Evening star., 1933-03-31

the moment an ADVANCE is pdlo. II
the play Is q success, really large
sums are made during the entire en-
gagement. Royalties come in from
road tours and even years later the
drama Is still netting juicy checks
from stock presentations and the
like. Added to this, Of course. there
Is the large sum accruing from mo-
ton picture rights.
Meanwhile the writer has not
even raised his hand. He has been
able to sit at home, twiddle his fingers
and bank the stable returns from
the play or turn Immediately to new
dramatic works, each of which is
potentially as big a money-maker as
the first effort. OF course, no author
writes consistent hits or successes,
but, unless he has mistaken his call
ing, he will write enough of them to
be very successful financially.
"The only manner In which screen
writing could possibly be considered
thor than playwriting is that it gives
weekly salary. There was time i've
years ago, after had lost great
deal Of money on an unsuccessful
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Jumped at q motion picture contract
as sure and quick way to pay my
debts. It so happened that no COM
pany made me an offer then. I have
been everlastingly grateful for that"
Miss Crothers states that she had
had just one experience In actual
screen work in New York. A group
of executives called her into con-
ference and asked If she had any
ideas for films. She outlined plot
she had intended writing. as play,
and they told her to go ahead with
It. She finished the scenario, and
q sort while later was asked to watch
the "rushes." Not only were her
original characters changed and
most of her material altered, but
the locale had been shifted from
the Latin quarter to Chinatown.
Miss Crothers wept when she saw
these "rushes." She made the COM
pany tear I'D the film. She also
made the company tear up her
contract.
Just how long Miss Crothers viii
turn a deaf ear against Hollywood
are holding the fort with her now
are far and few between. Even
George NJ. Kaufman weakened the
other day and will enter the Holly
wood arena on the wings of an
Eddie Cantor story. There remain
only Eugene O'Neill and Philip Barry
and Miss Crothers queen of lady
drama writer's.
1t is said that the screen Is badly
In need of material Productions in
the studios are so far behind that
theater owners are wringing their
hands because they have to revive"
some of the not too old classics.
This delay In production is due to
the forced shutdown as also to the
fact that there seems to be little
good new material on the market.
Hollywood, which invariably looks
to Broadway, has bought all that
It can lay its hands on-but that
includes only such plays as Dinner
at Eight" zone Sunday Afternoon"
aMen Must right" SAlien Corn"
(who got it?), 1.-THE Late Christie
pher Bean" and one or two others.
The only new play which Is at
tracing much attention Is Three
Cornered Moon" written, incident
ally, by 25-year-old girl.
That leaves novels to pick from
which take more time to produce be-
cause they have to be plucked and
weeded before they are fit for ac-
tion-and magazine stories, which
have to undergo the same treatment.
For the rest of its stories, Hollywood
delves back in its files and then cor
rails those new and bright" young
men who have come from colleges
and advertising firms to write for
the films and sets them to work on
their own.
These bright young men need,
however, Just the kind of advice that
q writer such as Rachel Crothers,
who has been long and successful In
the theater, can give them. While
Miss Crothers may tell the drama
tist to sit at home and watch his
brain child grow in Manhattan, the
fact remains that Manhattan Is
singularly cold to such children Gun
less authored by a Crothers) and
that II the dramatist has an idea 1t
is more likely to find expression
these days In the films than on the
stage.
Miss Crothers may we'll say write
for the stage" But when there