star., 1931-12-06

II RROADWAY'S casual funeral bells
were tolled last week over the pass
ing OF II plays, number not often
Imperial Valley press., 1931-10-01
LIFE SAVING
JUST NATURAL
l TO this MAN

LEDo, Ohio, Oct. /. U.p)-Life
saVYlg Is profession to George
Ra Y, who has saved Ia from wa
ter graves.
He was four when he saved his
own, but he doesn't count that. AL
though he couldn't swim. he kept
a cool head and padded bravely to
shore after his raft had overturned.
When he was 10 he rescued a
playmate who tumbled into a creek
and left 1t to George to drag him
out. George not only dragged his
young friend to dry land but worked
over him for an hour, restoring re-
spiration. When the coroner ar
rived he found the corpse" sitting
up, very much alive, although be-
draggled. From then on, it has been
one rescue after another.
A powerful swimmer, who keeps
IN trim by a four-mile slip through
the waters daily, Raitz says the
main requisites to save lives or TO
be saved is TO keep a cool head and
conserve energy. Many victims
drown, he says, because they be-
come panic stricken.
Imperial Valley press., 1931-10-01
French Will Fix
Clemenceau Wall
Torn By Storms

SAINT VINCENT SUR JARD
(Vendee), Oct. /. U.P)-T'he raging
Atlantic, swept by unusually heavy
autumn storms, tore away a large
portion of the retaining wall which
Georges Clemenceau had built to
protect his fishing hut retreat along
the Vendee dunes from the sea.
The French government has an
nounced that it had purchased the
property ana would repair the wall.
The government paid 100000
francs. The price is regarded as
unusually large, for Clemenceau, III
his lifetime, valued the bit of sand
dunes, with its lean-to hut, at 10000
francs. 1t was Clemenceau who
built the seawall and parked the
dunes. making garden flowers grow
there by patient industry, although
the ocean burned and killed many
of his trees.
The government will convert the
property into a national museum.
1t will be left exactly as it was
when Clemenceau last visited there.
From pole in the garden flies the
gilded carp, an omen offered by
japanese friends.
Clemenceau's faithful chauffeur
Brabant also has been retained as
curator. He will direct the rebuild
ing of the seawall before the winter
tides rip out the dunes and carry
the little house to sea. He Will al
so supervise the planting of the
dunes just as Clemenceau did it.
Imperial Valley press., 1931-10-01
National Farley
Adopts Valley
Camp Resolution

A resolution relative to the spon-
soring OF camps for undernourished
children in all parts of the United
States passed unanimously at the
national convention of the 40 ct 3
in Detroit recently
The resolution was presented to
the convention delegates by J. w.
Colwell, grand chef de gare of the
40 ct in California, and DR.. o. H.
Van Eman, official delegate from
Imperial county.
Voiture 5l2 in Imperial county is
particularly interested in child well
fare work and sponsored the reso-
luton.
Imperial Valley press., 1931-10-01

day, it was announced today. The
new route will provide stops at San
Jose, Salinas and Santa Maria. One
trip a day each "ay will be made.
A ship will leave San Francisco at
1880 a. m, arriving in Los Angeles
at 1926 p. m. The northbound
plane will leave Glendale at 10
o'clock, arriving in San Francisco at
2 D. m.
Imperial Valley press., 1931-10-01
OLD PRAYER BOOK FOUND

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill, UR)-A
prayer book, said 10 have been
printed in 1850, is in possession of
Anthony Penn of this city, who says
the book has been in possession of
his family for generations. The book
is two by four inches and has 426
pages. The book is in good con-
ditiOn.
Imperial Valley press., 1931-10-01
Texas To See "Ironsides'

CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex, W.P)-
The Frigate Constitution "Old IRON
sides" will be here Feb. % on the
bi-centennial anniversary Of Wash
ington's birthday. Citizens hope to
make Corpus Christi the central
city in Texas observance Of the bi-
centennial, since the naval shrine
will be here.
Imperial Valley press., 1931-10-01

inent visitors yesterday: A. a
Allen, and John Z. Keith, tax as
SCISSORS respectively for San Ber-
nardino and Riverside counties.
The local offlcsrs took the visit
OPS on a trip over the valley, and
the latter expressed themselves as
being greatly impressed with Inper-
ial county.
Imperial Valley press., 1931-10-01
DIVORCE CASE IN
SOUTH CONTINUED

MEMPHIS, Oct. /. U.P)-Divorce
proceedings brought by Mrs. Israel
H. Noe, primarily because of the
birth control ideas of her husband,
dean of st. Mary's Episcopal Cathe-
dral here, were continued indefi ..
nitely today with the couple report
ed reconciled, after a long separa-
ton.
Imperial Valley press., 1931-10-01
Century Pacific
Extends Lines

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. l. U.P)-
The Century Pacific Air lines, Ltd,
will open a new air line between San
Francisco and Los Angeles Satur-
Imperial Valley press., 1931-10-01
Weir Entertains
Tax Assessors

Frank G Weir, county tax as
SCISSOR, and Mont j. Reid. county
tax collector, entertained two prom
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-03

but has been fixed on the shoulders by
msarls of plaster.
The draping is almost hieratic in its
austerity and bears traces of red paint,
so that it is not improbable that IL was
originally colored in order to represent
the imperial purple. Seen in profile, the
face presents a most striking reSem-
blance to Queen Helena of italy. The
calm expression and naughty pose tend
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-03

''torcularium," or wine press, has al
ready come to light in perfect state of
preservation. II hope" said Prof. Mai
uri, ito have many other pleasant sur
prises after the epoch-making discov-
cries of the Dionysiac paintings and of
the statue of Livia, because" he added
smilingly, at Pompeii the unexpected
always happens"
(Copyright, 1881, by North American News
paper Alliance.9
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-03

perial palace; perhaps he owed his free
dom to Livia, and in order to show his
gratitude he placed the statue of the
Empress in the peristylium of his mag
nificent mansion as household goddess.
Prof Maiuri told me that he is ac-
lively pushing on the work of eXcava-
tons in the house of mysteries. Besides
removing the lava and lapilli from the
principal entrance to the sumptuous
villa, he has now begun to explore the
celia vinaria," or wine cellar, and the