The Washington times., 1936-04-27

full length photoplay, 20 years
later the screen found a voice,
synchronized action and sound,
and today Hollywood Is preparing
for a color orgy, sees televiSion
and fourth dimension in the very
near future.
And if life begins at 40, who can
tell what next?
JOHN BOLES IS NEXT
John Boles is coming along to
F Street very soon for a personal
appearance at the Fox Theater.
That will interest the girls, for the
Boles name has always been
magnet at the Fox when it ap-
peared on the marquee sign.
Gloria Swanson discovered John
Boles in 1925 acting in Little
Jesse James," and brought him
triumphantly to Hollywood as her
new leading man. Without any
previous screen experience he
served her in THE Loves Of
Sunya," and hit from the start.
Since then Actor BoleS has been
continuously employed at the
studios and the coming Of sound
gave his fine singing voice new
values. Out in Hollywood they still
don't figure he Is strong enough
to carry a picture all by himself,
but he is generally conceded to be
an ideal first aide for feminine
stars.
The acting of John BoleS-bar.
ring his work in Back Street.
has always appeared to me to lack
warmth and emotional fervor. Had
he been able to fire his roles with
more enthusiasm I think he might
have become as great a star as
Clark Gable.
However Loew'S Inc. is paying
him $500 for a week Of per
SonalS," a sure indication he Is
riding on good sized popularity
wave
Last time he appeared here was
at the Rialto Theater on q GER
tain Thanksgiving week when he
opened his engagement with q
tumultouS greeting ard sang only
one verse and chorus. I thought
this was letting an eager public
down hard and said so. Mr..
Boles was indignant at the criti-
ciSm and retorted his contract |
only called for one song and one
chorus. My answer was that an
Eddie Cantor or an Al Jolson
would rip into Shreds a contract |
that would tear them away or
restrict their talent with a clamor-
ing audience. Thereafter Mr..
Boles did three numbers.
MOVIE BEATS PLAY
Over in London the Lord Mayor |
calls THE Children'S Hour" a
dirty play and refused it sanctu-
ary. Up in Boston they also
waved it away. The Lillian He'll
man tragedy is still running after
900 performances in New York
and holding it's own with the
Broadway hits.
Will Hays barred the play from
the screen until it was SubStanti-
ally rewritten and refused Pro-
ducer Sam Goldwyn the right to
use the original title in the ex-
ploitation.
All Of which is preliminary to
saying that I saw These Three"
on Saturday afternoon at the Gen.
tury Theater in Baltimore. and I
am here to tell you that Lillian
Hellman, in revising her script Of
'The Children's Hour" so that it
would pass Censor Joe Breen,
made it a better story.
To be sure all implications Of sex
abnormality are missing. But the |
lie-the series of damnable lies
which girl pupil of a private
school told to wreck three lives, re-
mains as the dominating note Of
the story.
They discovered a juvenile &C.
treSS named Bonita Granville to
play the youthful hellcat, and she
makes it an even more viviouS and
irritating portrait of a little devil |
than Florence MCGEE did in the
stage version. Here is q neurotic
and fiendish imp with the face of
an innocent cherub and a glib
tongue that Munchausen might
well envy.
Hence Merle Oberon, Miriam
Hopkins, Joel McCrea and Alma
Kruger share honorS with a young
ster who surely knows what this
acting business Is all about.
After seeing both the play and
These Three" the movie which
stems from it, think Hollywood
wins the nod over Broadway this
time. This picture is due on F
Street soon.
CRITIC WRITES PLAY
"I Take Care Of My Friends" q
comedy Of the Small-town political
scene has just been completed and
is being considered for Broadway
production during the early fall.
It was written by Louis E. Shecter,
formerly sales and publicity di.
rector Of The Hecht Co., and now
Baltimore advertising agency
principal, and Norman Clark, dra-
matte and movie editor of the Bal
timore News-Post.
The play, a satrical treatment,
deals with the trials and tribula-
tions Of a double-crossing chief.
tain, when his sweetheart enters
the political arena.
Shecter, who has been sitting in
at Democratic party councils in