Cinema... Snapshots

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20491, 6 May 1938, Page 4

Cinema ... Snapshots

I tie mg Broadcast oj ivooi To Show Evolution of Danc\ 1 Filming of one of the most musical sequences ever staged li Hollywood has been completed re-* cently at Paramount. The is “ The Waltz Lives On " routine 11 “The Big Broadcast of 1938,“ and even more elaborate than the “ Prettj Girl is Like a Melody ” sequence id “ The Great Zeigfeld.” Although the number appears oil the screen as a continuous panoramaactually it was filmed on 12 different sets which completely tied up tw<j huge sound stages at Paramount fo* more than two weeks. Fundamentally, the number Is q cavalcade of dancing wandering through the Viennese waltz, the polka, the naughty cancan, the Charleston! truckin’ and other dances that havq appeared and faded. Periodically, through the number, the camera verts back to the graceful waltz. The musical score of the numbeij is as complicated as the job of photo-, graphing the dances. The dominant theme, of course, is the waltz song written by Leo Robin and Ralph, Rainger. However, it modulates into the polka, African rhythms and the hi-de-ho melodies to which Amerioa once danced the Charleston and, truckin’. Nearly 200 dancers were used in the number, ranging from eight girls and eight boys in the Viennese waltaj to 72 in the flnaie of the number. New European Beauties The’ European beauty Invasion li on! They wanted something new in the way of Hollywood stars, and the gay capitals of the Continent have been searched by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayerv with abundant results in glamorous talent. Hedy Lamarr, one of the recent arrivals, is about the most unusual. Miss Lamarr, a Max Reinhardt discovery, is a very tali and slender girl with startlingly white skin, large black-fringed grey eyes and dark hair. This youthful Viennese girl wanted to act all of her life. It was not surprising that she was a great success in the theatre wJth her rare beauty and ability when she got her chance. Miss Lamarr has scored in numerous hits in Europe, such as Fritz Kreisler’s musical, “ Sissy.” Also, she appeared In many European pictures. Now in Hollywood, she lives with Ilona Massey, Hungarian star of the Vienna State Opera, who is making her Hollywood .screen debut in “ Rosalie.” Ilona Massey and Hedy Lamarr never met before coming to Hollywood. Both had admired each other’s work for several years, however, and theirs was a happy meeting in Hollywood. Ilona Massey is as fair as Hedy Is dark. Ilona’s is a fragile beauty. Her hair is golden, her eyes large and grey-blue. Rarest of all her features, however, is her smile. Another recent arrival Is Rose Stradner, who Is playing opposite Edward G. Robinson in “ The Last Gangster.” Like Miss Lamarr, she comes from Vienna. Although still very young, she has five years of stage experience behind her, having been with Max Reinhardt fpr that length of time. Miss Stradner lived In Vienna the greater part of her life, although she has travelled widely. She had her m greatest success in the same Viennese theatre in which Luise Rainer played before coming to Hollywood. Miss Stradner is not so blonde as Miss Massey. Her hair is a dark blonde and her large blue eyes can look either sultry or icy as the occasion demands. Although comparisons are unfair, there are, neverthe- — , less, similarities between Marlene M Dietrfch and Rose Stradner—her eyes, perhaps, and her continental flair fop wearing clothes. Rare Fans in Films Four rare fans, prized by collectors as the finest examples of an almost lost art, were purchased by Selznick International Studio for use in the David 0. Selznick technlcolour picture. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” starring Tommy Kelly and directed by Norman Taurog. Delicately wrought, of such materials as silk, ivory, lace and tortoiseshell, the fans are from the worldfamous collection of Princess Pauline von Metternich Bandnr. of Austria. Walter Plunkett, Selznick designer, declared the art has been virtually lost. 'zmsxxxxsttsxmzv FLASHES . pLENDA FARRELL has signed & " two-pictures-a-year contract with Universal. This gives her freedom to make outside pictures when she wants to. * * * • “ ALEXANDER’S RAG-TIME BAND/* with Tyrone Power. Alice Faye, Don Ameche and Jack Haley, went into production recently at Twentieth Century-Fox. Henry King. bestknown* for his direction of rural pictures like “ State Fair,” is directing. * # * * A LICE BRADY and Charlie Winniger will be teamed by Universal in “ Good-bye Broadway.” This is a new version of “ Shannons of Broadway “ in which Lucille and James Gleason formerly appeared. Y\7HEN Vittorio Mussolini visited |' * Hollywood, Joan Crawford was lone of tile stars accused of snubbing him, though she denied it. Now Joan’s lnlest two pictures, “ The Last of Mrs Cheyney ” and “ The Bride Wore Red!’’ have been banned in Italy. No reasons given. *