World’s Best Film

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 974, 17 May 1930, Page 28

World’s Best Film

VIEWS OF CELEBRITIES Votes for “The Singing Fool” DOX ALFONSO. King of Spain, and Al Jolson, tlie blackface singer, divided tlie first prize for frankness in answering a world-wide inquiry made by “Der Deutsche,” a Berlin newspaper, as to the film that made the deepest impression in 1929. The King of Spain is quoted as replying, “The sound film made of me by the Fox Company,” while Al Jolson simply said, “Without any egotism, ‘The Singing Fop].’ ” Many prominent people responded to the newspaper inquiry, one of the most comprehensive ever arranged.

Benito Mussolini picked ‘La Grazia,” with Carmen Boni and Giorgio Bianco; Prince Cliicliibu of Tokio preferred “The White stadium, showing the Winter Olympics of 192 s and President Portes Gil of Mexico agreed with A 1 Jolson in declaring for “The Singing Fool/’

Of the authors interrogated by “Dev Deutsche,” Thomas Mann, the Nobel Prize winner, selected “The Passion of Joan of Arc”; Luigi Pirandello * liked “The Pat- 1

riot, adding that .“Unior tunately the helm of the film industry is in the hands of unimaginative financiers who knownothing about art,” and Andre Maurois of Paris voted for “Storm Over Asia,” the Russian picture which many parts of the world are still waiting to see. Max Sehmeling, the German boxer, put Charlie Chaplin’s “The Pilgrim.” which only reached Berlin recently, at the head of his list, while Oskar Tietz, a Berlin racing man, favoured “The Singing drool.” Among the film directors w-hose opinions are chronicled, V. L. Pudovlcin, of Moscow-, was most impressed by “The Passion of Joan of Arc,” while Ernest Lubitscli, Lothar Mendes. Paul Ludwig Stein, Fren Niblo and Paul Bern, all of the U.S.A. (at least for the present), were unanimous in their choice of “Hallelujah,” the negro talking picture. Joe May, of Berlin, was for “Storm Over Asia.” Arthur Robinson, of London, picked “The Cock-Eyed World,” and Lau Lauritzen, ol' Copenhagen, favoured “Noah’s Ark.” Erich Pommer, of Berlin, modestly remarked that he would not express himself about German films," but said he liked “White Shadows in the South Seas ” the best of the foreign features. His fellow-production manager of UFA, Gunther Stapenhorst, was enthusiastic about "The Singing Fool,” as he saw it in London, adding the pious wish that some German audible film might be the best in the w-orld in 1930. Irving Thalberg, production manager of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,

candidly admitted that he favoured “Hallelujah,” while Darryl F. Zanuck. of Warner Brothers, was for “Disraeli.” The American (or almost American) artists whose views were recorded in Ihe .-Berlin symposium were divided in their preferences. Eddie Cantor picked “Disraeli,” Betty Compsou “Condemned,” Dolores del Rio “Madame X,” Clive Brook “The Love Parade,” Maurice Chevalier “Four Feathers,” William Powell “Bulldog Drummond.” and Neil Hamilton “The Cafe of Lena Smith (silent) and “In Old Arizona.” Judging by some of the replies, patriotism, or nationalism, weighs heavily in the scales of film values. rile outcome of the whole question-

naire business was the placing of tlie ten most mentioned films of tlie year in the following order:—“Les Nouveaux Messieurs,” “Hallelujah.” “The Singing Fool,” “The White Hell of Piz Palu,” “The Living Corpse,” “Lonesome,” “Storm Over Asia,” “The Love Parade,” “The Docks of New York” and “Atlantic.”