The Washington times., 1938-06-25
Too "TaIky" Films
Are FroWned on
In Europe
BY ED SULLIVAN
HOLLYWOOD June

ture -. The sound is turned off and the
picture runs as silent . .. This is the way
In which the major companies judge pictures
Tor European release, as, when pictures play
abroad, the action must express the story
and pictures that are too 'talky" lay an egg
In the European market That is why
Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy and Harold
Lloyd always have been huge money -grossers
abroad Hollywood now is coming around
to the belief that pictures for American re-
lease should be run as silent too, to test their
action values :. American audiences are fed
up on dialogue, demand action "Robin
Hood" and "Test Pilot" jammed with action,
are the big money-makers right now The
trend is less talk, more action .. We are
back again to the cops land robbers formula
Of entertainment.
A former Broadway columnist starts in
amazement at M-G-M when he sees a New
York apartment house >. They're using it
In Too Hot to Handle" to reconstruct the
Crowley gun fight, with Gable as the news
reel man . Myrna 10y and Mrs. Jock
Whitney in the M-G-M commissary and the
mattresses quite excited as The 10y generally
eats in her bungalow Dolores Costello
at RKO on the Bobby Breen set She's
Still knockout Norma Shearer throw
ing an ldoor baseball underhand to her son,
30 that the youngster car fatten his batting
average Jackie Cooper showing Fay
Banter how to do the shag,
ON Stage at Metro, the cameras halt q
" scene shooting between Fernand Gravel
and Luise Rainer to allow her to answer a
ng-distance call 1t is 2O-minute tele-
phone conversation, with Clifford Odets on
the other end :. "I will never go back to
him" says Miss Rainer =. . Lana Turner
who plays divorcee in "The Chaser" at
tending school between shots .. On the
RKO lot, the studio raving over Jack Car
son, Fred Astaire's bodyguard, in "Carefree."
The Marx Brothers rehearsing with
Director Bill Setter >. Milton Berle, Arthur
Will, Dick Lane and Howard Benedict, out
side the RKO commissary, discussing the
fight =. Jeanette Macdonald, homogeneous
ballet slippers .. Priscilla Lane with her
swollen jaw back to normal size after wis
dom tooth trouble {. . Lynn Carver wearing
hat made of white kid, no kidding.
The Ritz Brothers, on an outdoor set
sitting on a horse while the still man takes
pictures for lobby display Director Nor
man Taurog shows Spencer Tracy paper in
which temperatures are carried .. He points
to Omaha, which hit 110 .. =. They're leaving
for Omaha shortly to film "Boys Town" -.
"I don't care how hot it gets, so long as the
market keeps going up" Tracy assures him
.. The lights go off on the airplane factory
set of "Men With Wings" where Bill Well
man is directing =. Generators are carrying
an overload, and it takes 10 minutes for the
electricians to repair the trouble Benny
Rubin and Phil Harris making plans for the
theater they intend to open George Raft,
wet and clammy, in the huge Paramount
tank, where Henry Hathaway is filming
water shots for "Spawn of the North"
VETERAN HARRY CAREY telling pop
eyed guards at Culver City of the big
mountain 1lOu CudG 10 "AOU
Carey ranch. .. . Walter Pidgeon sneezes
and Zoe Atkins says: "God bless you" go.
Joe Benjamin and Tommy Guinan reading
racing sheet, and arguing about something
in the form -. Frederick March driving out
of the Hal Roach Studio in roadster. ...
On MeIrose and Doheny, Connie Bennett
and another blonde, with Connie driving
>. Frank Morgan and Allan Joslyn cut
ting up reminiscent touches about the time
they played in "The Firebrand," IA years
back. . . That was the show in which Nor
gan adopted the comedy stutter that is his
trademark. He and Joslyn haven't
worked in show or picture together since
then. They're together in "Sweethearts."
RAY WHITLEY and band of real cow
boys putting on jam session at Joe Pen
rer's nartv for cast and crew of "Im From