Judge — May 31, 1930 — page 25: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

JUDGING TEM lor no reason at all, exeept that it is pleasant these days to sit in a cool movie palace ‘and medi- tate, I have jotted down some jottings that occurred to me during an organ concert. 1. The big movie-house programs last almost three hours. Only. or third of this time is taken up by Music, theme-song advertis- . vaudeville take up two hours, he movie loses importance; unfortu- nately, small-town movie patrons have no other attractions offered them ex- cept the relatively unimportant film. movie. 2. They are still reviving old Chap- lin films and they draw well, In fact, the only “old-time movies that are worth a cent in the box-office are the comedies of Chaplin, Keaton, Fair- banks and Griffith, 3. Times Square is the most over rated and overpublicized district in the world. Fifty per cent of all movies ind newspaper columns deal with it constantly simply because writers, di- rectors and columnists aren't familiar with any other part of the country. 4. Crities and from Russian carry prop: feetly tru of props ican patrons shy away movies because they nda, While this is per- , it is a matter of what sort nda you prefer. No Amer- ever delineates poverty, s it exists in imagin Revelry,” the drama Hol- movie yraft, or abnorn You y filming of the Harding administr Iywood propaganda is just « ss Moscow's; the only difference is that it meets with more approval. our cities. comy 5. For many years scoffers have pointed to movie advertising as proof enough of the low character of the movie producer. Lately the pants pressers have been sold down the river to the ui By some strange error th Ivertis is still full of sex and headlines. so fa- most 6. Torrid necking scenes ari tailiar to movie customers the JUDGE By PARE LORENTZ acrobatic pair of lovebirds fail to arouse the boys and girls. However, they sit up and roar at the slightest Chic Sale crack; vide success of “The Cock-Eyed World” and the various newspaper They want hardly blame them. and you ody in the movie industry really wants to do away with censor- ship. ‘The customer, when he hears about it, feels that he is getting three star stuff. The producer believes his works really need censoring. Only the censor knows that he is fooling the public. If the producer really wanted to be sophisticated he could do what Cabell has done—talk over their heads. 8. The big musical productions in present 4 al arrangements. Imost perfect in The sa row of no feel- s shiny and neat However, there ing of life or color. The technicians are so in love with their machinery they forget about the customer in the excitement of handling their toys. dynamos, 9. A new machine soon will be on the market that includes a radio, a gramophone, a television set and talk ing equipment. patron lacks The only machine the now is a combination Recommended “AM Quiet on the Western Front”— A long, ometimes pow erful ad best-seller. “Anna Christie’ Greta ro walks and talks, if that is enough for you “Free and Eas: Buster | Keaton wasting his tim i and zctleht of Western Stars” ane Grey If you like he Man From Blank’ey’s" The best » Barrymore movie in years ‘oung Man of Manhattan"—An ex: on of the novel with a QO) \/ if hissing, gum-chewing and snoring de vice will give the home. theatre celing of reality. some 10. From the headlines and the shouting on the financial pages one could believe that the movie factories are working day and night. As a mat- ter of fact almost a thousand the: have closed this ye: everal chains have been forced to re-install orches- tras in the pit. Vaudeville is more and more needed to help the movie bring in the nickels. The independent exhibi The only making is in they are playing stock, or is ina bad wv all Street, whe checkers with voti these fter th n expect novels, magazines, « rtics and two-pants suits. Fifteen thousand customers a day should be worth more than the price of admis- sion, as Ringling discovered years ago. Paramount — lobby ord will come next, and 12. The two-rcel animated cartoons are the most successful features of the theatres today. People actually ap plauded heartily at the conclusion of a performance of Tony Sarg’s mario nettes. yplause was well mer ited.) The f ral shows use hundreds of ¢ Is. These girls have to pass a screen test before they board the cattle-cars for the West. Yet in the talkie choruses you cannot see The camera r the orus to the size of marionettes and it would be much cheaper and more anusing to use puppets, ature mus one face. ¢ 13. The big productions of the future probably will be grand opera. The opera libretto is much sillier than the ordinary movie story and the Met- ropolitan tenors rank ‘with the most wretched actors in the worl The movie customer may be dumb bat he will prefer a Chaliapin and a Jeritaa to a Martinelli or a Galli-Curci. The grand opera talkie will be hard on the customer, but it will destroy forever the romantic sanctity that has fright- ened the public away from opera,