Indianapolis Times, Volume 42, Number 204, Indianapolis, Marion County, 3 January 1931 — Page 6

PAGE 6

OLSEN AND JOHNSON, COMEDIANS, OPEN TODAY AT LYRIC

‘Paid/ With Joan Crawford as the Star, Opens Today at the Palace—Richard Barthelmess’ New Picture, ‘The Lash/ Is Now at the Circle. / * ar cry from the crimlnal 1912 to the gangster of 1930. For m* in cr inie change along with the length of milady's skirts, i M etro-Goldwyn-Mayer had to take this into consideration in filming 't raw ' f °rd' new picture, "Paid,’’ which will be the attraction starting today at the Palace. p,cture was adapted from Bayard VeiUcr's sensational und drama ' “Within the Law,” which was a tremendous stage hit Craw ford yCars 460 with Jane Cowi in the role now Played by Miss f years that have elapsed since Veillcr penned his crook drama,

footpads and burglars have become bandits and racketeers. The sandoag has given way to the sanstick, the revolver to the automatic, the sawed-off shotgun and machine rifle. No longer coes the crook wear a rakish cap, a ferocious and unshaven appearance, snub and swagger clothes. Nor does he lurk in dark alleys to pounce upon chance victims, break into second story windows or smash jewelry shop port? Is. Today he dresses and looks the part of a dapper business man. He labors only on expert jobs, carefully planned and “fool proof,” avoiding violent means of gaining access to forbidden premises. The robbery which takes place at the climax of the picture is an example of the changes made In order to give the crook drama a modem realistic feeling. In the original play, the burglars broke into the house marked for robbery in the conventional manner, gaining their access by means of a window. Today's burglars are far too smart for that sort of trick, knowing that they would easily be detected by modem burglar alarms. In trying to devise a logical substitute for the antiquated method, Director Wood conceived an idea from watching the night work of telephone company linesmen who were repairing conduits under tha street paving in front of his home. Observing the operations of thp linesmen, it struck the director that such a disguise might be employed by crooks in “Paid.” The idea was put into action, and that is why in the new Crawford film the racketeers seize a telephone truck, drive it to the scene of the planned robbery and use it as a mask for their nefarious activities. An important cast supports Miss Crawford in her first straight dramatic role. Robert Armstrong and Marie Prevost have featured parts and important roles are filled by Kent Douglass, John Miljan, Purnell Pratt, Hale Hamilton and Robert Emmet O’Connor. Short films comprising the balance of the program will include Hal Roach’s "Boy Friends” in their newest all-talking comedy, “Blood and Thunder,” anew issue of the Hearst Metrotone News and a Burton Holmes Traveltalk novelty. tx tt a “THE LASH” IS NOW AT THE CIRCLE “The Lash,” an all-talking First National Vitaphone picture which opened an engagement of eight days at the Circle theater Thursday, presents Richard Barthelmess in the starring role as a young and romantic Spaniard of early California who turns bandit the better to defend his people. “The Lash” is the first screen vehicle of its type for Barthelmess since he made ‘The Fighting Blade” and “The Bright Shawl.” The new film’s chief role is patterned after the life of Joaquin Murietta, notorious Spanish bandit who lived in the middle of the nineteenth century. The tory itself is adapted from the novel, “Adois,” which was written by Lanier and Virginia Stivers Bartlett. Los Angeles and its environs in about 1850, just two years after California had been ceded by Mexico to the United States, serve as the background for the picture. Indignant over the wrongs suffered by his people at the hands of the influx of unscrupulous settlers, the highborn Spanish youth bands together a group of his countrymen vo rob the oppressors and aic' the oppressed. He comes to be known in his new guise as El Puma. Interwoven in the plot is a romance between the Spaniard and Rosita Garcia, who is impersonated by Mary Astor. Marian Nixon appears as the hero’s sister, Barbara Bedford portrays a Mexican girl who momentarily attracts the bandit Robin Hood, and James Rennie enacts the part of an American official. Fred Kohler has the “heavy" role. He is seconded by Erville Anderson as the conniving judge. Robert Edeson, Arthur Stone and Mathilde Comont are among the other players in supporting roles. The direction was handled by Frank Lloyd, who has directed Barthelmess in many of his past screen productions. One of the highlights of “The Ijash” is said to be a stampede of 1.500 cattle through a small village. The rampaging cattle destroy the town. The Circle also offers Dale Young at the organ with a solo called “An Endurance Contest.” Slim Summerville is the star of a talking comedy entitled “Hello Russia." An animated cartoon named “Mysterious Mose” and a Paramount sound news reel are also shown. tt tt tt RUTH CHATTERTON TOPS INDIANA MOVIE Ruth Chatterton is the star of “The Right to Love,” the Paramount all-talking picture which opened a

ALL-STAR BURLESQUE^ “GEORGIA SOTHERN SK JAZZ BABIES With BEAUTIFUL GEORGIE SOTHERN (In Person)—EVELYN WILLIS and PEARL WILSON (First Appearance) LES SPONSLER —HARRY ERNIE AND OTHERS IT’S NEW—IT’S SNAPPY—IT’S GOOD ecialMDN|]E show sa k ay jbl

week's engagement at the Indiana theater Friday. The star plays the roles of a young girl in 1890, the same character In 1907 as a mother, and the part of a modem daughter in the present day. The film is based on Sus?n Glaspell’s novel, “Brr-ok Evans.” The stage program Includes Charlie Davis and his band in "Birds of a Feather,” the Anal Publix unit which is to visit the Indi?.na. Charlie and the band play a medley of the past year’s outstanding popular songs. Visiting Publix performers include the Amaut brothers, clown whistlers and originators of the comic bird flirtation; Stella Power and Miriam Lax, soprano operatic duo; the four Carlton brothers, semi-comedy dancers, and the Fred Evans ensemble. With the farm lands of the middle west in the late eighties as the setting, “The Right to Love” Is concerned with the romance between Naomi Kellogg (Ruth Chatterton) and a neighboring farm youth, Joe Copeland, played by David Manners. Parental opposition to the match leads the lovers to meet secretly at the brook between the two farms. Their plans to marry are blasted by the tragic accidental death of Copeland. The girl’s parents discover the secret love affair and insist on her marriage to a stem, mideyeaged suitor, who is willing to have her as his wife in spite of her disgrace. Tire couple moves to the husband’s barren ranch in Colorado, where a daughter is born. The young girl (Ruth Chatterton) grows up without learning the true facts about the identity of her father. The desperate struggle between the mother and her strait-laced husband for control of the young girl’s life brings about the climax of the picture. Richard Wallace, maker of “The Shopworn Angel,” “Seven Days Leave,” and other films, is responsible for the direction of “The Right to Love.” Besides the star and David Manners, the cast includes Paul Lukas, George Baxter, Oscar Apfel and Irving Pichel. Pichel, who is one of the pioneers of the Little theater movement in America, has his first screen role as the puritanical Caleb Evans. Incidentally, “The Right to Love” is the first picture to be made with the aid of the new process Western Electric Noiseless Recording. The Indiana's program for the week also includes a Paramount sound news reel. Dessa Byrd is at the organ. b a tt BIG PICTURE OPENS AT APOLLO The indefinable charm and joyousness of Vienna, the ancient and glamorous capital, is caught and preserved in “Viennese Nights,” the screen romance which opened today at the Apollo theater, for one week’s engagement. For some reason gaiety seems to have been a little more natural there than elsewhere, youth a little more carefree, music a bit more tender. Songs sing themselves more easily in such an atmosphere and young love dares more in its kindly environs, it has been asserted. All of these intangible things Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II have written into the haunting romance. Romberg spent his own youth In Vienna, and his love for it is sincere, it is thought. “Viennese Nights” is famous alike for its glorious musical settings, the color photography that adds so greatly to the beauty of the production, and the featured cast includes Vivienne Segal, Alexander Gray, Jean Hersholt, Bert Roach, June Pursell, Alice Day, Lotti Loder, Louise Fazenda and numerous others. Alan Crosland directed. Vitaphone Varieties, “I’ll Fix It"; Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” series, and Movietone News are included in the program. it tt it “SILVER HORDE" NOW AT THE OHIO “The Silver Horde,” the all-talk-picturization of Rex Beach’s novel of the rivalry between Alaskan salmon fishermen, is having its first Indianapolis showings at the Ohio theater where It opened a week’s engagement Thursday. Evelyn Brent has the featured role as Cherry Malotte. the proprietress of a group of cabarets in the north country. Opposed to the unfair tactics of the fishing interests in power, she assists a young stranger in his struggle to compete with those in control. Asa result, the youth falls in love with her. Unwilling to have her reputation act as a hindrance to his career, she turns her efforts to thwarting his romantic opinion of her.

AMUSEMENTS

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1— Joan Crawford ha~, a dramafe role in “Paid,” which had a lot of success cn the stage. New as a talker at the Palace. 2 A scene from “Viennese Night,” on view at the Apollo, starting today. 3 Ruth Chatterton in a scene from “Right to Love,” now at the Indiana.

I—Jessie Royce Landis has the chief feminine role in “Colonel Satan,” which opens Monday night at English’s.

Mushrush Plans Big Contests Loving Cups to Be Given to Winners in the Events. E. W. MUSHRUSH, manager of the Lyric ballroom, announces a unique dance contest scheduled to run throughout the entire month of January. The event begins next Monday evening. Mushrush is offering several silver loving cups for those who can outdance the 1930 champions of the free style waltz, f amel glide and Merry Widow waltz. During the year just ended the Lyric ballroom has named many city champions in these various styles of dances. On Monday evening the first of a series of eliminations will be held for the free style waltz, which is open to couples between the ages of 18 and 35. On Tuesday evening eliminations for the camel glide will begin. Every one is eligible to compete in this. Free style waltzers between 35 and 50 years of age will be seen in elimination cpntests Wednesday night. Thursday nights the first eliminations for the Merry Widow waltz are to be held. Couples over 50 years of age will compete in the initial eliminations for the free style waltz on Friday night. The finals are to be held during the last week in January, when last year’s champions will compete against the winners of this series of eliminations. These events will be held in addition to the regular dancing ‘ each evening which starts at 8:30 and continues to 11:30. Dancing is free to patrons of the Lyric theater. Those who wish only to visit the ballroom are given the benefit of special reduced “ballroom only” tickets, which are on sale at the theater box office. Many new steps are being taught by Mushrush and his instructors during the free dance classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 8:30. New classes for 1931 are forming this week. Curtis Thompson and his Lyric ballroom orchestra have been reengaged for the ballroom fcr 1931.

At Colonial

A popular burlesque comedian, Billy Baud, will make his initial bow to the Colonial audiences today when he opens f.or an indefinite engagement. Baud recently was featured with “Nite Life in Paris,” a wheel attraction which was burned in the American theater (New York) fire last week. Upon learning of the fire, the management of the Colonial wired Baud an offer which was accepted. He is assisted by Joe De Rita. Today also sees the return of a former popular soubrette “Irish” who opens after a long absence. In addition. Loretta Martin, Be 4 ty McCoy and Dicksey McKowan will be seen in the latest song numbers. Cast Is Nearly Completed Liberty Productions, headed by M. H. Hoffman, is casting its all-woman picture, "Women Like Men.” The girls set so far are Lilyan Tashman, Louise Fazenda and Marceline Day, ;

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

3—Olsen and Johnson, two highly paid “nut comedians,” open today at the Lyric.

ROUNDING ROUND THEATERS D. Ith mCOIAN

I HAVE before me a copy of the twenty-fifth anniversary number of Variety. Have often stated in this department that Variety is the leading theatrical publication in this country. Because it touches all phases of the show business and because it publishes more theatrical news than any other publication that I know of.

This edition reminds one of a dictionary or an atlas because it is so large. As usual more than a hundred and fifty pages is devoted to greetings from men and women on the stage and screen, producers and the like. One of the features is a reproduction of the first edition of Variety, Dec. 16, 1905. Since that time variety has grown into commanding importance and influence. a a t* I went back stage and met Cesar Romero who plays the role of Count Di Ruvo, the romantic opera singer who has “strictly dishonorable intentions” toward Isabelle Parry,the southern girl, who nearly goes on a fling of a rather wild nature, but doesn’t. She is content to go to bed with a Teddy bear, meaning the toy that children play with. Romero had to raise a mustache for the role. It looks mighty young and tender, but it is getting the best of attention. I doubt if it ever grows up, but Romero must have a young mustache while playing this role. “Strictly Dishonorable” closes its second visit to English's tonight. an a Manager Flee of the Palace has his ten best movies of 1930. His selection is based upon the box office standpoint and he knows what his box office says. His list of the ten best from the box office standpoint is: “The Divorcee,” with Norma Shearer; “Min and Bill,” with Marie Dressier; “Hell’s Angels,” with Ben Lyon, James Hall and Jean Har-

DANCE TONIGHT E Before 8:30 ill N’T MISS THE FCN }|| Battle of Music! ill PEED” WEBB Ij And HU jreolians lit HE ORCHESTRA II THOUT A HAME” IB iance till one JIB izrnrmm

DANCE Saturday and Sunday with HAROLD CORK’S CORKERS at the DANCE CASINO SOUTHEASTERN and EMERSON AVENUES Park Plan Dancing Admission to Hall, IQ<*

4 Richard Barthelmess in a comfortable scene from “The Lash,” now at the Circle. 5 Jean Arthur and Evelyn Brent as they appear in “The Silver Horde,” now at the Ohio. 6 Lois Moran has the lead in “Under Suspicion,” now at the Lyric.

3—McKay Morris has the lead in “Colonel Satan,” which opens Monday night at English’s for three days.

Has Own Pool Wallace Beery, hero of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s “The Secret Six,” has an elaborate swimming pool in his Beverly Hills home. He uses it principally to keep his two bird dogs in training for duckhunting by letting them swim in it daily. He also has a pet canary that will sit on his finger.

low; “Caught Short,” with Marie Dressier and Polly Moran; “Let Us Be Gay,” "with Norma Shearer; “Anna Christie,” with Greta Garbo and Marie Dressier; “The Rogue Song,” with Lawrence Tibbett; “Our Blushing Brides,” with Joan Crawford; “Whoopee,” with Eddie Cantor, and “Romance,” with Greta Garbo, By that list, Norma Shearer and Marie Dressier and Greta Garbo have the biggest box office pull at the Palace. And this is interesting. It was to be expected that Marie Dressier would be in the list.

MARTEN’S CONCERTS, INC.. PRESENTS | PADEREWSKI ENGLISH—THURSDAY EVE., JAN. 15 § I Seats on Sale Baldwin Plano Cos., El. 8921. Prices ?2.00, $3.00, $4.40 I

CONCERT Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Ferdinand Schaefer, Conducting CALEB MILLS HALL SUNDAY, JAN. 4, 3:00 P. M. Admission 50<*—75C—f 1.00 Bos Office Open at 10 A. M.

oc, COLONIAL ic, / ILLINOIS and NEW YORK ■ ant seat BARGAIN PRICES " ixn “ BIGGEST SHOW FOR THE LEAST MONEY 25-PEOPLE STAGE SNOW-25 BURLESQUE—VAUDEVILLE TALKING FEATURES A CAST OF FAVORITES baecom BILLY BUHD and DERITA JOE eowek floor JB 888 Loretta Marttn —Betty McCoy—“lrish’’ L, n —Dicksey McKowan —Carl Stahl ■ I JC CHORUS ON RUNWAY ANT TIME I MIDNITE FROLIC SAT. a*t seat

Favorites to Return to Roof Devine Brings Back Don Redmond and His Cotton Pickers. THE booking of McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, Victor recording and radio artists, under the direction of Don Redmond, composer and arranger, comes as the result of the Indiana Roof Ballroom management’s New Year’s resolution to offer its patrons dance music played by several nationally known dance organizations. McKinney's engagement, which will be a limited one, will open Tuesday night, Jan. 27, and will close on Sunday, Feb. 1. The names of other nationally known organizations to be engaged will be announced at a later date. Loren Griffith, a former featured player with Charlie Davis’ orchestra at the Indiana, has been added to the personnel of the Roof’* “Orchestra Without a Name.” Griffith is a banjoist, who doubles on guitar and his singing has earned for him the title “silvertoned tenor.” He is filling nightly requests for the Indiana Roof’s dance patrons and radio listeners.

AMUSEMENTS

‘Colonel Satan/ a New Play by Booth Tarkington, to Start Three-Day Engagement at English’s Monday Night With McKay Morris in Cast. KING comedy reigns supreme at the Lyric for one week beginning today. The reason is that Olsen and Johnson, world famous “nut” comedians and?*their entourage of fifteen singers, dancers and comedians begin their foolery as the featured attraction on the RKO vaudeville bill today. Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson arc recognized as the highest salaried funmakers in vaudeville today. ' They have been booked solid ever since leaving the Hollywood studios where they made two talking pictures and arc to return again in three weeks to *tart production of another.

They have taken every conceivable style of fun; poured it into their own individual mould and created a style of comedy peculiar even to themselves. They go out to bag big laughs. The weapon used in the hunt is material. Among their company are such well-known vaudevillians as Hap Moore, formerly of Moore and Shy; “Lighthorse” Sidney Gibson, the Kappelle Sisters, two colored hoofers and others. A small menagerie of trained animals and birds are also utilized in the act which is scheduled for forty-five to sixty minutes at each performance In addition to Olsen and Johnson, the Lyric stage show includes other R-K-O vaudeville acts. Marjorie Sweet and Warren Proctor, former singing features of "Blossom Time” and other musical productions, are to entertain with their vaudeville specialty called "Talkie Tat.les.” Hariman, Swan and Lucille present a dancing revue said to be quite out of the ordinary. Rodney and Gould are comedians and Belmont Brothers with their sister Jerry, offer juggling. “Under Suspicion,” an all talking Fox Movietone picture, is the main screen event. Tom Barry, whose “In Old Arizona” is still rated as the best outdoor picture ever made, wrote the story and dialogue for “Under Suspicion.” It depicts the adventures of a famous British war ace who, to save the honor of his family, loses his identity, renounces ills title and after the armistice finds himself a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Lois Moran, J. Harold Murray, Lumsden Hare, J. M. Kerrigan, Marie Saxon and Erwin Connelly are prominently featured in the cast, a tt NEW TARKINGTON PLAY TO OPEN MONDAY Booth Tarkington, author of “Colonel Satan,” which will be presented by George C. Tyler at the English Opera house on Monday, Jan. 5, believed more firmly in his pencil than in his pen, at the beginning of his career. That most delightful romance of eighteenth century Bath, “Monsieur Beaucaire,” grew from a picture which Booth Tarkington started in his undergraduate days at Princeton. One day he started work on a picture which showed ladies in powder and brocaded petticoats with their attendant beaux in knee breeches —the dress of eighteenth century England. The picture became a part of him. He studied it by day and dreamed of it by night. From these dreams and hauntings there gradually came the story of "Monsieur Beaucaire.” But when the little novel was finally written, it traveled a long and heartbreaking time—being returned time after time to its author. So long was this period of seeming failure that Mr. Tarkington was tempted to draw another picture—a pencil sketch of the final scene of the story, where Beaucaire steps from his false position and appears as a prince of the blood and cousin to “his most Christian majesty," Louis XV of France.” “I thought,” Mr. Tarkington re-

ENGLISH— GOODBYE DAY TONIGHT 8:20 BROCK PEMBERTON PRESENTS THE BEST OF THEM ALE STRICTLY DISHONORABLE

E!|Bf&| BQU MONDAY NIGHT tiiuLlan JAN. 5-6-7 POPULAR PRICE MATINEE WEDNESDAY “Colonel Satin” (A Night in the Life of Aaron Burr) A New Play by Booth Tarkington With a superb cast, including McKay Morris, Jessie Royce Landis, Madame Burani, Fen Smith, Montague Shaw, Arthur Treacher, Louis Casavant, Aristides de Leoni. Direction George C. Tyler In Association with Erlanger Productions, Inc. NIGHTS.. .Orch.’, $2.50; Balcony, sl, $1.50, $2; 2nd BaL, 50£ WEDNESDAY MAT... .Orch., $1.50; Balcony, $1; 2nd BaL, 50<

\ The Fun Starts TODAY ["E * J ,1 F II \ The Craziest, Funniest Comedians J • I \ on earth .. . are here k W " v 1 I \ OLSEN PERSON \.* JOHNSON r v \ With their 15 Merry-Mad Hooligans of Hilarity. I \ One solid hour of the wildest, wooliest Fnn and i \ Frolic ever known. \ -■ ' " ' Ali \ What TBDRILLS in this daring drama Other Acta rko A red - blooded B& tayTT VAUDEVILLE \ romance of the 5 * ir nu M -„ a red - KOHN and \ Northwest D EP INTO \ Mounted, filled Us MW , B Muste and Faa 1 with s cen Ic f harriman, \ I SWAN & LUCILLE \ tacnlar tenta w, Dane* Norelty 1 (iHiini'n ■ & At* A SWEET and 1 UIDI RlWmifl PROCTOR 1 VII ■# I* l* -Talkie TettteV 1 blldPlGlOrl HARRV and GURLY \ With LOIS MORAN aad bl K caet \ Sr” RUTH ROLAND IN PERSON 1

.JAN. 3, 195

lates, “that someone might be induced to print it, if I threw in two illustrations. Luckily, I didn’t send them with the manuscript, however, as Mr. McClure had considerable taste, and I can’t Imagine reading anything the writer of which had done anything like them.” The final goal of publication for this one romance converted practically overnight a young man out in Indianapolis, wasting his time in seeming useless literary efforts into anew force in American romantic writing. While Mr. Tarkington no longer resorts to the doubtful aid of pictures to caphne a publisher, his artistic instinct is by no means dead, as the piquant little sketches in his personal correspondence will testify. And planning some of his later work, he has been known to resort to pictures to visualize scenes and characters. “The Two Van Revels” was worked out in this way. This particular work was published after Booth Tarkington had won his audience through the successes of “The Gentleman from Indiana” and “Monsieur Beaucaire.” But the germ of “The Two Van Revels” was a short story of two thousand words written many years before. In anything like the form in which it finally appeared, “The Gentleman From Indiana” was not begun until 1898. Yet as early as 1893 the author had written 40,000 words of a tale about a young college graduate who became an editor of a country newspaper In a town very like Plattsville. But the early narrative had ended abruptly one day when the author had his hero in the middle of a walk, and suddenly found himself unable to carry him even one step further. Asa matter of fact, one part of the story had an even earlier origin. The circus scene, one of the best descriptive chapters in the book, appeared in a Princeton college publication when Tarkington was still an undergraduate. And so with Colonel Satan. Mr. Tarkington never rushes his friends —and his characters in books, plays and stories are his friends—more — integral parts of his own innermost being. He lives with them, plays ■with them, loves them, and then some fine day, like a parent who has given all he can to a child, sends them forth in the world to stand or fall on their own merits. Aaron Burr, the man, has always fascinated* Mr. Tarkington. He is probably THE authority on this troublesome, alluring spirit of American history. Always walking and talking with Burr, and having lived much in Paris, it was the natural thing for Booth Tarkington to seek- out Burr’s haunts in the French city; to find out to the last detail how the man spent those bitter months of 1811. From this great knowledge, certain facts forced themselves to the front; certain events refused to be longer ignored; they had become real substance—no longer dreams. And “Colonel Satan” was born, years ago. And when he had reached his full stature, the author of his being sent him forth.

AMUSEMENTS