FILMS AND THE STUDIOS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 596, 23 February 1929, Page 25

FILMS AND THE STUDIOS

mS POPULARITY A Hollywood writer reports that the independent exhibitors' popularity contest for stars of 1928 has been completed. It shows that Clara Bow ie the favourite. Not only does she lead the feminine list, but she tops Lon Chaney, the male favourite, with a third more votes. Clara received 275 votes to Lon Chaney’s 171. Colleen Moore, the 1927 winner, dropped to second place in the feminine poll with 132 votes. » . » BILLIE DOVE THIRD Billie Dove, with 74 votes, beat Bebe Daniels for third place. Laura La Plante, who was fourth last year, descended to eighth

place, and Norma Shearer, who was fifth last year, is now ninth. Fifth place was secured by Dolores Del Rio, Mary Pickford, who was far down the list last year, has climbed to sixth place, and Marion Davies, who has made consist-

ent gains for several years, was Beventh. * . * pt)WN THE LIST Joan Crawford, still a newcomer, was tenth. Janet Gaynor, handicapped by comparatively few pictures, was eleventh. Greta Garbo and Pola Negri were up against the difficulty faced by foreigners in securing widespread popular!)Greta was twelfth and Pola far behind. A sensation was caused by Norma Talmadge’s fall from grace. From a high place in 1927 she dropped to thirteenth place. AMONG THE MEN Lon Chaney’s position as leader of the popular male stars, came as a surprise. Tom Mix, last year’s favourite hv manv votes.

by many votes, polled second with 112 votes to Chaney’s 171. John Gilbert was third with 98 votes, Harold Lloyd fourth with 88, Richard Dix fifth with 86, William Haines sixth with 85, and Richard Barthelmess seventh with 81.

hwn undncy ouveiiLU nnu oj.. This close balloting on the men was not paralleled by the votes on women stars, who won their positions with More decided margins.

Expert Film Scouts Seek Suitable Scenery DIFFICULT TASKS FACED I 1 | Scene : A. settlers’ camp in a j | bush-covered valley. | The producer gazes at the | | script and calls for his ‘ f loca- | | tion scout.” X i / JNE of the most important, and, at the same time difficult, tasks of motion picture making is finding suitable locations for filming the story. Should the picture be taken from a

book, the search is sometimes narrowed down io one particular area, around which the author has written his tale. Then the task of the location scout is made much easier. A case in point was that of the Paramount picture, “The Kiss,” which was filmed in a small fishing village that was the actual locale of the original magazine story. . At times, however, it is impossible to go to the exact spot where the incidents of the picture have taken place. Then the scout must seek for other locations that will resemble very closely those of the actual story. Tlis task may carry him over vast tracts of country, and it may be months before he is able to pick a suitable spot, for there are other things to be considered besides the resemblance of the countryside to that described in the script. There must be facilities for the upkeep of the producing unit, water, means of transport, and, most important of all, suitable camera light.