THE SCREEN'S BIGGEST GAMBLE
THE STORY OF THE AMAZING MAN WHO PULLED
THE STRINGS OF ** CAVALCADE
Diana Wynyard, whose selection to play, the leading, feminine role was
lish or nothing." It might easily
.HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5
BUSTER KEATON SAYS "AU
REVOIR"
have been nothing, for the scrap-AFTER the pending presentation ping of a £30,000 play would be a
of his latest comedy "What, small matter. compared with the No Beer!" Buster Keaton will loss on an unsuccessful £300,000 vanish from the screen for months, film.
may be a year or even more.
Courage and Visioon,
But Sheehan had courage and vision. In fact he had more tha
on
that He had the gambler's in stinct for making a good throw, He threw his firm's £300,000 into his all-British "Cavaloado," and ho will undoubtedly get it back for them with substantial interest on the money and on the prestige in- volved. Big films are generally made. by gamblers. Howard Hughes gambled £800,000 "Hell's Angels," and "Junior" All Quite on the Western Front." Laemmle put' half a million on
Neither of them has any reson to regret taking a chance. Their risks, however, were relatively slight, and so were the risks of Douglas Fairbanks, D. W. Grif- The curtain goes up, at the Lon fith, Mary Pickford and Charlie don premiere of "Cavalcade" of Chaplin in pauring fortunes into real' behind-the-screen comedy their big pictures. Sheehan is the drama. It is all hard fact, but to greatest gambler of them all. How me it is more romantic, and far could he possibly know that the more astonishing, than any pieco American masses would fall for of film fiction. Here is a brie! "Cavalcade" He must have rea- "scenario" of the whole affair: lised that the completed film would
astroke of genius
ACT ONE: An unknown (and unhonoured official of Fox Film purchases the screen rights of "Cavalcade" from Noel Coward for about £30,000.
ACT TWO: Fox Film discover that they have bought an English patriotic spectacle. Consternation
Several the studios.
script writers are set to work on the play with instructions to put som? American "pep" into it.
in
ACT THREE: Frank Borzage, a hundred per cent. American, ia appointed director, and sails for London to find out what it's all about. He sees the play, and has a complete sound-film record made
of it.
י
ACT FOUR: Winfield Sheehan one of the pioneers of the Fox company, returns to power after a brief absence and ejaculates; "What the?
ed.
ACT FIVE Frank Borzage
an even
either be a great success or a sen eational flop." It was chance, one way or the other. Yet he took it, and persisted in it in the faos of a regular barrage of criticism. I should never have suspected him of the qualities es- an enterprise. sential to such When be visited London during his brief absence from the Fox production throne I found him a typical American business mair
hardheaded square-jawed,
and dogmatic. He looked as if he had the force to stand up to any kind of opposition, but hardly the vision Lo see a success in what, by all prdinary standards, might just easily have been a failure. Maybe his greatest asset is that gambling instinct. At all events it is to Sheehan that we owe the English- ness of "Cavalcade.". Whether wa
like the film or not, we have to thank him for preventing a tra- vesty of the original.
Another Gamble,
the Hollywood Reporter," which now being shot for the new Jack prints this story.
Halbert Cicely Courtneidge come-
THE NEWS REEL Marjoris Rambean is returning to the screen in Strictly Por ToDal,"
"Buddy" Rogers is staging the kind of story which Slessor screen comeback in a number of had written.
Fox musical productions.
"Chia" Sale will appear for the
ENTER SCHNOZZLE ” For a time the hold he had es tablished on public affection carr-vourably impressed by the scena- first time without his rural inake-
Having expressed themselves Xu- ed his pictures to fair success.
rio, the film company concerned | up-in "Lucky Dog" decided to seek the censor's salle-
High above St. Moritz scenes are tion before proceeding with the production.
His association with the Metro-ad. Goldwyn-Mayer Company has end- sd.
It was under this studio's banner that Buster won all his greatest successes of the last ten years.
He was responsible for his own
productions. Little, if any, inter forecce came from the caliphs who sat on high.
|
Then a significant thing happen-
Metro-Goldwyn, abandoning their did policy of non-interference in Kenton productions,
THE CENSOR SPEAKS Jimmy (Schnozzle). Durante as & assigned
The censor adopted a touchingly comedy reinforcement to Buster.benevolent attitude in expressing Schnozzle" shared the humour his disapproval of "It Looks Like responsibilities in The Passionate Snow." Plumber" andSpeak Easily." He is also in "What, No Beer ["
Buster Keaton
* LEFT ALONE ** They learned to leave him alone,
told not to bother. Frank Lloyd, The selection of Diana Wynyard noted Hollywood director of Bri for the principal feminine role in tish birth, asked to take over. Cavalcade was one of She- American ideas and artists reject-han's minor triumphs. Hundreds He responded to their generous of candidates were tested in the treatment by contriving pictures part, and expert Hollywood that packed the world's cinemas, opinion favoured either Ann Hard ing or Irene Dunne, both fine ne tresses but both handicapped by pronounced
ACT SIX: America says "Shee han is mad."
AUT SEVEN: New York pre- miere of all British "Cavalcade." Amorica asks, "Is Sheehan Mad?
ACT EIGHT: Triumphant suc- cens of "Cavalcade throughout the United States. American says, "Isn't Sheehan wonderful !"
ACT NINE: London premiere of "Cavalcade."
The money flowed in. The pro-1 fits mounted. The caliphs smiled benignly. All was well.
None of Buster Keaton's talkies has achieved the degree of success won by his "silents and recently whatever credit has beed rationed out by the critics has been mostly directed to Durante's efforts.
Now Keaton and Metro-Goldwyn aro.parting company and the comic is announcing plans for a
long holiday embracing Central and South America.
He pointed out that drug smug- gling as a theme was taba, but stely the author could overcome such an obstacle by substituting saccharine for the offending drugs?
The idea of saccharine-running as the basis of a wild farce is not without its own especial humour..
PS The projected. film of "It Looks Like Snow" has been aban doned.
"LENS LIZARD "'
Did you know!
That the shout of "Save 'em!”) in a Alm studio means "Put the ›lights."
or
That "iris in" and "iris out? indicate the gradual fading illuminating of a scene on the screen through a widening or de- creasing circle.
That a lens lizard" is an artist who continually tries to get his Face before the camera.
#
That a "dolley shot?? is a shot made with a moving camera.
That a "stand in" is a person who closely resembles a star and is employed as a substitute for light ing and focusing.
That a wand shot," "sliding parallel," or "wiper dissolve in! dicates a bar or wand passing, across the screen, allowing another picture to appear.
That "zooming up" means camera roving up quickly to an objecti
These definitions come from the dictionary of studio terms in "The World Film Encyclopædia,” a new and all-embracing guide to screea affairs which, has just been pub lished.
HARDY--THEN LAUREL Oliver Hardy, the fat half of Laurel and Hardy, awake to find a hold-up man poking a revolver into bis face.
American accents. Sheehan, alone stood out for Miss. Wynyard, carrying his point de- spite strong opposition. His re- ward is her performance, which has been generously praised by the her rendering of the part is ex- New York critics, I am told that
**LIKE SNOW*** With the coming of the talkies: tremely restrained, and much less declamatory than that of Mary Keaton's brand of humour lost!
Philip Slessor, a journalist friend Clare in the stage version. It is much of its old appal.
of mine, submitted a scenario daal strange to think, that American Fashion demanded that wise-ing with drug smuggling against Observe that the turning-point filmgoers have been enthusing over cracks should supplant silent j a background-of wild farce. in the drama is ACT FOUR. The Miss Wynyard for some time, clowning-and Buster was not bom The tide was, "I Looks Like return of Winfield Shechan (known while we in her own country have & Groucho.
Snow"-which adequately suggests
But this millennium occurred in the old allent days, when Buster
Poor Buster! I don't expect his
FIL you make a sound the talkie Keaton's frozen face and lazy de meanour eren challenged the e-bank balance totals a cent more are going to need a new come pularity won by Charlie Chaplin's than £250,000.
dian
said the burglar, who pro livelier antics.
ceeded to ransack the Hardy, home, That job completed, be returned to Hardy's bedside, announced that he meant to raid Stan Laurel's house next and demanded the ad- drese.
AUT TEN: (This one depends on you.)
theatres without doing a thing about it. Two years ago, when she made her first West End "hit" in the play, "Petticoat Influence,
to his casual acquaintances as not yet rad the opportunity of "Winnie") saved the film "Caval-seeing her on the screen. After cade" from being a venting a tra- | "Cavalcade" you will see her with vesty of the original fares, He the Barrymores in "Rasputin and on." Presumably this means that found that they had practically re- the Empress" (which is coming to after the completion of the film written the play from the Ameri- the Empire towards the middle of the will have to come home for a can angle. The Boer War had dis next month), and then in "Re-time to satisfy the U.S. laws about appeared, and the Great War was union in Vienna," the Lunt-Fon- "foreign' artists, to have been fought by American tanne stage success now being film troops. He was told that the less ed by M.-G.-M. I hear that her enlightened sections of the Ameri- status as a British citizen has Is it too much to hope that Bri-
to put it
passport trouble. She has tish claim her before she had to get special permission from it, thoroughly tied to Hollywood Washington in order to stay in Our producers, watched her go Hollywood for "Reunion in Vien- from success to success in the public." Well, she
the "hicks would not, swallow pageant of British history. He re- plied: "Cavalcade" must be Eng-
For British Flims?.-
Starts FRIDAY, April 7th, at The CENTRAL.
No human being can sit unmoved in the tidal sweepi of this heart-pounding drama, magnificently played by three distinguished stars... from the play that held moist-eyed crowds entranced a year in London
and New York
"A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT દીવા નથી
•Brend by George Cukor from the play by Clemence Dane with KATHARINE HEPBURN BILLIE BURKE DAVID MANNERS
the story of
the BEER
Han Gho has
loose between the Fand the
MORE
RK Q2 RADTO Picture
of courm!
ONE OF THE
YEAR'S TEN BEST
PICTURE!
Whether Stan suffered the same fate na Oliver is not disclosed
XC intimied 'on next 'columica
dy.
"Raquel Torres can't staķī brams," and "Gloria Stuart is a talented wood carver," announce Press agents.
Una Merkel claims she 'was' the Love's Old Sweet Song," inde first actress to appear in a talkie
early in 1924. ́
make-up
Karloff's
Since he specialised in horror role involving heavy Boris ("Frankenstein" bair is turning grey.
Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel
MOTHERHOOD ON THE SCREEN
LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL BAN
(8pesia) Air: "tail Service)
London, March 7-The L.Ca, after viewing an American film called "Life Begins." all the action of which takes place in a matern-. ity home, has refused to allow it to be shown in London. They t found it too gruesome."
The picture had already been banned by the Film Censors.
The members of the LC.C. com: mittee were not unanimoja,
"I thought the film was one of | |- the best American productions have over seen, and it was to ms sort of thing we are getting from a very welcome change, from the Hollywood," said Dr. S. W. Jaeger, one of the committee and a formet Mayor of Shoreditch.
When you consider the big cam- by|paign we have had over here against maternal mortality and maternal morbidity, I think the public ex- hibition of the picture would have had a very beneficial effect in help. ing our propaganda. It shows that the proper place for the more unfortunate types of woman is not a stum dwelling but a properly equipped hospital.
parade in men's attire." He adds
I will continue to engage for my pictures only those actresses who retain their feminine charm, regardless of how popular the
I suggested to a British producer trousers vogue may grow. that she would do well on the
"For many years we have made screen. "No name," he said, "She it our business in Hollywood to doesn't mean a thing to the film exploit the desirable qualities in
women. going to
mean a whole lot to it very soon just becaues someone had, the fore give-her-a-chance.
STARS WHO FORGET. THEY ARE
WOMEN
JESSE LASKY DENOUNCES THE TROUSER FASHION
(Special Air-Mail Service)
LONDON, March 11. Jesse Lusky, the famours pro- ducer, who supervises pictures for the Fox Film Co., has spoken against masculine clothes for wo men film stars.
In a letter addressed to Holly
wood, film chiefs he says:
な
We have made the American girl the have popular and most at tractive of her sex in the world.
We Lave preserved the tradi- tional charm of her sex by clothing her as desirable woman should be clothed.
"Now, mainly through the ne tions of a few, the romantic strac ture of motion pictures is threat: .ened."
This situation is perhaps only e passing fancy, but even as such it should be stopped to the stric text disciplinary netion. I sincere, ly ask all film executives to sup. port this move."
Mr. Lasky has changed the story of a film, now in production ex- pressly with the object of ridicul ing. the trouser vogue.
The film is called "The Warrior's Husband," and describes how some Amazon woman take the place of men and rule them with a mod of
iron, Blisse Landi and Truex are in the film..
Erncet
Me Lasky his trouser fanl among his own reently acquired
in this vogue willistara Lilian Herr
destroy the very foundation up
The masculine vogue" in clothes drama is based the retention of and speedily became a craze among womanly attractiveness -- and
on which all motion-picture originated with Marlene Districh
Mr.
stars.
Lasky is so serious about it 't he thinks of inserting a clause bidding actresses public dressed in
There is no sex appeal about. it, The better side of all the char- acters comes out.
Day, another bag of the committee, he of the
[MAJESTIC
Natuan Road.
Af 2.80, 5.20, 7.20 € 9.20
OUTSIDE
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*WITH.
MARY NOLAN EDWARD G, ROBINSON OWEN MOORE,
same opinion." The majority felt,?" be explained, "that the film might shown in the provinces. if passed adversely affect expectant mothers by the local authorities. The film. I do not agree with them. I liked which was made by: First National the film though there are one or Pictures, has proved popular in two.harrowing scenes.
America Loretta-Young-and-Eric- "Life Begins" may still be Linden play the principal parts.
4 SHOWS
DAILY
9.30-5.13 7.15-1.00
TOKEANT TRAME OR SCAPPY VALAKY BUB İ
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"OU'VE seen Walter Huston in many exciting pictures; but
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Yo
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