FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

Evening Star, Issue 23379, 23 September 1939, Page 5

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

hy “Loiter&r”

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

PICTURE OF SYMBOLS Magic- of 'The Thief of Bagdad' ■ r~ ■ ,! Two Thousand Years of Aspiration ' TW the; film-rproducer, the proper study, of mankind is , • man,' not: only in ■ his sophisticated movements, his love life, { «nd*hisimaterial.'progress, but in his aspirations and his ideals. 1 Blithe artvof i-the: cinema: is graphic and-the showing of ;qualities ; must bev rendered through the medium of :, action,' for more • than any other form of entertainment the J.mreen-demands,physical action. _

J^yeioali-action/-is M 1 The Thief of .Bagdad,’ which, is being 'made ’in colour by Alexander Korda Productions at, Denhani. ■ This action carries aloug-.with it .the, spirit of man and his for thousands 'of - same -to-day, as '.yesterday, •whenj-the '‘-Arabian /Nights-’; was - beings Twitteny-audj before,. Man’s; preoccupation; with' miracles! and i the; supernatural; powers, -both /good; «nd?"eyal, -ffihd'; a.'.counterpart, in- - this great Visualised: .'for. - .?2j000;

work, of the model. These are fitted together by the magician, and the old sultan, played by Miles Malleson, is ;first;:to' ride. on , this - strange contraption. - - , . At the end of the picture there is terrific .aerial warfare an‘the, clouds between the Flying- Horse,, carrying, the .Villain; and . and'the magic 'darpet caff yingV: the 'Thief - (Sabu) . and , the /hero : (John Justin). , ; Conrad Veidt; as, Giafar,: besides being' an’'evil'-personality in 'the - picture

years,/these ■ miracles are/now made-pos-sible * and labour. The . genius . which has ' invented’ the eineida.' and . thei radio has also made realVthese miracles. , ' Takethe' Flying. Horse, whichGiafar, the-'i'evil'; magiom'n.' (Conrad- Veidt),. brings-to, s .the sultan '(Miles Malleson) to trade'/fpr his'daughter, the princess' (Jufle/Duprez). r i ; SYMBOLISES DESJRE TO , FLY. The ; Flying ?:Horse 'has been] a« symbol l of m'anV-desire for'flying and .freedom, thrpughiall; the; ages. - The /Greeks knew, the/Pmng Jlorse as Pegasus,,and there is hardly; a> nation ii n > whose folklore it does/ript /play/a part. Greek myth tells 1 how’TcartS rtried; to fly by himself on waxed wings,! which melted, in l the sunlight.', -This same mechanical striving for 'flying. ;;is symbolised in the horse prepared iby the great magician (Conrad Veidt) as the prize,, for the hand of the sultan’s daughter, and the hors© is brought; into ‘ The Thief of Bagdad ’ in six parts, showing the internal clock-

■also symbolises man’s conception, of evil as Van ever-present' force in the universe. Consequently the aerial battle ends with Good. (Sabu, John. Justin, and June .Duprez) triumphing over’the evil Gaifar, ■ tfle . spirit wflich Veidt signifies' being vanquished and': descending -in flames into the lowdr regions. This .is' one-of the most spectacular scenes, ever prepared. for a; picture and should look exciting and /dramatic in colour. TELEVISION BEGINNING. i Another- ’miracle of ‘ The' Thief of Bagdad ’ is’ the “ All Seeing Eye ” stolen from the-pupil .of the eye of a giant goddess: by- Sabii, the little thief. It is a.ruby, and the person who looks into‘it! can see whatever he wishes to see..' ' ■ ! , , This is one of the motives of the ‘Arabian Nights ’ tales, and is again linked through the history of men as an aspiration for seeing beyond the limits of his own physical horizon. It is, indeed, the desire which, 2,000 years

ago forecast and ultimately led to the fulfilment of television. The story of the djinn in the bottle (played by Rex Ingram), although hardly in the category of a miracle in the picture, is among the loveliest symbols of the * Arabian Nights,* and the way in which the cinema tackles its visual solution is in itself almost a miracle. The djinn released! by Sabu from, a small bottle in his hand, which he, finds'on the seashore, becomes as high as the highest mountain, and is obviously the symbol of man’s yearning for freedom and his imprisonment in the confines of his physical body. Hundreds of technicians at Denham are working on the solution of this technical problem, and the sequences promise to be among the greatest experiences known to the screen. Compared with Sabu’s sft 2in, the djinn stands 200 ft, and the hand which picks up Sabu measures 28ft across. » Hundreds of other technical problems confront the makers of ‘ The Thief of Bagdad.’ For weeks now the plasterer’s shop has been engaged in making mechanical models of toys which work and which are based on the Pantheon gods and goddesses in the Royal Victoria and Albert Museum. The action of these dolls will be performed by a full corps de ballet. In another sequence of the picture there is a transformation of a stony desert landscape into the City of Golden Legend, and finally the magic army which, at the end of the picture, decides the outcome of the battle between the hero and the villain. All these technical problems are being solved by the talent of the makers of this picture at Denham.

FANS' MINDS RIOT ASININE ADDRESSES FROM AMERICANS ■ I More oddly-addressed mail reaches Hollywood, Burbank, and Culver City post offices than any other one community in the United States. Mail clerks assigned to the motion picture area have become exports in deciphering the intentions of the writers. They read picture writing, names divided between small sketches and few apparently unrelated letters of the alphabet, and they know by sight every important motion picture celebrity, and so can deliver his mail when nothing more than his clipped likeness is on the front of the envelope. Within the past few weeks many curiously-ad-dressed letters, packages, and cards have been delivered to the persons for whom they were intended through the Warner Bros.’ fan mail department, which has long since become as expert as the postal clerks in reading the freak addresses. One letter had a- rough sketch of a chisel, a keg, and a human knee. One look was enough to inform Gale Beatty, the fan mail clerk in Warner Bros.' that the missive was intended for Jimmy Cagney—a jimmy, a keg, and a knee.

A post card arrived with a picture of an arrow pasted to the envelope on the left and a small fish <* fin glued to the right side. That was easy. The letter was for Errol Flynn. Still another envelope carried a sketch of a camel’s hump and of a sign reading “ Take one.” Next came a clipping from some magazine showing the face of a tramp and a picture of a child’s toy wagon. That was figured out to mean Humphrey Bogart—” Hump-free 80-cart.” Some of these strange addresses are not easy to describe. One carried a picture of a man cutting at a tree with an axe, followed by a sketch of a small plant and the letters ” ert.” That was meant for Hugh (Hew) Herb-ert. Another sketch of a hand patting a cheek and several rounded hills. That was deciphered as Pat Knowles with little delay. A picture of a young girl and another of a barrel marked “ pickles ” eventually _ found its way to Jane Bryan—the girl was a jane, the pickles were the brine. , Here is one more that the post office and Warner Bros.’ fan mail department delivered without delay. A copper penny was glued to the envelope and beyond it was a picture of a weight marked “ one ton.” Penny Singleton has it now. More difficulty was found with a letter on which had been drawn what was apparently a small rock upon which the rain was falling. A happy suggestion led to the solution of this. It was meant for Claude (Clod) Rains. [To all of which ” Loiterer ” just says “ Nuts!”]

DEANNA DURBIN TO SING IN ROYAL ALBERT HALL Deanna Durbin is scheduled to sing at the Royal Albert Hall, London, for nothing early next year. The sixteen-year-old Canadian film star, now holding a £200,000 Hollywood contract, has accepted an invitation from the London Hospital authorities to appear in aid of its bicentenary appeal. She is assured of a great welcome if the war does not result in a cancellation of the plans. Queen Mary has always taken the greatest interest in the London Hospital, and it is probable that she will be present at the performance. Deanna’s parents, James and Mrs Durbin, will sail to England on the Normandie to make final arrangements with those in charge of the London Hospital. The announcement has thrilled movie-lovets throughout Great Britain. The special organiser of the hospital appeal, Prank D. Siddall, set out for America with the intention of inviting a well-known star to England to help to swell the funds. He had no special star in mind, but there was a hope that Miss Durbin would be approached. “We are dclightedl at her acceptance,’’ said Major H. J, Piper, secretary in charge of the appeal. “ Her performance certainly will take place in the Royal Albert Hall.” Deanna, incidentally, lias recently completed her latest picture for Universal, which is tentatively titled ‘ It’s a Date.’

WESTERN EPIC APPEALS OF 1 STAGECOACH ’ Another of the epics of early frontier life in America,.‘ Stagecoach,’ has half a dozen different angles of entertainment —all good. The background is as vast and colourful as the title is provocative in bringing mental flashes of the many angles at which the stage coach transport influenced the lives of the hundreds of classes in strangely-assorted communities during the romantic and picturesque Indian and gold mining days

of Western America. And the cast, too, is a colossal one, bristling with character sketches of the life and period, fitting glove-like into the great background and investing the story with colour, action, life, arid thrill that grip the spectator. It is a cavalcade of pioneering days in Arizona and points west,; vividly portraying the thrills and dangers of a stage coach dash through Indian-infested country. Huddled together in the coach is a strange conglomerate of society—the dipsomaniac doctor, a shady woman, a gambler, a soldier’s wife, an outlaw, a defaulting banker, a law officer, a whisky salesman, and the driver.

Their various reactions to the dramatic thrills and dangers of the journey and the several personal stories that are jolted into publicity, with the help of 43 other characters projected into

the action at the various stops, make a strangely gripping series of adventures which unroll as a succession of stories, one within the other. Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine, John Carradine, George Bancroft, Thomas Mitchell, Louise Platt, and Donald Meek are the big figures whose character acting go to make the realism of the action, and the grand finale is considered one of the most sustained fightscenes ever filmed. For thrill and finelyetched character pictures ‘ Stagecoach ’ challenges the old favourite, ‘ Covered Wagon.’

Robert Taylor and Hedy Leman - have started work on ‘ Lady of tbe Tropics/ with Jack Conway directing - .

ABSOLUTELY TO THE DOGS

TRAGEDY OF SYDNEY ORPHANAGE Because of Cinesound, the Westmead Boys’ Home, near Sydney, has definitely “ gone to the dogs.” During production of the film of that name, which stars George Wallace, Director Ken G. Hall arranged! for the boys at the home to provide dogs for an outdoor scene filmed in l close proximity to the home. The lads, some 200 of them, entered into the spirit of the thing to the extent that an absolute plethora

of canine talent was on supply for whatever purpose Mr Hall wanted. _ But—the dogs formed such a liking for the Westmead Home and their young masters that they won’t leave. To-day they still grace the beneficent portals of the orphanage. And if you think Cinesound is popular in that quarter—ask the head Brother. He’s mad, doggone it I MAORI TOP GAME IN CENTENNIAL FILM A recent visit to Princess To Puea’s pa at Ngaruawahia, enabled Frontier Films Ltd. to secure unique scenes of ancient Maori games which provide a colourful background to the absorbing

drama of their new Centennial, historical romance, ‘ Rewi’s Last Stand.’ Through the courtesy of the famous Waikato princess, antique Maori tops were whipped by excited contestants amid roars of approval from Native villagers. When spun by an expert the Maori top gives off a penetrating humming sound, and during the enacting of the scerie the sound film microphone picked this up without difficulty. The idea of the contest is to make the top give off its peculiar note. The game is not played by children, as in the case of Europeans, but by adult members of the tribe, who take great pains in fashioning their tops. A string of flax is used to start the tops, or a lash of the same material to whip them to the desired speed.

SHADES OF HISTORY! MARGO POLO, VENETIAN, BECOMES MAGPOOL, SCOTSMAN Marco Polo, whose love life recorded by Sam Goldwyn was recently seen in Dunedin, has become a Scotsman. The Italian _ Government film censors are responsible. They first rejected ‘ The Adventures of Marco Polo,’ the Goldwyn film which had. Gary Cooper as the hero and Sigiid Gurie, the Norwegian girl, as .the heroine. The famous traveller was portrayed as a gay philanderer, and the censors thought this was undignified for an Italian hero. But there was a shortage of films in Italy, and the distributors needed ‘ Marco Polo.’ They hit on the idea of making Cooper into a Scotsman and calling him Mac Pool. The censors saw the same film with the new nomenclature and they passed it. So now Mac Pool goes to China and falls ,in love with the daughter of the Great Khan. _ The Italian audiences are seeing a picture which has for its title ‘ Uno Scozzes© all Corte del Gran Khan.’ Not even Samuel Goldwyn ever thought that Marco Polo came from north of the Tweed. SHE LIKED CHRISTCHURCH JOAN BLONDELL REMEMBERS NEW ZEALAND There is a very special place in Joan Blondell’s heart for the Antipodes. When she was only nine years old she was touring Australian towns with her parents, who did a vaudeville act, and she stayed in Sydney for six months. Here she encountered her first romance! While staying at the old Oxford Hotel in Sydney she met the proprietor’s son, and promptly became interested in him. So the afternoon' tea seemed to be the time for them to munch almonds and discuss what they were going to be when they grew up. Another of Joan’s special memories is that of a birthday celebration in Christchurch. She remembers Christchurch as the cleanest prettiest city imaginable, which considering the number of cities she has been in all over the world, is a truly remarkable compliment.

Joan Blondell is one of the “ happiest marrieds ” in Hollywood, is married to Dick Powell, and they have two beautiful little children—baby girl Ellen and a four-year-old son, Norman Scott Powell. Talking to Joan is an experience which might be likened to quaffing clear, sparkling, fresh water from its spring. In a community and a profession where sham is inextricably mixed with what few vestiges qf reality are permitted to survive, she has managed to remain completely real, _as natural and free from pose as the nine-year-old child who nibbled almonds in a Sydney hotel. Frankness and forthright sincerity have helped her to keep Tier integrity as an individual. She is. first a human being and only incidentally a film star. Born August 30, a couple of minutes before midnight, Joan' knew no other home than the stage 'and screen. Her parents are widely known in vaudeville, and for a few months Joan toured with her parents. Her first birthday was. celebrated in Paris. ' She entered school in 'California, which was years .later to be the scene of her screen triumphs.' Equipped with good looks and a famous father, Joan tried to crash the movies, and discovered that it wasn’t easy, as thousands of others discover each and ©very year. So she started right from the beginning, and worked her way up, as any sensible girl would do. She has just finished making ‘ Good Girls Go To Paris ’ for Columbia, and is soon to start on ‘ The Incredible Mr Williams ’ for the same company. Joan has just signed a five-year contract with Columbia.

WHATEVER YOU WANT * SERVICE DE LUXE ’ * Comedy of an excellent standard makes Universal’s ‘ Service De Luxe ’ a fine pick-me-up. The plot is sound, the cast outstanding, and the treatment a product of fine direction. The Madison Service in New York _ does everything for its clients from tying a dress tic to buying steam rollers, and supplies working minds for those not possessed of them. Lost necklaces, decamped flappers, mislaid passports, and a host of other annoyances are dealt with expeditiously and satisfactorily; but it is not until a young man from the country arrives with plans for a three-way tractor that things start to move. He appears to be the one male out of captivity with a mind of his own, but when he meets and falls in love with the senior Madison partner (Constance Bennett) he is unconsciously drawn into the clutches of the service. Anyhow, his tractor is placed, but there are plenty of complications, all of them funny, before he gets what he wants. Constance Benpett, as the supreme dispenser of service, gives what is probably her brightest comedy role to date. Her partner, hard-boiled and wisecracking, is Helen Broderick, a bright article ; one of her clients, Charlie Ruggles, engineer turned cookery crank, burdened with a man-mad ■daughter (Joy Hodges); and Ruggles’s “ chef supreme ” is the delightful Mischa Auer, who, as usual, is a Russian prince in refuge. Constance Bennett’s male interest is Vincent Price, making a very capable cinema debwt.

STAGE FOLK

SYDNEY GIRL IN FRENCH PLAY When Sylvia Parish, tall, graceful, and grey-eyed, was chosen by Ernest Rolls for the original presentation of ‘ The Women ’ in Melbourne, she had only one desire, and that was to play Miriam Aarons. Her ambition was realised, and the excellence of her performance won high praise. David N. Martin, whose interest in Australian talent is well known, was attracted by her dramatic ability, her enthusiasm, and her vitality, and he has now cast her in an important role in the comedy, ‘ A Kiss from Kild,’ Born at Coff’s Harbour, Sylvia Parish soon discovered an urge for a theatrical career. She studied at the Cinema Academy, and afterwards with Molly Kirwan, to whom she attributes the greatest part of her success. She appeared in the films ‘ Thoroughbreds ’ and ‘ The Flying Doctor,’ and did a great deal of broadcasting. She is a keen student, designs her own clothes, and in her spare moments

studies art. Both her brothers are artists, -and Sylvia slips away to art exhibitions and galleries when time permits. She , will play the wife. Suzanne Polignac, in ‘ A Kiss from Kiln,’ which is typically French in its outlook on life. •

MELBA MEMORIAL * Although years have elapged since the death of Dame Nellie Melba, ho memorial has. yet been erected in Australia to perpetuate her memory. Lord Lurgan, who was formerly William Brownlow, well-known golfer, and who now sings, announced in Sydney that he would give his entire Australian earnings towards a memorial. He recommended that. it take the form of a bust or a plaque in, Sydney Town Hall. “ It is my wish that the memorial be designed by an Australian sculptor,”

Lord Lurgan said. “ T want the whoI» work to be done in Australia.” The public reaction to Lord Lurgan 7 *- gift was immediate, and he received shoals of congratulatory letters thanking him for his generous thought. It was announced some days later that the gift would comprise his earnings without any tax deduction, as he intended to pay the taxation himself and devote the gross sum of his tour learnings to the memorial. ; STARS OF • SWITZERLAND' ARE NOT SWISS Popular figure skaters • and- dancers of the British stage who are member* of the ‘ Switzerland;’ Company .now in Australia,, include the famous Canadian duo, the MacKinnon ■ Sisters, Elsie Heatheote, Diana Grafton,- Ronald Priestley, and Rita Bramley. Joy and Lovett MacKinnon are American champions, and until, an attractive British stage offer coincided with the Coronation of King George i VI. they had refused all offers to .leave their, native continent. They accepted a tew months’ engagement in London, and. they have, remained there almost ever since. Elsia

Heathcote and Diana Grafton' arcamong the very, few stage artists 'to have reached star status on the ice during the past two years. Ronald,Priestley, at 18, is one of' the youngest topranking skating stars. - , ‘UNDER YOUR HAT’ IS TOPICAL Events have made 1 Under Your Hat topical, although it is a light,musical.The plot deals with espionage and th* attempt -to'Recover a, stolen invention for aeroplanes. 1 ’ - ' ' According to reports, the whole show; is streamlined and slips through 14/ modern scenes with amazing rapidity. Most of the principals come front England, and have been under th» supervision of Jack Hulbert, who produced the London show, :w r hioh-has been running nine months. Edwin Styles, principal comedian, 1 ini addition to stage work in London and New York, served a term under contract to MetrmGoldwyn-Mayer..