The Washington times., 1936-11-10
| THE VOICE OF
BrOadW way
, By Louis SoboI
Down Memory Lane!
with the Warner Bros. }

with the Warner BrOs.)
THE Warner Brothers here
continued the story OF their fight
up the ladder to tilmdom lead
erShtp.J
MY Four Years in Germany
was the event of its era. We re
member the days that followed
and our decision to lift the screen
once and for all beyond medioc
rity to a position of eminence
in the world of entertainment
We announced warner Brothers
Classics of the Screen"-26 of
them. And we had trucks parade
with huge books showing the list
Of classics we had culled from
literature for the screen.
Barrymore Film
We remember signing John
Barrymore, scion of the first
family of the high-hatted theater
which then frowned upon films.
He starred in THE Sea Beast" "
which we made from Herman
Melville'S yarn, 'Moby Dick, or
the White Whale" Dolores Cos,
tello was his heroine.
We remember our first meeting
with Rin-Tin-Tin, and the SenSa-
ton caused by "Rinty'S''' first pic
ture, Where the North Begins -
That was in 1928-leSs than 10
years ago. 1t seems as far down
Memory Lane as the days in
Krasnashlitz, Baltimore, Youngs-
town, New Castle! So much has
happened.
Then Came Lubitsch
"Rinty" starred in 81 features.
His pictures in themselves may
not have been art. But he did
his bit toward advancing cine
matte art, for with the profits
from the dog operas we were
enabled to make true our dream
to give the screen the best that
was available. It was Rin-Tin-
Tins acting" that helped us Sc
cure the services of Europe'S fore
most cinematic artist, Ernst Lu-
bitSch. And with him at the di-
rectorial helm we gave the world
some movie masterpieces that re-
main memorable even now. The
Marriage Circle" for instance,
Lady Windemere'S Fan" and a
dozen more.
Written large in our memory
book is the occasion when the
obdurate David Belasco finally
agreed to let us make motion pic
lures of his plays so that the
mighty multitude of movie pa
irons might enjoy the great
dramas then reserved exclusively
for the few able to pay the prices
of the Broadway theater. We
brought all our persuasive pow
ers to bear upon George Arliss,
Marilyn Miller, AL Jolson, that
their artistry might live forever
in Warner Pictures.
Talking Movies
If you'd been in THE Charge
Of the Light Brigade" you'd never
forget it No more can we forget
that day when Sam cajoled Harry
into going to inspect a device
that made movies talk. Harry
still says that if he'd known what
Sam was up to that day he'd
never have accompanied him.
No time for such nonsense! But
he went, and saw, and heard and
was conquered.
The very first talkie we saw
was of man suffering. Then
there was a five-piece jazz band.
But they we're enough. We spent
$4,000 to add a Vitaphone score
to our current John Barrymore
picture, Don Juan" There's a
date we Observation-Disclosures 6,
1926. Then, at the Warner The
ater. our first talkies were shown!
Will Hayes made an address
from the screen 1Ohile he sat IN
the audience! The New York
Philharmonic Orchestra rem
dered the TGnnhGuSer Overture
ON the screen! Marion TGlley
sang an aria from "Rigoletto."
Efram ZimbaIist and Harold
Bauer and Roy Sn1eck and Mis-
cha ElmGn and Anna Case and
GiovGnni MartineIH appeared 80.
on the screen and their music
came from it! What night!
What memories! Yet, as recol-
lectionS croWd our minds, each
OF US knowS that the outStGnd-
ing memory of that triumphGl
occasion is the keen, poignant
SorroU that our brother Sam 1UdS
not there tUith US.
We remember the anxious days
that followed. Leader after leader
in the industry of silent pictures
said: "Pooh!" and BAIL" and
cit can't be done" and Il give it
six monthS"
Had Don Juan" failed-well-
those are memories we don't care
to recall. At best we would have
had to start all over again. But
It didn't. The film was q nov
city, and the novelty of the talk
les brought success.
We remember, too, the first
of the films to eliminate all