FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

Evening Star, Issue 22454, 26 September 1936, Page 5

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

SCREEW JOHIHGS Joan Blondell has joined Dick Powell as co-star in Warner’s ‘ Gold Diggers of 1937.’ They are the only two players cast so far. • * • • Jean Parker has finished work in ' Texas Rangers ’ and joined the cast of . ‘ King of the Royal Mounted,’ a Zane Grey picture. • * * • Of, interest to New Zealanders is the news; which comes from Hollywood that. Colin Tapley, of Dunedin, who has been under contract with the Paramount Studios for the past three years, has joined the “ back to the soil ” movement and purchased a farm in the San Fernando valley, not many miles from the film capital. Tapley, you will remember, won the New Zealand section for males in Paramount’s international search for,beauty contest, and since going to Hollywood ho has made very definite progress at the Paramount giving every indication that he. will become a talented player. His farm venture, of course, is quite apart from studio, activity, and will give him a good opportunity to enjoy the open-air life, so important to the health of a motion picture star. Unfortunately, the news received did not contain very much detail regarding the farm itself, but we _ are advised that a charming colonial house very satisfactorily houses Colin and his two servants. Long rows of walnut trees and a flower and vegetable garden are other features. • Chickens, ducks, dogs, and horses are also catered for,_ and Colin has plans to, acquire additional numbers of each as soon as possible. This 11 back to the soil” movement is proving very popular in California just now, and among the other actors who have purchased ranches, homes, or farms, in the San Fernando Valley are Charlie Rnggles, Edward Everett Horton. Lewis Stone, Louise Fazenda, the Joel M'Craes (that includes Frances Dee), Mary Brian, and the Bing Crosbys (which includes Dixie Lee),-

Reuniting, as it does, • Carole Lombard and Fred Mac Murray, Paramount’s 1 The Princess Comes Across ’ gives every indication of being one of the most sparkling and widely-popular pictures of this present season. A story of mystery and romance on board a giant ocean liner gives these two brilliant young stars another opportunity to perform in a similar manner to their earlier picture as a _ team, ‘ Hands Across the Table.’ Miss Lombard appears as a charming American girl posing as a Swedish princess en route to New ■ York. to land a film contract. Aboard the luxury liner Mammoth, the setting for the entire _ plot, she meets and falls .in love with MacMurVay, known in the picture as King Mantell, a concertina-playing band leader.

Monty Bahks is to direct the next Toeplitz Production, a comedy drama by John M'Dermott with the tentative title ‘ I’ll Take the Low Road.’ Loretta Young and Edward Everett Horton are being approached to head the cast.

by ‘'Loiterer”

Georgia Sterling, young New Zealander, is co-featured with Cecil Perry in the Columbia-National Studios Production ‘ Rangle River,’ starring Victor Jory. This is indeed a happy combination, as Mr Perry has had several years of stage experience with J. C. Williamson, whilst Miss Sterling recently gained a valuable amount of knowledge on screen work and dramatic art whilst in London and Hollywood.

Take Stan Laurel’s word for it, gags are the life-blood of a motion picture comedy. And one of the most difficult tasks • in the construction of a fulllength' fun film is to assemble sufficient gags to assure a continuation of laughs from start to finish of such a production. In ‘ The Bohemian Girl,’ starring Laurel and -Hardy, which comes to the Empire on Friday, the sad-faced Hal Roach comedian believes that he and his rotund screen partner have accomplished this goal. “ For weeks after we had completed a rough draft of our screen story, which was suggested by Balfe’s famous opera of the same title, we worked on gags for the picture,” Stan said. “ There were six of us- altogether, all men who have made a specialty of comedy construction'. Although a gag does not necessarily have to be an integral part of the main story, it should fit snugly into the spot for which it is intended and with a certain amount of appropriateness. This being true, wo had to confine our ideas for gags to the period in which the story of ‘ The Bohemian Girl ’ is laid—almost a century ago. In other words, we could not introduce bicycles, telephones, roller skates, or any such comparatively modern contrivances into a comedy situation. Neither could we employ modern slang expressions or _ wisecracks to win laughs. An additional handicap,” continued Stan, “ was the fact that we are in gipsy characters in this picture, and as such are limited to a certain extent in using our favourite screen mannerisms. But for all this we eventually managed to construct some gags which, in my opinion, excel anything of the character we have heretofore done. I refer especially to _ two sequences—a pocket-picking episode and another concerning my attempt to produce music from wine bottles. ’

Adding a new wrinkle to a mystery drama, in that the main character is a victim of amnesia, and practically helpless to extricate himself from a labyrinthine set of damaging clues, Gelett Burgess has provided movie audiences with one of the most fantastic and entertaining stories ever screened, in RKO Radio’s ‘ Two in the Dark,’ coming to_ the Grand on Wednesday. Amnesia is an ailment well known to physicians and police departments. A victim of the malady sometimes suffers a complete loss of memory. Walter Abel, popular stage actor, who takes the part of the amnesia victim, finds himself in a strange city, recovering from a blow on the head. He meets a destitute show girl—Margot Grahame—who, when helping him to orient himself, discovers that he is apparently involved in a brutal murder. Abel and Miss Grahame are supported by a talented cast, including Wallace Ford, Gail Patrick, _ Alan Hale, Eric Blore, Erin O’Brien-Moore, and Erik Rhodes. ‘ Two in the Dark ’ is a Zion Myers production for RKO Radio, directed by Ben. Stoloif.

Jottings on the people of the Stage and Screen and on the latest recorded Music.

Mary Boland, currently apireai-ing in Paramount’s ‘ Early To Bed,’ is an expert swimmer, and spends much of her leisure time in the big swimming pool on the grounds of her Beverly Hills home. * * * » ‘Frisco Kid,’ Warner Bros.’ thrilling tale of the glamorous Barbary Coast of old San Francisco, is now showing at the St. James, with an all-star cast headed by James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, Ricardo Cortez, and Lili Damita. The picture is set in the colourful background of the early ’fifties, when the waterfront at the Golden Gate was a panorama of gambling halls; when murder, arson, and robbery were winked at by the authorities, who derived huge revenues in bribes from the denizens of the underworld. The characters are based on historic personages of the time who flocked to the city of gold from every port in. the world—adventurers all, ready to risk their fortunes or their lives on the throw of a dice.

Since Columbia swooped down and purloined the coveted Motion Picture Academy award lor 1934 with its ‘ It Happened One Night/ the producers of Hollywood have striven hard to get that gold statuette each year with increasing zest. Since then the bid for Academy honour has become a matter of keen contest, and the statuette has been held in turn by R.K.O. for ‘ The Informer ’ and M.G.M. for ‘Mutiny on the Bounty.’ Very soon the eminent judges—who include world-famous names in literature and motion pictures—will be giving the current releases the once-oyer, and no doubt their task of selection will be difficult in view" of the greatly improved standards of to-day. Columbia is already telling itself that the first prizo is “in the bag ” with the Frank Capra picture, ‘My Deeds Goes to Town.’ Their enthusiasm and confidence are apparently not unwarranted, because since its showing some few months ago the picture has been showered with praise and loaded with cups and things.

Something entirely new in love stories is brought to the screen by William Powell and Ginger Rogers in ‘ Star of Midnight,’ current RKORadio picture woven around New York society and night life, which commences on Friday at the Octagon. Romance in this modern, sophisticated drama follow no charted course. The red-headed Ginger, in the role of a young society beauty, takes the aggressive ; and it’s hard to tell whether Powell is a willing victim or an apprehensive dinger to the standard of bachelorhood. In other words, it’s the man in the case who keeps the girl and the audience guessing. A sinister mystery adds thrills of suspense to romance and subtle comedy, with Powell and Miss Rogers joining forces to track down the clues to a strange disappearance and a weird murder. Stephen Roberts directed ‘ Star of Midnight,’ which is based on a story by the late Arthur Somers Roche, master of mystery fiction. In the supporting cast are such well-known players as Ralph Morgan, Paul Kelly, Leslie Fenton, Vivian Oakland, Gene Lockhart, Russell Hopton, and J. Farrell MacDonald. * s » • ‘ Time,’ America’s greatest news weekly magazine, lias created a precedent in devoting, for the first time in its history, three full pages to a single motion picture. That this should have been done is sufficient indicaton of the great importance which ‘ Time,’ in common with all who have been fortunate enough to have seen ‘ Things to Gome,’ attached to tho him. As well as proving magnificent entertainment, it is described as a tribute to the production genius ami sound showmanship that have made Alexander Korda ono of tho Ace ” producers in the world to-day. ‘ Things to Come ’ is tho finest piece of motion picture craftsmanship which has yot boon seen upon the screen. As such it is a him which everyone must see. It plunges beyond the bounds of mundane imagination and coruscates among the stars of an awesome future. It begins in our time and ends in a world which no man living to-day will experience. It whirls you into the world of tho unknown to-morrow. It compels von to look in the face of the civilisation wo know, and to recoil—if not in fear —in torturing doubt. Such is the impressiveness of tho scenes which the technicians of Alexander Korda have conjured from the prophecies of H. G. Wells. ‘ Things to Come ’ opens at the Regent on Friday next.

The eagerly-awaited film, ‘Pago Miss Glory,’ will open a season at the St. James on Friday. Marion Davies, the recognised queen of screen fun, heads a stronger team of stars than lias been seen together in one film for _ many years. Unflagging action, with a leavening of drama, romance, and even pathos, makes the picture excellent entertainment, and one that should have a universal appeal. A plot to win a nation-wide beauty contest is the theme of the story. Hatched by a photographer and promoter, it is a wellconceived piece of chicanery, which gives every opportunity for mirth. Marion Davies is well cast, and scores a big success. Dick Powell plays opposite her, and although he sings only one song, ‘ Page Miss Glory,’ his talents are not wasted. He has the part of a dare-devil young aviator. Others prominent in the first-rate cast are Pat O’Brien, as a get-rich-quick ipromoter, and Frank M'Hugh, as a photographer burning to collect some cash. Patsy Kelly, as a chambermaid in a big hotel, finds much scope for her rather sharp tongue, while Allen Jenkins aids in the mirth-making. Lyle Talbot, as a reporter, and Mary Astor complete the list of stars. Beautiful gowns are a feature of the production.

The delicate tracery _ of Eugene O’Neill’s dramas with its poignant humaneness, its down-to-earth simplicity, and its .dynamic dramatic power is vividly caught on the talking screen in ‘Ah, Wilderness!’ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s film transcription of the great > stago success now playing at the Mayfair. Acclaimed on the stage, where it was played both by George M. Cohan and the late Will Rogers, the film version now adds the lavish scope of screen production to the dramatic story. Its location scenes in the quaint New England town of Grafton (Mass.), its charming home sequences, and its camera effects add a sense of reality that only the talking screen could achieve. Wallace Beery plays one of the greatest roles he has ever _ given pictures as the ineffective, alcoholic, but lovable Uncle Sid, running the gamut from comedy to poignant tragedy with Aline MacMahon, who plays the spinster aunt who loves but cannot marry him. Lionel Barrymore, in the role played by Cohan and Rogers, gives a performance that rivals his famous delineation in ‘ A Free Soul.’_ In the scene where he tells Eric Lindin that which every father must tell his sou as the youth stands on the threshold of manhood ho has one of the mightiest dramatic moments in his whole career.

Bernard Vorhaus has been signed to direct ‘Cotton Queen’ for Joe Bock. TJio film will deal with mill life and the speedway, and Britain’s 1936 Cotton Queen, Bolton’s Miss Bower, will appear in it. ♦ * * * Motro-Goldwyn-Mayer have begun production again on their latest Tarzan picture, which has been temporarily shelved for the past seven months. The film is now to have a strong comedy element. Walter Wanger, who has now returned from England to New York, has signed a contract to produce films in Italy, subsidised by the Italian Government.

Jessie Matthews and father-in-law Robert Hale (Sonnie’s parent) indulge in an orgy of wilful destruction in the big party scene for ‘ It’s Love Again,’ the new Gaumont-British musical riot. Robert Hale, appearing as Colonel Egerton, a famous big game hunter, finds himself pitted against Jessie (Mrs Smythc-Smythe) at the party, at which the hostess (Athene Seylcr) is under the mistaken impression that .Jessie is a past mistress at the art of “ shikar.” A shooting match is therefore arranged, and the warrior and the lady fall to with a will. Result; In five minutes not a vasb, not a chandelier, not a picture in the hostess’s enormous salon but has been smashed to smithereens by the wildly flying bullets of the inexperienced Jessie. The colonel “ takes his time” from his opponent; whenever, therefore, she hits some precious ornament he follows up with a direct hit, completely demolishing whatever Jessie’s bullet has left undestroyed ; “ I must confess I don’t much like firing a gun,” says Jess e. Paramount have abandoned the idea of remaking ‘ Beau Geste.’ They believe that stories with desert backgrounds will be redundant after ‘ Under TVo Flags 5 and ‘ Garden of Allah.’

The latest British Empire Films Ltd. attraction to be privately screened in Wellington_ was ‘ The Crimson Circle.’ This film is, an adaptation from the book by the renowned and popular writer of mystery thrillers, the late Edgar Wallace. Throughout the hook there are many tense moments and sensational thrills, and in the film version none of these incidents is lost. * The Crimson Circle ’ is an intriguing thriller, in which the wits and resources of Scotland Yard are pitted against the mysterious head of a secret society of blackmailers. It is a fastmoving mystery drama, holding the interest of the audience right to the end. Prominently featured in this production is Hugh Wakefield, that wellknown English actor, playing Derek Yale, a private detective; Alfred Drayton is seen as Inspector Parr, of Scotland Yard; while the leading feminine role is portrayed by the 17-year-old find, June Duprez, who is both beautiful and charming. Others who play important roles in this film are Noah Beery and Niall MacGinnis. ♦ « ' w ♦ E. E. Clive, English-born actor, has been signed for a comedy role in ‘ Maid of Shlcm, ’ the picture which Claudette Colbert will shortly make under Frank Lloyd’s direction.

Warner Bros, announce for general release shortly two of their most important pictures of the season — 1 Bengal Tiger,’ with Barton Mac Lane, June Travis, and Warren Hull in the leading roles, and ‘Cain and Mabel,’ the Cosmopolitan production co-starring Marion Davies and Clark Gable.' ‘Bengal Tiger ’ was directed by Louis King; besides Messrs Mac Lane and Hull and Miss Travis, the cast includes Paul Graetz, Joseph King, ~Dick Purcell, Carlyle Moore, jun., and other wellknown players. ‘ Cain and Mabel ’ was directed by Lloyd Bacon, with Bobby Connolly directing the musical sequences.

Madeline Carroll, who stars in Walter Wangcr’s production for Paramount, ‘ The Case Against Mrs Ames,’ graduated from Birmingham University in England with honours and taught school before going on the stage.

Comedy, romance, and glamour divide honours against a background of tuneful music in R.K.0.-Radio's ‘ Hooray for Love,’ coming to the Octagon on Friday next, which features Ann Sothern and Gene Raymond. Romance is provided by the young college man who aspires to be a Broadway producer and the girl who wants to be a musical comedy star. When their paths cross, it is love at lirst sight, and they travel the road to success together. Two clover comedy teams carry the burden of the hilarity provided in the story. Pert Kelton, as a gold-digging chorus girl, is teamed with Etienne Girardot, as a senile old judge who is being induced to put his money into a Broadway show so that his darling can be in the company. Thurston Hall and Georgia Caine, as an ancient Thespian and _ a wealthy, frivolous widow, respectively, are embroiled in . several mirth-provoking situations. Musical selections sung in a night club and a radio station, and a four-act revue comprise the musical background. Bill Robinson and Maria Gambarelli are featured in two widely different dancing specialties.

‘ Follow the Fleet,’ R.K.O. Radio nautical -musical now being screened, is the fifth screen feature teaming Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It is the fourth co-starring the dancing duo, the third in which they have Mark Sandrich as director, and the second of their films featuring a complete musical score by Irving Berlin. Astaire and Miss Rogers first appeared together in ‘ Flying Down to Rio,’ sharing the billing with Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond. They made their debut as co-stars in ‘ The , Gay Divorcee,’ under the direction of Sandrich. Irene Dunne starred with them in ‘ Roberta,’ , which William Seiter megaphoned. Sandrich again directed them in the recently released ‘ Top Hat,’ which introduced the first Berlin musical score. For the second time in his screen career, Fred Astaire is leading a band in ‘Follow the Fleet.’ In ‘ Roberta ’ he led a college band that invaded Paris. In the new picture he wifelds the baton for a sailor jazz band whicli dispenses Irving Berlin melodies. ‘ Follow the Fleet ’ is now in its second week at the State.

* Give Me Your Heart,’ the new Kay Francis starring picture, based on the international stage success ‘ Sweet Aloes,’ was previewed by Warner Bros, and Cosmopolitan home office executives in New York recently. The film gives Miss Francis one of her most appealing roles, worthy of comparison with her remarkable portrayal in ‘ The White Angel,’ and among outstanding members of the cast appearing with her are George Brent, Roland Young, and Patric Knowles.

Following on one of the most comprehensive publicity campaigns ever launched for an Australian picture, .National Productions’ first major effort, ‘ The Flying Doctor,’ made in co-operation with Gaumont-British technicians, and starring Charles Farrell and Mary Maguire, was accorded its world premiere at the Regent Theatre, Brisbane, recently. Queues formed outside the theatre as early as 8.15 a.m., and with an additional screening commencing at 9 a.m. the picture jdayed to “ standing room only ” throughout the day. A new record for this theatre was created, actual admissions for the day being nearly 8,000. Exceeding even the most optimistic expectations, ‘ The Flying Doctor ’ will no doubt repeat its phenomenal Brisbane success wherever it is screened.

With burglars on the bridge, hoodlums in the hold, and smugglers in the scuppers, ‘ Hero Conies Trouble,’ the Fox picture coming to the Grand on Wednesday, takes a boatload of stars out to sea and brings thrills, drama, comedy, and romance to the screen. Tho entire story revolves about the romance of Paul Kelly, who acts the role of third engineer on a Havana liner and his manicuring sweetie, Arline Judge. Aboard tho ship bound for Havana are two gangs of jewel thieves planning to steal a ruby which Gregory Ratoff is going to buy in the Cuban capital. When the ship docks, Kelly and his wild-eyed pal, Sammy Cohen, get into so much trouble ashore that Kelly is demoted to the stoke hole on the return trip. Then, in furnace room blast, ho risks his own life to save that of Mona Barrie. But Miss Barrie’s gratitude proves a bone of contention between Kelly and Miss Judge. The ship’s purser is “ slugged ” and Ratoff’s gem stolen from the vault, Miss Barrie cleverly secretes the gem in Kelly’s cigarette lighter_ and invites the amazed gob to visit her in New York. The climax of the picture proves a wild-free-for-all. Kelly finds a strong-arm reception committee waiting for him at Miss Barrie’s home, and is gettting the worst of the battle when Miss Judge and Sammy Cohen enter at the head of a squad of police to save tho day for Kelly, and provide a happy close for the picture.

A couple of screen newcomers in songsters James Melton and Jane Froman romp away with, the acting honours in the tuneful musical, Stars Over Broadway, 1 coming on Friday to the Strand. Melton gives a hit performance with his personable screen presence and fine tonal qualities in the several songs he puts oyer. Jane Froman is a_ standout too, with an excellent voice, backed by some quality acting. The extremely trite script limps along, but this is pretty successfully camouflaged by the undoubted entertainment value of the talkie as a whole and very convincing acting of the principals. Pat O’Bfien, out of cash, spots the possibilities in James Melton, a hotel porter, whom he hears singing at his job. He works hard to pay for Melton’s singing lessons over a lengthy period. An empressive audition at the Metropolitan Opera House follows. But Pat is dissatisfied when the officials tell him it will take five years to put Melton at the top as an opera singer. Out for _ quicker returns, O’Brien manages it so Melton lands as a star radio crooner! Singer Jean Muir is attracted to Melton. The later gets big-headed under his overnight success, takes too much to drink, losing his contracts. In disgust Pat leaves him to himself, and makes an effort to aid Jean to her_ ambition as a singer. She has a position as soloist in a church, and he gets Melton’s teacher to go out and listen to her—but realises that she has no_ chances. Finally Jean herself recognises that it is not a career that she wants—but Pat himself. Melton pulls himself together, goes to Italy for training, and returns to success and prosperity. Its high musical qualities, direction, and performances will render it popular, * • * . ♦ Good music, thrilling mystery, and much amusement are combined in * The Nitwits,’ starring Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, which is having a season at the Mayfair, commencing to-day. These two well-known stars have in this film roles different from those in which they have appeared before, but according to many critics they are more entertaining than ever. With these two actors appears Betty Grable, already established in America as an actress, singer, and dancer of great ability. The following songs are amongst those sung during the film ‘ You Opened My Byes,’ ‘ Music in My Heart,’ and ‘ The Black Widow Will Get You if Ifou Don’t Watch Out,’ tunes which have already become popular over the air. The story is really a murder mystery which Wheeler and Woolsey, and Miss Grable set out to solve in their own peculiar way. ‘The Black Widow,’ a mysterious blackmailer, has been terrorising the city with and murders. One of his many victims is Miss Grable’s boss, a song publishing magnate, Betty is accused of the crime, as the weapon with which the murder was done is found in her possession. Although baffled by many suspects, Wheeler and Woolsey manage, during their amusing antics to stumble, across the real solution to the crime.

A dramatic story of hidden treasure is presented in ‘ The Mine with the Iron Door,’ the entertaining film which will head the Strand, programme next Friday. Based on the novel by the well-known author Harold Bell Wright,; the film is liberally interspersed with scenes of highly melodramatic action which keep the interest of the andiencaf sustained from start to finish. As the clues left by the wily Indians centuries before are unfolded and_ put together by the seekers, speculation is rife. It' all comes about through an absconding company promoter selling the principal holdings of a treasure hunting conSf pany to the hero. This includes land in a practically inaccessible spot down in Arizona, so when Arlen finds a partner; who gets taken up with the treasure story, they both set out for the spaces., Settled on their land they find Ceciliai Parker, her grandpa, and an archreoologist (Henry Walthall). Then commences the search for the hidden mine, which thousands before them had been unable to locate. The difference is where Other . men had. turned back,' Richard falls in love with Cecilia, andl this is his excuse for staying on, much to the annoyance of Walthall, who wants the girl himsslf, and sets discouragement everywhere. He becomes a raving lunatic and tries to kill the girl, hut Arlen makes a rescue just in' the nick of time. The surprise in finding the mine then follows, when it is revealed that the madman had found the gold years before and built his cabin on the spot. Richard Arlen heads the cast in the part of a modern soldier, of fortune whose attempts to discover the whereabouts of a treasure buried by the monks of the Mission of San Capello three centuries previously, provide the main interest of the story. He receives , capable support from Cecilia' Parker, Henry Walthall, and Stanley Fields,

In Cinesound’s latest production, ‘ Orphan of the Wilderness,’ which is shortly to be released throughout the Dominion, Sylvia Kellaway, noted comedienne and dancer, has been chosen to play the part of Nell,” a circus performer. The casting of Miss Kellaway is sure to prove a happy, choice with the Australian public, as since her arrival in Sydney three years ago she has had a phenomenal success on the stage. This will be Miss Sylvia Kellaway’s first film part, and in the* film she will be seen as a trapeze artist of the circus. It was at the age of 15 that Sylvia Kellaway did her first solo dance, but since then she has toured and performed in many countries oat the Continent. Miss Kellaway is delighted with the film work, and hen cherished, ambition is to make a success on the silver screen. ‘ Orphan of the Wilderness ’ promises to surpass any of Cinesound’s previous productions, which have been so wonderfully well received in New Zealand.

Katherine Brush’s story, ‘ has been bought by Metro-Goldwyn* Mayer for Joan Crawford. _ Spencer Tracy and Franchot Tone will be her leading men.

Anne Shirley and John Beal have been added to the cast of ‘ Mother Carey’s Chickens,’ the solo starring picture which Ginger Rogers will make on the completion of her latest film with Fred Astaire.

Two outstanding favourites of the screen, Ann Harding and Herbert Marshall, are united in one picture for the time in R.K.O. Radio’s ‘ The Lady Consents,’ a sparkling comedy-drama of modern American life based upon ‘ The Indestructible Mrs Talbot.' The film has the unusual theme of a woman who dares to send her husband into the arms of another woman in order to prove to him that it really is his wife whom he loves. As the wife, Ann Harding brings to the role all the emotional depths of which she is capable, as well as her unique genius for sophisticated comedy. In the role of the romantic doctor who cannot turn his back on a pretty woman who plays up to him, Herbert Marshall has full scope for the ability that brought him fame in such successes as ‘ Dark Angel ’ and ‘ The Good Fairy,' and distinguished him in his first teaiiiing with Miss Harding in ‘The Flame Within.’ An outstanding supporting cast includes Margaret Lindsay, Walter Abel, Edward Ellis, Ilka Chase, and Hobart Cavanagh. ‘ The Lady Consents ’ is to be the next attraction at the State.

James Fenimore Cooper’s immortal classic, ‘ The Last of the Mohicans,’ comes to thrilling life on the screen in the Reliance Pictures filmisation of the stirring tale of adventure and romance in a country in the making. Randolph Scott heads the imposing cast as Hawkeye, the handsome and daring colonial scout hero of the story, while appearing in important featured roles are Binme Barnes, Henry Wilcoxon, Bruco Cabot, Heather Angel, Phillip Reed, Robert Barrat, Hugh Buckler, and Willard Robertson. Thrilling highlights of the picture include the defence of Fort William Henry against the onslaught of the French legions; Cora’s death leap from the heights of Lovers’ Cliff; the eleventh-hour rescue of Hawlkeye from the torture stake of. the savage Hurons'; the barbaric war dance of the Indian tribes preparing for battle, and the hand-to-hand tomahawk battle to the death between the renegade halfbreed and “ The Last of the Mohicans.” The film was produced by Edward Small for release through United Artists. . '

When Walter Wanger brings to the screen the Emily Bronte novel; 1 Wuthering Heights,’ audiences will see backgrounds filmed. in the actual locale, the Yorkshire moors of England, and replicas of interiors mentioned in the story exactly as they still exist today. They’ll even hear the curlews and the larks of the Bronte country as sound-recorded in England and transferred to' Hollywood. Although ‘ Wuthering Heights,’ scheduled as the third of the seven pictures Wanger will produce during the coming season, probably will not start wdrk until late autumn, technicians already are in England preparing for the novel’s filmisation. Alexander Toluboff, Wanger’s art director and technical chief, is devoting several weeks of his European vacation to the assembling of authentic backgrounds for ‘ Wuthering Heights. 1 Toluboff writes that he discovered to his surprise that much of the romantic moorland has been left untouched by the “ march of progress,” and provides the visual _ atmosphere just as the novelist described it. Sylvia Sidney and Charles Boyer are stated to be starred in ‘ Wuthering Heights,’ and Miss Sidney will visit the Bronte country for inspiration during her current stay in England.