Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-12-18

~ City, September q )the
year is not given, of
French and Italian par
kntage. Is 5 feet and 10 inches
Hall. Weighs 155 pounds. Has
lDlive complexion. black hair and
brown eyes. Hobbies: Base ball
and boxing.
Thus George Raft, the man who
Is reviving the somewhat out
9noded school of the "f1apper';; the
Hnan whose fan mail is way out OF
eight, who has scarcely lifted a
Ringer in the cinema and who, at
The moment, stands high and
wide as one of those screen
knigmas which blossom suddenly
Into great renOWn and are then
hxtinguiShed when some one with
a nicer head of hair, broader
smile or a better pair of Shout
derS comes along.
You have only to look about
this week in the local theaterS to
see what heights Mr.. Raft has
reached. Two major picture
houses are featuring him as the
backbone of their weeks enter
tainment. At the Earle he plays
q willy Under Cover Man; at the
Fox he plays hide and seek with
the flaxen Miss Mae West, who.
In the manner of Raft, has sud
denly emerged as a flrst-class
Hover.
Thankfully, Mr.. Raft cannot be
said TO be of the gentle, blue
.eyed school of male conquerors.
He is dark and he is not hand
some. A former boxer, a ball
player once with an Eastern
4eague, he has also done some
ahrst-class "hoofng" in some of
the bigger and better night clubs.
He is thus equipped for his his
frionics with a rougher back
ground than many Of these other
totharios have had behind them.
There is a legend to the effect
That his GOOD friend, Rudolph
Valentino, urged him to try the
cinema back a few years, and that
Mr.. Raft politely but firmly de-
clined. Since then, curlously
enough, his features and the dex-
ferrous hand of the camera have
nodded him so that there are
hines when he closely resembles
This former friend. More often,
however, that resemblance is
more talked of than real. Rats
forehead sneakS back more pre-
tipitously than did Valentines,
land his nose is longer and leaner:
Ghen, too, he is not so tall, and
his voice-Well, the screen never
heard Valentines voice-but 1t
WAS probably far cry from the
btaccato barkings which charac--
terize Mr.. Rats not unpleasant
vocal abilities.
Is it this flash back to Valen-
limo which has rushed Raft into
such a perilous limelight? Or is
1t his own talents and the TACT
that he has made small, mlser-
able little parts seem more SEN
Sible than they are?
Frankly. we can't quite see what
all the shootings about Granted
that MI. Rats hair sits we'll on
his head, that he acts well
fnough and that his manner is
hriendly and his art modest and
Nnexplosive. But will he go as
TAR as the oracles predict? After
all, great actors don't usually
start with boxing gloves and base
ball gloves and patent leather
6ancing shoes. There is still a
Tradition which says that an
actor, like any one else, should
start from the ground up. MI
Raft has made a good start. He
has done better than we'll. But
It is perhaps a dangerous business
to push him too high up onto the
pinnacle of fame. Even for such
q respected actor as Leslie Howard
khe climb has been long and thor
bugh. But that climb has had its
rewards. .
The cinema is all too fond Of
Growing over sudden finds" who
are lawyers, social lights, bank
hrs and prize fighters. Instead OF
keeping them under a bushel for
awhile they toss them into the
air and can hardly wait for them
TO come down to pick them up
again.
TAKE the case of Nancy Car
- roll. This titian-haired lady,
whose smile has always been one
tof the best this side of the Pa
Gific land who, incidentally, this
week is also appearing in two
ka:or theaters at orce), a few