Imperial Valley press., 1937-06-17

HOLLYWOOD, June II. U.P)-
Vacationing, this column went
hunting for the great, dumb pub
lie" for which second rate motion
pictures are made, and after some
1000 miles of it is forced to con-
clude that the "GDP" is a myth,
like the genius" of film produc-
erS.
From Las Vegas to Butte, from
Spokane to Vancouver, and from
Seattle to Sacramento, pictures
that appeared to be filling the
houses were not the Hollywood
epics, apologetically turned out be-
cause "the public demands them, "
but class productions of the type
supposed here to draw cheers from
the critics and goose eggs at the
box office.
Wenatchee, Wash, seemed to Of
fer a typical case. On a Friday
night at one downtown theater
Metros Might Must Fail" was
playing and down the street was
Warmers Kid Gallahad." The two
shows had all the business in town.
"Gallahad" being boxing picture
and Might Must FALL a highly
physiological treatment of muir
der mania, q markedly different
audience composition might have
been expected in the two houses,
but none was observable.
Audience cycling Night Mutt
Fall" didn't miss a trick, either.
Two spots in the otherwise ad-
mirable dialog are STACEY, one in
which Rosaline Russell goes into
poetic flight. And another in
which the sound of church bells
cues Slayer Robert Montgomery to
philosophic aside
The Russell bit was greeted with
faint chuckleS, and WheG Mont
gomery went off the deep end, a
young voice piped sc What?" Nei-
ther interruption seemed to spoil
the mood of the audience, but the
column was Informed in Butte and
Salt Lake City that what filmgoers
do to really bad dialog is really
brutal. Hollywood raspberry nights
are tame by comparison.
Everywhere lheaterS seemed COM
Portable and modern, but some of
the best of them, and incidentally
the most elaborate marquee dis
plays were on tap in Portland.
| Nowhere did audiences seem gull
lible, and nowhere, apparently
was the mine-run picture in any
great favor.
| Weakness of this point Of view
of course, is that it is based on
more or less casual observation
WhilE production of pictures is
based on cash returns.
| However, SO far as this column
can see the residence of bad film
taste is Hollywood, not in the
hinterlandS.
Horning in on the Mae West
George Stoll speed controversy
Ben Blue has offered to race hi.
automobile with Stoll and Charlie,
Bickford to prove it's the tastes
in Hollywood. Miss West, however
still insists her buggy is the fast.
est on the lot, and it may be a four.
cornered race is the boys and girl,
get together on the Muroc dry lax,
straightaway. All the cars are Du.
senbergs. Stuntmen will drive.
| o
Simone Simon will be tossed int
the "Suez Canal" Daryl f.. Ia.
muck, Goth Century-Fox mogul
announces. Simon will do the femi
nine lead in a picture called "Suez,
to be based on life of the French
canal builder, Count Ferdinand dt
Lesseps. Simon is currently en- route
to France on vacation, but will re.
turn to Hollywood in the fall.
Hustling TO. cash in on w. C
/ Fields new won radio popularity
William Lebaron, Paramount pilot
has cast the ruby-nosed comic il
big Broadcast of 1898" to 90 be.
fore cameras August |. Fields 9th.
erwise would not have returned tt
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