SCREENLAND JOTTINGS

Evening Star, Issue 21748, 16 June 1934, Page 6

SCREENLAND JOTTINGS

Samuel Goldwyn has placed Vicki Baum, noted authoress of ‘ Grand Hotel,’ under contract to write an original story for Anna Sten’s next picture following ‘ Resurrection.’ * * * * The London film production, ‘Exit Don Jiian,’ directed by Alexander Korda, has been retitled ‘ The Private Life of Don Juan.’ The cast includes Douglas Fairbanks, Behita Hume, Merle OberonV Flora Robson, Elsa Lanchester, Wendy' Barrie, Binuie Barnes, Diana .Napier, and Joan Gardner n La30s Biro and Arthur Wimperis wfote the screen adaptation.

The tragic story of th.e rise, of Catherine to the throne of' : Russia is depicted against a background into which the colour, music, and pageantry of Imperial Russia of ■ the eighteenth century are woven into a gorgeous tapestry in ‘ Catherine- the Great,’ which will shortly be released in Dunedin. The settings and photography are .unique and in .the excellence ct its , technical detail the -film is remarkable. Against,all this splendour and:dramatic movement the; genius of the Austrian actress, 'Elizabeth Bergner, is thrown into vivid “ relief. Although among the-supporting players ard sfeeil some of the' great figures of the contemporary /London stage, including Irene Vanbrugh and the late Sir Gerald du Maurier, the star’s characterisation is never submerged.

For the first time on the _ screen Sydney Howard is married—in ‘ his latest picture, ‘lt’s a Cop,’ and he appears to support the view that a policeman’s life is . not a happy one. This picturo has been made with scenes in Limehouse, a hectic car chase, a roller skating carnival,' at which the famous Bavera Trio appear, and numerous other sequences which themselves offer real entertainment as a complement to the, antics and drollery of Howard. A strong cast includes Donald Calthrop, Gary,Marshland Dorothy Bouehier. . This picture will shortly be released in Dunedin. **. * , * A new singing romantic team of stellar names is. heralded' in Paramount’s announcement that Bing Crosby and Claudette Colbert are to be co-starred in ‘ Here Is My Heart,’ ah original by Ellen Hogue. * * * . London Films, producers of such outstanding motion picture-attractions as * The Private Life of Henry VIII.’ and 1 Catherine the Great,’, announce that they now have six of the: world’s most famous writers under contract to do screen plays. H. G. - Wells, who has been described as the “ world’s greatest living writer,” is actively engaged' in writing a special script for London Films based on his prophetic works,, including ‘ The Shape of Things to

Come,’ the most provocative best-seller of the last,decade. The other authors under contract to London Films ' are Lajos Biro and Arthur Wimperis, who collaborated on the writing of ‘ Henry VIII.’; Robert Sherwood, author of such memorable works as ‘ The Road to Eome,’ ‘ The Queen’s Husband,’ and ‘ Reunion in Vienna ’; Geoffrey Dell, author of ‘ The Firebird ’ and ‘ Payment Deferred ’; and Frederick Lonsdale, who wrote ‘ Monsieur Beaucaire,’ ‘The Last of Mrs Cheyney,’ and 1 Spring Cleaning.’ * * ,* * The inimitable Lancashire lass who is familiarly known throughout Great Britain ns “ Ouv Gracie,” has been doing,, perhaps unknown to her .vast army of admirers, a great work for charity. Gracie Fields is the true philanthropist

—she runs an orphanage. Through her untiring-efforts, and bountiful generosity, hundreds of children who would never have had a chance in this world of security and happiness, are cared for and given a fair start-in life. This home is Grade’s main thought. When she. signed. up the 8.1. P. contract for ‘ Love, Life, and Laughter,’ which meant something like £2 per minute, she celebrated the occasion by ordering a new wing to be built on the orphanage, costing £5,000. So enraptured is she with her orphans that when plans for this production were being drawn, she insisted on having the ~story writteh , around them, and consequently it forms the theme of a very, entertaining . picture, which js really; a,'slice from the life ,of _ Grade Fields, herself, and has all the vivacity, boisterousness, and personality_ which have endeared her to the public. ' ... ■ »"

Rosita Mofena, who alternated be tween roles in Spanish and English pictures, has been signed by Fox Films to.portray the leading feminine part in ‘ The Cossack,’ the first of a series of Spanish pictures to be produced at the Fox Hollywood studio. The stellar role will bo enacted by Jose Mojica, who, with Troy Sanders, is writing the music. * ■* ■* * ‘ Should Ladies Behave,’ based on 1 The Vinegar Tree,’ Paul Osborn’s scintillating comedy of a group of people who get into amusing difficulties at a week-end house party, comes to the screen at last following its triumphant Broadway run of eight months. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer made the film version of the play which : commences on Friday at the Empire Theatre with' a sterling cast headed by Lionel Barrymore and Alice Brady. The principal trio of the Osborn play, described as a wry commentary on modern life, include Augustus Merrick, a touchy but lovable old crab with liver trouble «;hose picturesque country estate provides the romantic seeting for the action of the story; his slightly giddy wife, Laura, who constantly cherishes love affairs of the past, but who somehow or other can never remember the names of the men involved; and Max

Lawrence, a specialist in amorous advetures. Also involved are Laura’s sister, Winifred, fresh from'Europe arid awfully sophisticated, who thinks she has Max in tow; her niece, Leone, who seems so young and innocent but who manages to take Max away from Winifred from under her very nose; and Geoffry, Leone’s supposed fiance, whose life is made miserable by the presence at the week-end party of his more worldly rival. Wills >aro crossed, temperaments clash, and a general fireworks ensues as a result of the emotional conflicts of the various persons involved, with the story rising to a side-splitting climax when young Geoffry attempts an heroic windowclimbing act of the medieval age and meets with disastrous results. Conway Tearle, who' contributed a memorable

portrayal in the stage version of ‘ Dinner at Eight,’ heads the supporting cast of ‘ Should Ladies Behave ’ in the role of Max. Katharine Alexander, star of many New York stage sucmakes her first film appearance in this picture as Winifred, and the roles of Leone, and Geoffry, are filled by Mary Carlisle and William Janney. The pivotal roles of Mr and Mrs Merrick are of course played by Barrymore and Miss Brady, and the : cast is .rounded out by Halliwell Hobbes in another of his well-known butler characterisations. ■ • :*• v $ ,

Great interest has teen taken in the first screen appearance of the celebrated stage actress, Irene Vanbrugh, who has her first talkie role in ‘ Head of the Family,’ which will commence at the St. •Tames Theatre on Friday. Besides offering a story of powerful dramatic appeal, the picture lias the additional .value of a number of popular arid famous players in supporting roles, including John Stuart, himself a star, Arthur Maude, 'Pat Paterson—-recently given a contract by a major Hollywood studio —and D. A. Clarke-Smith. The drama concerns the rivalry of two great steel magnates—Powis Porter, whoso conservative ideas precipitate his ruin, and Stanmore, of the newer school of business, up-to-date in his methods and ruthless in his determination for success. Even after Stanmore has accomplished Porter’s downfall ho cannot complete his victory of buying him out. Porter refuses to sell the valuable-pro-cess < that _ once brought his success, despite his straitening circumstances. Guided by his wife, he successfully weathers the storm, but not before incidents of the most dramatic kind have brought the story to its thrilling and exciting climax. & * $ * ‘Mr Pickwick,’ planned by Gaumont British, will be a faithful screen story of the famous Dickens character, who will probably be played by Edmund Gwenn, although this is not certain. Walter Dexter, the editor of the London ‘ Dickensian,’ and one of the greatest living authorities on the author, is taking a keen personal interest in the production now being planned, and will render valuable help. • **■ * * Gaumont-British have signed Jan Kiepura to make two pictures , within the next six months. The first will be called ‘ A Song for You.’ No decision has yet been reached regarding the second. ‘ A Song for. you ’ will be directed by Maurice Elvey, and will he the English version of a big Continental success. In addition to arias from Verdi’s ‘Aida’ and ‘II Trovatore' blended into the action, Kiepura will sing some special numbers. Gay comedy will characterise the picture, several scenes of which will be made on location at Naples and in the Italian Riviera. Kiepura made an instant hit with ‘ Tell Me To-night,’ which was one of the biggest successes of 1933, and that being so, it is a note of added interest that the temperamental tenor has been a very difficult bird to catch for the making of further pictures. Two Hollywood producers got after him with plenty of pertinacity, but they could not land his pen-hand on the dotted lines. So that Gaumont'; British may congratulate themselves on a distinct coup. * * ** Katherine Hepburn’s latest picture, ‘ Spitfire,’ which will be screened in Dunedin shortly, presents the star in a role that is said to be unique in the annals of the screen. ‘ Spitfire ’ is an adaptation of Lula Vollmer’s celebrated stage play ‘Trigger,’ and in it Miss Hepbrirn enacts the role of a lialfsavage poor white who lives in a cabin in the Carolina mountains. Her character is one of the most amazing contradictions. A praying zealot by practice, she is an unmoral wildcat by nature, and, although fighting against romance, she falls an easy prey to her first lover. The explosive, fighting, loving, headstrong, independent, hoydenish girl of the mountain settlement is said to be more typical of the traditional Hepburn flair than almost any

part that could have been selected for her. The large supporting cast in ‘ Spitfire ’ includes Ralph Bellamy, Robert Young, Martha Sleeper, Louis Mason, Sara Haden, John Beck, and others, and tho production' was directed by John Cromwell. * * * * In Hollywood, where adventure is a routine byword, about two dozen intrepid men have dedicated themselves to the business of making each new adventure surpass in thrills the last previous effort. Theirs is a glow of pride at achievement, danger, the fetish of a goal attained, a purpose fulfilled. Nothing daunts them. Stunting is their livelihood, their recreation, their life. The latest of the new pictures to call for action from this Hollywood “ Foreign Legion ” is Eddie Cantor’s new spectacular, musical comedy, ‘ Roman Scandals,’ which is seen at the Regent. They are the men who drive the chariots in the chariot race, one of the most thrilling and spectacular scenes ever brought to the screen. Except for two or three demolished cameras, a dozen or so bruised arms and legs, an ache or so, and several quarts of iodine, the scene was accomplished by these daredevils “ uneventfully.” And so also were several other wild and lightning-like scenes in which ‘ Roman Scandals ’ abounds. There are moments when a chariot is hurtled by four wildly charging stallions to crash against a concrete wall, when chariots lock wheels and arc hurtled with their human cargo to the four winds, when one chariot, parts from the harness of its four-steed" power and careers over a precipice; dragging driver and passenger along, and many other dangerous exploits. Of the men called upon for these thrills there are acrobats, prizefighters, swimmers, and others, who were once nationally known athletes. They will tell you “ It’s great to be alive.” *,* * * America’s great ocean-to-ocean expanse with its ribbon of roadways as a locale forms the theme for ‘ Cross Country Cruise,’ starring Lew Ayres with June Knight, Alice White, and Alan Dinehart, coming shortly to the Strand Theatre. It is a story of mile-a-minute action aboard a transcontinental bus plying between New York and San Francisco. Produced in a unique manner, the story deals, principally, with the lives of five travellers. Norman, a wealthy idler; Sue, a beautiful passenger; Steve, his suspicious wife Nita, and May, a chorus girl. How Sue eventually “gets her man,” and how Norman clears Sue in tho tragic death of Nita and rescues his love from certain doom at the hands of tho despicable Steve, is logically revealed. Spiced with comedy and drama which offers a new slant in screen-fare, ‘ Cross Country Cruise ’ includes a capable cast such as Minna Gombell, Eugene Pallette, Robert M’Wade, Henry Armetta, Arthur Vinton, Robert Allen, and others. * * * ’. » Claiming the car he is now showing in a Texas carnival fe the armoured sedan that once carried A 1 Capone about Chicago, a southern showman re-

cently wired Mae West an offer to sell it for 2,000d01, complete with tear gas attachment. Miss West, who will shortly be seen in ‘ It’s No Sin ’ for Paramount, refused the offer.

Walt Disney has scored again! The latest Silly Symphony in colour, ‘ The Big Bad Wolf,’ recounts the further adventures of the Three Little Pigs and their arch-enemy, the Big Bad Wolf, and is expected to gain an even more hilarious popularity than _ that accorded the original ‘Three Little Pigs,’ which swept the world on a more triumphant scale than any feature film. ‘The Big Bad Wolf is Back Again’ is the theme tone of the newest Silly Symphony, and the film has a score that includes ‘ Two Little Merry Pigs Are We,’ ‘ Good Morning, Miss lied Riding Hood,’ ‘ Crafty Wolf,’ ‘ Good Morning, Grandma,’ and ‘ Porkers’ Revenge.’ In ‘ The Big Bad Wolf ’ Disney has taken the time-honoured story of ‘Little Red Riding Hood,’ and'with his customary variations on the original theme, has produced a classic of the short-feature category. The two timid little pigs are still bold and reckless when no danger threatens, but it takes the practical little pig, who is shown building his house of bricks when the film opens, to save grandma and Little Red Riding Hood from the Big Bad Wolf.