“DE LAWD” IN ENGLAND

Evening Star, Issue 23373, 16 September 1939, Page 5

“DE LAWD” IN ENGLAND

REX INGRAM TALKS INFORMALLY BMN ON THE ROBERT E. LEE ' . ” ' ■ / Rex. Ingram, 6ft 2in,:l6} ston€, handsome: active, intelligent, cultivated, and charming. That is negro"actor who has arrived in England on_ his first visit to make a film for 1 Alexander Korda. Ingram spoke vivaciously or his entry . into films, his ideas, and his futtirO. “We came to Plymouth early in thes morning,, an experience I shall nsveriforget. Instead of skyscrapers, or brown countryside, I looked out. and saw the low-green hills of England. 1 had been told about your green.country, but I‘had hardly visualised it. .When I; stepped' ashore . I had a baptism of '‘ Ton English ought to be glad of the rain,”'ho said. “ Without it yon could nbt have your i fresh green • countryside. This iis indeed' the landl' of the green pastures, and I have spent several early already / walking through your fields at Denham* To an American it is a refreshing experience. “Yes, I am-an American, for I was born in Illinois .bn the Robert E. .Lee on the Mississippi' in ,1896. My father was a fireman’ for. the boat company,, and only since I came to England/have

I learned that the' boat I .was born in is the original of the, fatuous song. I came 4,000 miles from home before I learned that.” Rex; Ingram started his career as a medical student. “ But 1 had revolutionary, ideas about the treatment - ox tuberculosis. My people—the negroes—suffer a lot from it, and they wouldn t listen to me, so I decided to give up medicine. “I did not know, what'l .wanted to do, but as I was standing in the street in Hollywood a truck drove up and a man asked ’me if 11 wanted to act in films'- Jt'is'curibus.that most negroes in pictures then were small. They picked me,-for my size, and asked me to play a part in the original Tarzan film,, starring Elmo Lincoln. “We were all given a loin'cloth and a spear, and told to jump from behind; a .bush when the director shouted.” . Mr Ingram became excited at this point in his story, and crouched with flashingVeyeS. “ This was in the silent films, mark ; you,” he . said. “ But I out like this,” and he gave a roar Hke ; a lion, waved his arms, and leapt forward. “ When I did that.” he laughed, “ the director stopped the film, and everyone went into a huddle.

I thought my film career had ended before it had begun.” But instead the film makers gathered round him, and the director said: “ This guy can act.” From that day Rex Ingram has never been in a failure on the stage, and he came to England from a Broadway triumph in ‘Sing Out the News.’ In that play he sang 1 James D. Roosevelt Jones.’ ■ “ It’s the greatest song success in America,” Ingram remarked. “ The President is going to adopt it as his campaign song if he Ingram says he is an actor and not a singer. “We have; so many grand negro singers that I leave it to them,” he says simply. As a matter of interest he has a first-class baritone voice, and in ‘ The Thief of Bagdad ’ —the picture which brought him to England —he will sing the Djinn’s song, a lyric by Sir Robert Vansittart.

“HELLO, LAWD!”

People everywhere insisted on Rex Ingram’s living a strictly ascetic life when they, knew, he was to play “ De Lawd ” in Marc Coiyielly’s ‘ The Green Pastures.’ It is a part from which he can never get away, and ho has played sinister arid evil parts since to try to escape from it. . : “ When they heard I was going out the phone used to ring arid a voice would tell me I could not go to a cabaret or into a bar. “Be careful, Xawd, you’ can’t do that,* 3. stranger s voice would, say. As a matter of fact I don’t like cabarets and ! never dnnk, 'but I'still felt the restrictions imposed'

upon my character were irksome.” Ingram has a fine physique.. “ I don’t drink because I have a grand, body and I have' always taken- care ;of "it,” he says. After the spectacular entry into films in 1919 ho has been a leading actor, although, he never had a lesson. But he had to suggest himself for the part of De Lawd in ‘ The Green Pastures.’

The negro play had toured all -over America with a 62 r year-old. actor in the part. He was a man of great spiritual qualities who lived his life in accordl- - with the part he played and who had become firmly associated with that part in the public mind. He died just before the film was planned. Rex Ingram played the part of Adam in the stage version, and had been chosen by Marc Connelly for the same part in the film. But the company could not find a suitable actor for De Lawd.

“ Why don’t you give me a chance?” Rex Ingram asked Marc Connelly. V I know l ean give it everything I’ve got, and I feel it will be a success.” “That’s impossible,” said Connelly. “ You’re the ideal Adam, with perfect physique.” But doesn’t it say in the Bible that

when God had created the earth He created man in His own image?” “ Why, that’s right,” said the author. “ We’ll give you a test.” Two days later the telephone rang in Rex Ingram’s apartment. “ Hello, Lawd!” said a girl’s voice, and he knew he had got the part. He makes no secret that ‘ The Thief of Bagdad ’ may be his last film and that he plans to retire from the stage. “ No, 1 have hot made my pile,” lie says. “ But I am very interested in cooking, and I plan’ to open a really good restaurant in New York.’’ He grows excited about cooking, for he is a bachelor and has made a hobby of southern dishes. "I. cook the best biscuits in New York,” he says, his eyes sparkling. Biscuits are the equivalent, of unsweetened scones in England. DOUGLAS BRUCE DETECTIVE AGENCY ■ THIN MAN ’ STARTED THIS SORT OF THING Too many detectives very nearly spoil, the broth in the rapidly-moving comedy of suspense, ‘ There’s That Woman Again.’ This is a film of the ‘ Thin Man ’ type, but it concerns the Reardons, Bill (Melvyn Douglas), and his unbelievably naive wife, Sally (Virginia Bruce). Bill is a detective, only just making headway; and Sally fancies herself as a detective, too. But what Sally does with clues can scarcely be described. And what ‘she knows from woman’s" intuition can likewise scarcely be fitted in to the useful things for a detective to know. For these and many other reasons, her loving husband is often seen with his hands on her neck about to strangle her. Sally’s cry ofi “ But, Bill, it s

illegal!” saved her life once. When Bill and Sally go out together, Bill begs her to keep quiet. “ But, Bill! Do you want them, to .’think I’m stupid?” “Well, do.you want to open your mouth and convince them?” The story, opens with Douglas faced with a perplexing crime _ problem. Daily thefts from an exclusive jewellery establishment cause great excitement, and Douglas is about to_ gaol a clerk, his one suspect, when his wife, Virginia Bruce, accepts the suspect as a client. Thus Douglas finds himself faced with the dilemma of proving the clerk guilty, while his madcap wife does amazing things to prove him innocent. A. delightful series of complications naturally ensues, to build up really attractive entertainment. TC PLAY MELBA ? SOPRANO MARJORIE LAWRENCE SUGGESTED Marjorie Lawrence, who has concluded her Sydney concert season, will be seen in a film portraying the life of Dame Nellie Melba if negotiations, which are proceeding, are brought to a successful conclusion. Cinesound is the other party to these discussions, but Ken Hall, pro-ducer-director of the organisation, while admitting that they have gone a certain distance, is unwilling to comment until finality has been reached. Marjorie Lawrence has never yet appeared in a picture, although she says she has been approached with offers from various studios in America every year since she appeared In, opera. Producers there and _ in Australia consider that her experience in grand opera roles has given her more than sufficient technique to make a success of the celluloid medium. NICE ELEPHANTS BRCUCHT " BIG ” MONEY Frank Whitbeck loves big animals. That’s one of the principal reasons the Hal Roach studios filmed ‘Elephants Never Forget.’ Many years ago Whitbeck was “ advance man ” for a circus and he got very fond of the animals he ballyhooed. Recently a couple of circuses went broke and Whitbeck bought two of their elephants. < He bought them simply because he liked them, and put them on a little ranch out in the San Fernando Valley. They are very nice elephants and too wellbred to make much noise or tramp over fences. When ‘ Elephants Never Forget ’ was being considered for production, Producer A. Edward Sutherland remembered Whitbeck and his friends, and the rest was easy. For 4"0 dollars a week Whitbeck rented both his animals to the Roach studios. Only one played a role. She’s named “ Queenie ” in real life, but is known as “ Zenobia ” on the screen. The other acted as “ stand-in.” Her name is “Sally.” Nelson Eddv. who edits and prints a newspaper in Metro-Goldwvn’s ‘ Song of the Plains,’ worked in the advertising and editorial departments of three Philadelphia newspapers before deciding on singing as a career.

ROBERT DONAT STAR OF ‘THE CITADEL 1 Robert .Donat, who is co-starred with Rosalind Russell in ‘ The Citadel, was born at Withington, Manchester, England. He made his initial appearance on the stage in the role of Lucius in ‘ Julius CcGsar ’ in Sir Frank Benson’s company, with which he toured England for four years. It was with this company that Donat made his London debut as Rugby in ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor.’ He then played juvenile leads with the Liverpool Repertory Company and a year later became a leading man at the Cambridge Festival Theatre, where he also produced two plays. Few actors had greater schooling in

the theatre than Donat, who appeared in a great variety of roles in such successive plays as ‘ Knave and Queen,’ ‘.The Liar,’ ‘The Witch,’ ‘ Lady in Waiting,’ ‘ St. Joan,’ ‘ The Heir,’ ‘ A Trip to Scarborough,’ ‘ Salome,’ and ,‘ Mary Broome.’ Success, after many years of acting, came with the London production of Mary Webb’s ‘ Precious Bane.’ This, followed by ‘ The Sleeping Cle.rgyman ’ and ‘ Mary Read,’ established Donat on the London stage. The actor’s film career began in 1932. Alexander Korda gave him a role in Leontine Sagan’s film of Oxford student life, ‘Men of To-morrow, ’■ with Merlp Oberon, and Donat immediately became a favourite with English film audiences. He then appeared in ‘ That Night in London ’ and ‘ Cash,’ and subsequently won both European and American plaudits for his brilliant work in ‘ The Private Life of Henry

VIII.’ and ‘ The Count of Monte Cristo.’ After playing in ‘ Mary Read ’ with Flora Robson on the London stage, he was signed by Ganmont-Uritisb to star with Madeleine Carroll in ‘ The Thirtynine Stepe.’ * The Ghost Goes West was his next film, followed by his debut'into actormanagement with the play 1 Red Night.’ Tn 1937 ho starred with Marlene Dietrich in ‘ Knight Without Armour.’ and in 1938 signed a longterm contract for six films with Motro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 'the first of which is ‘The Citadel,’ directed by King Vidor and produced by Victor Saville in England.

WAIKATO RIVER CHASE HIGHLIGHT OF CENTENNIAL FILM On© of the much-heralded fleet of Maori war canoes which are to ajipear on the Auckland Harbour during the forthcoming Centennial celebrations, figures, through the courtesy of Princess Te Puea, in a dramatic chase scene in the new Centennial sound film, ‘ Rewi’s Last Stand.’ The fugitives in the story, Ariana (played by the Maori film star Ramai Te Miha) and Bob Beaumont (played by Mr Leo Pilcher), secure a considerable start on their pursuers on the broad Waikato River, and there follows the exciting spectacle of the big war canoe, fully manned by warriors

stripped for battle, driving downstream. The carefully - preserved traditional canoe chants of the Waikatos are heard in all the beauty of their swinging rhythm, rising in pace as the pursuit grows hotter. The paddlers have three tempos for their arduous work, in which they are encouraged by an elderly chant leader who beats time with a taiaha. Mr Alfred Hill, the noted authority on Maori music, has written the stirring background to the various rhythms. ENGINEERING DISASTER FEATS No army faced bigger engineering problems than did the company which filmed ‘ Valley of the Giants,’ the

Warner Rros. ; teehni-colour picture, soon to bo released in New Zealand. Art-director Ted Smith was called upon to throw a 30ft high dam across the raging Van Duzen River, and to blow it up for one scene. He and the powder men put 1,5001 b of dynamite into the dam for the explosion. To protect tlie cameramen shelters were built along the river hanks, and from these the cameras recorded the blast. His next job was to lay tracks on an unused trestle, then cut the underpinnings so that when a log train sped across it the whole structure would collapse. Both scenes went through without a hitch.

HONOURED! NURSE EDITH CAVELL'S NAME WILL LIVE Few, if any, modern women have been so signally honoured as Edith Cavell, stoical nursing pioneer, who died at the hands of a World War firing squad. Extensive research in connection with Herbert Wilcox’s production of ‘ Nurse Edith Cavell,’ starring Anna Neagle, for R.K.0., reveals that Miss Cavell has been canonised, not only by writers, songsters, and sculptors—but by a more practical world. In Canada alone there are four “Cavell ” towns. There is a river in British Columbia and a Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper National Park. The mountain is reached via the “ Edith Cavell Glacier,” where once a year memorial services are held. Thousands of nursing and social chapters named after Edith Cavell exist in ail English-speaking countries and in Belgium. Typical of these is one in Southern California—at Ontario. It is called “ The Edith Cavell Chapter of the Daughters of the British Empire.” The several hundred members, mostly of English descent, are foresworn to keep alive the memory and sacrifices of the peace-minded nurse. Other reminders of the great benefactor and humanitarian who soon will live again on the screen in R.K.O.’s ‘Nurse Edith Cavell,’ are:—Street in Lisbon, Portugal, and on© in Brussels, Belgium; Cavell Infantry Regiment in the London Territorial Army; nurses’ homes in London and Brussels; number of World War veterans’ posts in the United States; Sir George Frampton’s immense statue of her which stands in Trafalgar Square, near Admiral Nelson’s. Probably the greatest tribute of all was paid in 1919 by the British Empire, when Miss Cavell’s remains were disinterred and laid to rest ainoTig England’s great in Westminster Abbey. FROM STAGE TO SCREEN RICHARDSON WAS ONCE “PROPS” HAH Ralph Richardson, who has signed a xxqw long-term contract with Alexander Korda, was born of Quaker parentage in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in 1902. His father, Arthur Richardson, was a well-known landscape painter, and decided that the boy should follow the same profession. To this end Ralph was sent' to an art school in Brighton. One day, however, he presented himself at a theatre in Brighton and informed the management that he wished to be an actor. He eventually persuaded them to allow him to paint scenery and be general “ props ” man, mechanic, and electrician to the theatre. Then the day came when he “ walked on ” as a gendarme in * Les Miserables,’ and in short time he rose rapidly to become the theatre’s leading actor at 23s a week.

He toured in Shakespeare, and in 1926 joined the famous Birmingham Repertory Company under the management of Sir Barry Jackson. Twenty productions with this company gave him the experience he needed for the West End stage. Sir Barry gave him his first London chance in ‘ Yellow Sands,’ which ran at the Haymarket Theatre for two years. In 1930 he joined the Old Vio Theatre, and spent two seasons at the Malvern Festival. Finally he came permanently to the West End stage with ‘ Too True to be Good ’ in September, 1932. . His plays include * For Services Rendered,’ ‘ Head-on Crash,’ ‘ "Wild Decembers,’ ‘ Sheppey,’ Captain Hook in ‘ Peter Pan,’ ‘ Marriage is No Joke,’ J. B. Priestley’s ‘ Eden End,’ and ‘ Cornelius.’ . _ In 1935 he toured America with Katherine Cornell ns Mer.cutio in ‘ Romeo and Juliet.’ Returning to London, he appeared in ‘ Promise,’ ‘ Bees on the Boatdeck,’ and ‘ The Amazing Dr Chitterhouse.’ Richardson started his screen career for Alexander Korda in ‘ Things to Come,’ and followed with ‘ The Man Who Could Work Miracles.’ ‘ Thunder in the City,’ ‘ South Riding,’ ‘ The Divorce of Lady X,’ and ‘ The Four Feathers.’ He also gave a brilliant performance as Denny in ‘ The Citadel.’ for MetroGoldwyn, and as Major Hammond in Columbia’s British production ‘ Q Planes.’ RAIN'S VOICE REIGNS SUPREME Claude Rains never worries about close-ups. He hasn’t the least interest in camera mechanics, and it wouldn’t bother him a bit if he always had to keep his back to the lens during his pictures. Rains’s theory is that you don’t have to have your face in the picture to steal a scene. He ought to know, because, along with Hugh Herbert, Lionel and John Barrymore, and a few others, he’s admittedly one of the best scene stealers in motion pictures. The veteran English actor believes that voice is the all-important thing, either on stage or screen. In his latest Warner Bros.’ picture, ‘ Four Daughters,’ Rains wears a flowing white wig and a handlebar moustache. But bo didn’t mind. He knew that his voice would be recognisable, and he regards bis voice as bis best and most important asset.

Five different kinds of money will be utilised in props, when Wesley Rugglos produces and directs ‘ Arizona,’ starring Jean Arthur, for Columbia. The currencies will include Spanish gold, Chinese bronze, and traders’ paper raonoj»*