Evening star., 1937-11-11


heralding angel role to Maurice
ard II" 1t is impossible to think of
a more pleasant job connected with
the stage or screen, making no ex-
ception even of the Lunts, nor of
Greta Garbo in Conquest" Ray
Bell, doing the latter piece of work,
will have no trouble getting a lot of
tickets in the hands of the right peo-
pie, but he will be haunted probably
by the fact that there's $2,0O0,00O to
be made before the profits begin.
king Richard H." which did not
cost nearly as much. was paid for
lono ago. So, from now on, the play
not only is great and beautiful art
but also it is gravy, perhaps the odd
est combination you ever heard of.
But to get back more specifically
to Mr.. Weller and his job. He is
an advance man travelling week or
so ahead of Evans, but months be-
hind the gigantic paean of praise
which the young Englishman has
earned since he opened the play in
New York last winter. We don't see
how he possibly can make a failure
of his job, even if he worked only
one-tenth Of one per cent as hard
as he does.
Many students of the local theater
with the corpuScles of gamblers in
their veins are of the opinion that
there will be new house record
when the king Richard II" dollars
are counted. The present mark, if
We must go on mixing commerce
with art this way, is held by Mrs.
Guthrie McClintic, who is much
better known in this world as Kath-
arine Cornell. 1t was the latter with
whom Evans first came to this coun-
try to play, after he had the ELL
barrassing experience of having asked,
at the time of the proposed asso-
citation, Who is Mrs. McClintic?"
One of the pieces Mr. Weller car
ries in his kit of stories about the
production is composition contain
ing handsome, poetic excerpts from
the play. Months after one has
heard them read by Evans, they still
make lovely, haunting music in ones
ears. 1t has been Mr. Wellers expe-
rience that no drama editor ever
passes up a chance to read them
and assume beatified expression in
the process.
The pay, in case any one has grown
impatient waiting for the important
detail, comes to the National on No.
yenoher 90
THE movies do have ways of popu-
larizing some of the more es-
thetic arts. Take, for example, the
ballet as interpreted by Harriet Hoe
tor. Miss Hoctor and the ballet have
been associated for years, of course,
and more pleasant association
would be difficult to imagine. 1t was
not until the screen took up Miss
Hostor, or vice versa, however, that
her name began to be bruited about
as one of the dancingest ladies you
ever saw. 1t started with 1.-THE
Great Ziegfeld." and it continued in
Shall We Dance?"
In the latter especially the movies
handled Miss Hooters art with con-
summate art Of their own. She
Gid not come into the picture until
several reels had spun through the
projection machine, a thing designed
to handicap her in picking up the
audience. 1t was arranged, however,
that Miss Hoctor should go into her
dance by way of that sensational
back-bend which usually is its climax
That was spectacular enough to catch
the fancy of any audience, to make
even the most somnolent follower of
the ballet take notice. 1t takes the
movies to think up neat tricks like
that and somehow it seems they get
too little credit for it.
The thing that brought up the
subjects of Miss Hoctor and the bal
let is the news that she is coming to
the Earle on November 10, dancing
In the flesh and not in celluloid.
x X X
I OUELLA GEAR, the stately lady
who makes life such a droll af-
fair (did it here last in "On Your
Toes'), is coming back Thanksgiving
week in a comedy drama. 1t will be
at the National, where Evelyn Laye
was supposed to have been until they
hear Phil SPITALNY
FnNIHuF At a 0 N