Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Saturday 28 September 1935, page 5


PICTURES AND PERSONALITIES

TO "SHOOT" A WAR A Hazardous Enterprise

(By "Observer")

IM»--.

ACROSS THE SCREED: il) Judy Gum,

who appears mth Seymour Hicks in ' "Vintage Wine"; (2) Gertrude Michael,

Varamouni player; i3) Jean farkèr as sha ?

appears in "Have a Heart."' . -

WHILE there ls a generous ap-

preciation of sound newsreels, lt

is doubtful If the theatregoer realises the tremendous organisation behind their production, or the risks the cameramen take to obtain the best and latest news In pictures. More than one newsreel cameraman has lost his life In the course of filming scenes and events Involving grave personal risks, but the theatre-going public hears little or nothing of such tragedies. Perhaps the biggest news-reel scoop of all time is in the orang, for cameras and cameramen from the Paramount and Pox organisations are now In Abyssinia stationed at strategic points, and prepared, at grave risk, to "shoot" hostilities should they occur.1 Already films have come out of the country showing the Abyssinlans pre-paring for the threatened Italian offen-sive, and the stage ls all set for some I fast "shooting" should war actually [ develop. John Dored is In command of

the Paramount forces. He has long been known as "chief trouble shooter" ! ou the newsreel staff. During the World War he máde motion pictures for the Tsar of Russia, later covering the Polish fighting. Returning to Russia to attend the funeral of Lenin, he was taken prisoner by the Bolsheviks, and only the Intercession of the British Embassy saved him from the firing squad. Since then he has covered fighting with the Riffs In Africa, the Spanish revolution, mob disorders in France, Germany. Austria, and the Greek Revolution

Stallings With Fox

Laurence Stallings, author of "The First World War," and who edited the film of the same name, heads.the Fox Movietone expedition, and under him are a staff who have all served at the camera crank under fire. Stallings has established his headquarters at Djibouti, on the Gulf of Aden, in French Somaliland, and from there will not j only direct Held operations of the cam-¡ oramen. but will act as war correspon-dent in Ethiopia for an American news-paper syndicate-that Is, If war breaks out. Gas masks, helmets, field kits, guns, tents, special clothing and other war paraphernalia, are part of the equipment of both companies, which have entered what constitutes probably the most potentially hazardous enter-prise In newsreel photographic history.

Synthetic Music

Soviet scientists are engaged in ap-plying synthetic music to the art of the talking motion picture, producing the necessary music for a sound film, not by playing and recording lt, but by drawing lt on. paper with a pen and brush and then transferring it photo graphically to the sound track of a film. The process possesses revolu-tionary possibilities, and, should lt be perfected to the stage where il would

I be : economically practicable, might

well become the medium for provid-ing music for cartoons, newsreels and i features where the music ls bar.k

I gróund..ahd the musicians are not vis-

ible! Background music costs the ¡ mbtión .picture producers many thouI sands pf pounds for musicians' salaries

alone. '?'?''' , ' " Colour Plants .

' While Technicolor, ol' America, ls

hurriedly, preparing plans,for the con-struction of a plant In London, Dufaycolbr, its English counterpart, is ready to launch a counter-invasion in America. The board of directors of the Technicolor parent company has approved arrangements, completed by Dr. Herbert T. Kalmus, head ' of 1 the concern,, for development in England, and later in.Europe. Meanwhile. Dufuycolor, with colour plants at Elstree and Wembley, and a research labora-tory in New York, is building a factory for film base production at Elstree, and the company is making con/acts with ! American companies looking to the use

j of the process In their production work

I Money Talks

Lionel Atwill was recently inter-viewed on his reasons for giving, up the stage and going to Hollywood for screen work..The.reporter summarised his interview-thus: (i) The screen, pays more money. (2) ¡ After more than 20 years on the stage, tired, of travelling . (3) More money. (4) Be-lieves more talent is expended in the writing and producing of the average film than.on the average play. (5>.. There is more : money in : films.,, ( 6) Films permit a , fixed residence and .more leisure. (V) Films pay more money. (8) Films have more sound financing than plays. You're apt to get your money. "You really have to know artists," concluded the interview-er, "to appreciate their 'art for art's sake' attitude."

Films and the School

; Yet another educationist: has ex-pressed himself on the' advantages of the film. Mr. W. A. Armour; headmas-ter of Wellington College, New Zea-land, says: "Motion pictures have a decided educational influence' for good dr bad. For children..commercial.mo-tion pictures at the moment offer an unbalanced diet. In New Zealand the diet is not necessarily bad, but it is un-balanced. There has, however, been a notable and praiseworthy improve-ment in American films over the past year, and if that movement is main

tabled we teachers will all be wanting tc have our schools in your theatres." He added that he believed tlrat.before long motion picture appreciation rwould be included in the curricula of the schools. Expression of opinion on' the value of. the film by. educationists is- becoming common, and it. is likely that the next large development in mo-tion ' picture production will concern itself with the making of pictures sole-ly .for educational purposes. As noted . recently, this development probably

.will;be a joint effort by educational authorities and producing studios. Lubitsch Ostracised

; Ernst Lubitsch, the Hollywood'film producer, has been deprived formally of his German citizenship. Lubitseh's name appears in a list published by the Berlin police of 207 persons, mostly .Eastern Jews, who had acquired Rus-sian citizenship after' the war, and concerning whom it was intended to revoke,naturalisation, - The revocation extends also to their wives and chil-. dren. Lubitsch was described as having been born in Berlin, January 29, 1892. It was there that when working as a clerk iii his father's clothing store he studied acting under Victor ;Arnold, a stage comedian. At the age of 19 years he was given a small part by Max . Reinhardt, with whom he remained for two years. After the war he became a film producer, and later went to Hollywood

Close-Ups ./-->' ^v-. .

: Irene Franklin .died :aUL¿3.:Ángele8 ;

.last ; month., i Feature .- .productions, !'".'.',',among, others, In which, she -appeared -were-, "Change . of Heart,"^ "A .Very

Honourable Guy.**.and :"Tke; (Women - ??? In His Life." - .. ."'<

Antonio Moreno,.'star' of . the silent ? '

¡jf.reen, makes his'first'screen appear; . . J; ance in live years in Universal!s."Storni

Over the Andes." ?': . ; . r"1

Training in'cinematography is to be- ! , v

come ;part of certain French Chaval . " j';!

officers' education.: The officers chosen will put In.a period with the photo

graphy corps of the army, and later' '. ¡" will spend additional time .with pfi

vate firms. ' ~ '"y

Arrangements have been made for , the release through Universal in Lon- '

don of "Strike Me Lucky": and.'"Gran-. . :-'T :dad Rudd;". Australian Cinesound pro-,

ductlons. ,, .^li

. ii is rumoured that Jesse' Laskey is likely to be named as. co-producer with Mary Pickford at United Artists. .

Irene Dunne has been placed under a term contract by Columbia for stellar roles in several productions.

. H. G. Wells, noted English author.' '.

plans, In the nature of an experiment,

to devote.the next three years to writ-, , lng and adapting stories for the screen

He will work in association - with ' Lon '.; '

don Films.' '