West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Wednesday 15 September 1937, page 14


NEW FILMS FOR PERTH FRIDAY'S PROGRAMMES. Plaza Theatre Opening. Next Friday will be an interesting day in the cinema history of Perth, as it will mark the opening of the Plaza Theatre, the first of the intimate-type of picture theatres in this city. First-release films will be shown at the Plaza, which will be a long-run house. Changes of programme will be made at each of the other five first-release theatres with a result that picture-goers on Friday will have the choice of 11 pro-ductions new to Perth. A New Star. Who makes stars? Any motion picture producer in Hollywood can answer that question with two words: "The Public." It is film-goers in the mass who ordain and decree which chosen few of the many who are called to the screen shall ultimately become world-wide favourites. This has been exemplified in the case of Tyrone Power, whose success in the role of Jonathan Blake in "Lloyds of London," surprised Hollywood, accus-tomed to seeing newcomers elevated to top place in the screen world. Tyrone Power's success was not "an accident" nor a "lucky break." It was the realisa-tion of an opinion Darryl F. Zanuck, a studio production chief, formed when Power, fresh from success on the New York stage, presented himself at the studio. With Tyrone's theatrical back-ground and rich theatrical heritage, Mr. Zanuck felt that the young man was a "natural" for stardom, and began the process of grooming him for an impor-tant place in the filmland constellation. But there still remained the acid test —what would the public's judgment be? The wave of public enthusiasm and newspaper praise that greeted Tyrone Power's performance in "Lloyds of Lon-don" at the New York and Los Angeles premieres vindicated Mr. Zanuck's judg-ment. The public overseas had estab-lished Mr. Power as one of the new romantic favourites. Perth picture-goers can see Mr. Power in "Lloyds of London" at the Plaza Theatre next Friday. Marriage Comedy. Roscoe Karns, William Frawley and Lynne Overman, character actors and comedians who have brightened many a cinema evening, are cast with Mary Brian in top roles of "Three Married Men" (Grand Theatre next Friday) and they succeed in producing an entertaining comedy, smoothly presented. "Three Married Men" revolves about the troubles of a couple—played by Karns and Miss Brian—both before and after a family opposed marriage. Lily Pons Returns. Combining three classical numbers with a group of new tunes, Lily Pons's colora-tura soprano voice should satisfy all classes of music lovers in the new music-

Lily Pons.

al comedy, "That Girl from Paris." Seven songs and one instrumental number are featured, em-bracing every type of melody from old favourites to new swing arrangements. The classic songs in clude "Una Voce Poco Pa" from Ros-sini's "Barber of Seville," Panofka's "Tarantella," and the "Blue Danube" waltz, which is sung both in its original

form and with swing interpretation. and with swing interpretation. Miss Pons's modern numbers were writ-ten especially for the picture by Arthur Schwartz and Edward Heyman, noted for their compositions and lyrics in many musical comedy successes. They include "Call to Arms," and "Seal it with a Kiss," romantic ballads, and "My Nephew from Nice," a novelty number. In ad-dition "Love and Learn" is played by an orchestra; and "Moonface" is sung by Jack Oakie. Music finds a sensible place in the plot development of "That Girl from Paris." The story starts in Paris, where the opera star deserts her impres-ario-suitor at the altar and flees to America in pursuit of a musician to whom she is attracted. There is an air

Jonathan Blake (Freddie Bartholomew) and Horatio Nelson (Douglas Scott) in one of the opening scenes from "Lloyds of London," the large scale production which has been chosen to open the new Plaza Theatre on Friday.

of spontaneous fun about "That Girl from Paris" which should please those who see this picture at the Capitol Theatre where it starts next Friday. Preparing a Costume Picture. More than 3,000 changes of wardrobe were required by Frank Lloyd for "Maid of Salem" (at the Grand Theatre next Friday), the romance of a Puritan wo-man and a fugitive Virginian soldier in Salem in 1692. To make these, wardrobe workers were assembled and a regiment of experienced workers was detailed to the sets to dress the principals and, in-cidentally, to see that none of the ward-robe was lost. It is estimated that the costumes for "Maid of Salem" weighed 24,000 pounds, or twelve tons. The largest part of the costumes were used in a scene where 2,000 infuriated

Claudette Colbert, the well-known screen star, who appeared as a Puri-tan woman of the New England of 1692 in "Maid of Salem," which will be the main attraction on Friday at the Grand Theatre.

Salemites follow the heroine up Gallow's Hill, where she is to be hanged as a witch because she refuses to name the stranger with whom she had been seen. Her reticence is regarded by her inquisi-tors as proof positive that the stranger was the devil. Every one of the 2,000 extras is said to wear a garment that is as historically authentic as the cos-tumes worn by Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Louise Dresser, Gale Sonder-gaard, Donald Meek or any of the other well-known feature players in the film. Crime and Adventure. Stories of various types will be shown on the first half of Friday's programmes. These include "Panic on the Air" (a crime drama with a broadcasting studio background) at the Regent; "Find the Witness" (a murder mystery set in an opera house), at the Capitol; and "Sec-ret Valley" (an outdoor adventure film) at the Ambassadors. Where is the city of Monroe, California? Where is Sutter College? What is the Kappa Chi fraternity? If you cannot

provide adequate replies to these ques-tions, there is no need to worry as Monroe, Sutter and Kappa Chi have no-actual existence. They are products of the research department of a Hollywood studio. The department invents names for persons, products, places and projects that have no real life counterparts. No production wheel can turn until its stamp of approval has been placed on every line in a script. The three questions propounded here are typical examples of problems en-countetred in "We went to College," featuring Charles Butterworth, Walter Abel, Hugh Herbert, Una Merkel, Edith Atwater and Walter Catlett. The pic-ture revolves about the amusing activities of some former students who return to their college for homecoming day. "We Went to College" will be at the Theatre Royal next Friday. Wallace Beery's Interests. Even though he left school in the third grade, Wallace Beery is considered by his friends as a well-informed man now. The star's newest picture, "Old Hutch," will be shown at the Regent Theatre Royal next Friday. By self-training Beery has taught him-

self to be well versed in various subjects, including two foreign languages. But the actor has not been contented to be edu-cated by books. Sensing some years ago that air travel would soon be the thing, Beery started taking flying lessons and didn't stop until he held a transport licence and a com-mission in the United States Navy. As a builder, his expert-

Wallace Beery.

ness lies in the fact that he owns several homes in Hollywood and Beverly Hills that he has personally planned and whose construction he supervised. Capable Child Actress. Because of her work as the child in "These Three," Bonita Granville is play ing one of the leads in "Call It a Day"

with such players as Ian Hunter, Frieda Inescort, Olivia de Haviland, Anita Louise and Roland Young. Bonita Granville was born on February 2, 1923, in New York City. Her father was Bernard Granville, musical comedy and vaude-ville star, and her mother was an actress. At the age of three, Bonita joined her father's vaudeville act. It was Bonita's resemblance to Ann Harding that gave her her first film part. Miss Harding's studio needed a child who looked like the star to play her daughter in "Westward Passage" and Bonita got the assignment. There follow-ed other small parts and with the role in "Thesa Three," she became widely known. "Call It a Day," which was adapted from the Dodie Smith play, which was a not-able London stage hit, is a smart, sophis-ticated comedy of the effect of spring on an English family. It will be at the Regent Theatre next Friday. Many Nationalities. Margot Grahame, who played the title role in "Night Waitress" (for the Am-bassadors Theatre next Friday), comes from England; Abul Husse from Meso-potamia; Sam Wong, a restaurant owner in Los Angeles, is from Foochow, China R. Balkasha from Odessa, Ukraine, and Ispa Shirah from Persia. Gordon Jones, co-featured with Miss Grahame, is from Iowa. The locale of the picture is the San Francisco waterfront. A young girl work-ing as a night shift waitress and the youthful skipper of a small boat become involved in a search for gold which lies at the bottom of a bay.