Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-07-09

television as strictly Hollywood S
headache. AS matter of fact, pro-
ducers. actors and playwrights all
feel that if television ever gets where
radio is today it will be mamma from
the air for them. The theory is
that television will make plays more
IN demand and plays via television
need everything plays behind foot
lights need-eXcept theater owner.
The theater has lived through a
period of immense construction and
perhaps it will be Hollywood's turn
soon. What happened to the theater
was that its audience became mar
rover and narrower until now it
seems that play. to succeed. must
be something very near work of
art. or, at least, thinking of He'll
zapoppin,' extraordinary.
Theater producers do not seem
to realize the fact yet. If Brock
Pemberton, for instance, did, he
would save lot of money, not only
in the theater but in throat gargles.
Every time one of his nice, little,
entertaining shows meaning "B"
production-fops, he blames the
critics for killing" it.
In the old days. he roars
harshly. I'VE could have made a
nice. little. entertaining profit on it,"
He and his fellows always seem to
forget that, while there were critics
in the old days. there were not talk
ing movies giving nice. little, en-
PERTAINING shows for so cents or any
part of it from dime up.
Well if television kills Hollywood
and that is possibility-the real
battle will be on between the movies
and the stage. At present it's no
contest. The audiences are differ
ent. Its little ludicrous to proph-
esy about a possibility, something
like compromising an "if," but it does
look as if tougher days may be
ahead for the theater. There's moth
ing wrong with the movies except a
necessity for appealing to 10000 900
people a week.
From the box Office point of view
the current front-runners are
"Hellzapoppin," the lunatic vaude-
vile show that struggles in a
straightforward; "The Philadelphia
Story" Philip Barry's lament about
wealthy woes, particularly Katha-
rine Hepburn's, and Streets of
Paris" the old-fashioned musical
comedy which brings you back to the
days when Paris was sex with a
capital x.
Streets of Paris" is the newest
of the towns shows listed here, and
that may account for its important
intake at the wicker. 1 mean I still
don't like the show $40 worth.
Crowding the front-runners are
three really fine plays and an ade-
quate musical comedy. Katharine
Cornell and Laurence Olivier-he's
going to Hollywood some day soon
and may be snapped for Francis
Lederer-have lifted S. N. Behr-
mans literate entertainment, mo
Time for Comedy" into the big
dough. Leave 1t to Mev rates next,
no doubt because of a Heart That
Belongs to Daddy" score by Cole
Porter and because of Victor Moore,
Sophie Tucker and William Gax-
ton.
Close behind is ABE Lincoln in
Illinois," the Pulitzer prize winner
and the best play written thus far
about a life that is American his
tory's contribution to classic trag-
edy. And right behind that is THE
Little Foxes" a melodrama by Lii
liam Hellman, that not only makes
sense but gives Tallulah Bankhead
a chance to act the eyes right out
of your head.
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