Imperial Valley press., 1936-10-04

Being the killer of The Thin Man was fun
too was a regular maniac in that. But being
killed in The General Died at Dawn was more
fun still.
1.-THE night before my murder took home the
script of the next days shooting, and studied
that death for hours. did my rehearsing before
the mirror. died with fear on my face. died
with smile died sneering. died every plausi-
BILE way could think of-and decided to die in
ecstasy.
"At first Lewis Milestone, the director. couldn't
see it.
Ecstasy! he said, when told him about it.
Why ecstasy? You're dying, aren't you?'
II told him how had it sized up. Here was
weaking. wracked by consumption tortured
by the sins of his past life and trembling with
the fear of wronged mans revenge. A weakling
who had always played second fiddle. And sud-
denly, unexpectedly, he finds himself playing
mans part in gun duel, and receives his death
wound %
1T strikes him suddenly that he's dying In
a moment all his troubles will be over. He's sink
ing into peace forever. And it doesn't even hurt.
An ecstatic expression comes over his face for
an instant and he falls dead to the floor.
Milestone liked the idea. We did the scene
that way, and it took. -
u A KIM TAMIROFF las the general the
u corpse implied by the title of the picture)
had fine DEATH too. Zone becomes sort of a
connoisseur of death in this business after
awhile so you will understand why dwell on
the subject.)
He is the Chinese war lord, believing himself
a man Of destiny, who throughout the action
of the picture has been seeking a golden prize
that is to make him strong man. of all China
Then, when he has it within his reach at last he's
accidentally stabbed and sits dying the deck
of his fog bound junk in Shanghai harbor
hofo n
"Tamiroff recognized the strength of the part
and played 1t for all it was worth. Incidentally.
he's one of the greatest movie villains of us ALL
but so far has escaped typing. In his last few
pictures he played comedy. which he likes best
to do
Il like comedy best myself, and in fact made
my first reputation in it. But then SO did Gladys
George. She was so funny in Personal Appear
ance' on the New York stage that Paramount
signed her at once-and then put her into the
tragic title role of Valiant Is the Word for
Carrie So, she makes her debut as a movie star
as tragedenne.
TITS funny business, but pleasant at times
Only being screen villain is often embarrassing
In private life used to enjoy fairly upright
reputation-and look at me now.
Hall the heel! Hall the sap! Killer Hall!
Maybe I should have gone into my fathers
barrel business back in Cincinnati after all!'
The Little Theater and prohibition kept Hall
from being business man.
1 lALL'S father w. A. Hail. was head of a
cooperage company which prohibition put
out of business. Hall, upon his graduation from
the University of Cincinnati went to work for
the Fleischmann Company, but spent his evenings
directing players in the Little Theater at Cleve-
land and playing bits. Robert Mantell the ia
nous Shakespearean actor, saw him one night.
made him an offer, and business went over
board as Hall grabbed the offer like trout
grabs a fly.
His first big New York hit was as the door
mar in Might Hostess" His work in that role
brought him international recognition as St
John Ervine, the famous playwright and critic
of the London Observer, in the audience
Several other New York plays followed
Hall was playing in Dark Tower" when
Hunt Strom5erg saw him and induced him to
come to Hollywood to play the role of the
killer in "The Thin Man." At the conclusion
of the picture, Hall returned to New York.
although he was wanted for another picture
However, he went into a featured role in the
Sam Harris stage production of "As Thousands
Cheer" after which he was brought to Hollv-
wood to do THE Case of the Lucky Legs"