Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 29 June 1939 — Page 22
PAGE 22
HOLLYWOOD
By PAUL HARRISON
OLLYWOOD, June 29 (NEA).—This is the outline of a story that I never can write. It would have been about Sam Pokrass, and
Pokrass is dead.
A sheaf of scrambled notes, chronological blanks, reproves me. viewing; you couldn't stop him, guide him, or even understand him
more than half the time. Besides, he would get all tangled up in his memories and his enthusiasms, and after some tantalizing mention of having been a piano player in the harem of a sultan in French Morocco he might leap back to the time when, a prodigy of 7, he fiddled for the Tsar. A snickering jinx fastened itself to Pokrass from the day that his father, a slaughterhouse manager in Kiev, smashed the boy’s cherished violin over his head. Sam thereupon announced that he would study piano—an instrument too heavy for such impulsive destruction. = = = IS later struggles and woes seemed harshly comic, somehow. In the Orient, a fugitive from the Kerensky revolution, he was sentenced to be shot as a spy and got out of it only because there happened to be a piano handy with which he could prove his identity. (One of the advocates happened to be a musician.) Allowed to escape from harem after a eunuch had nearly killed him, Pokrass made a beggar’s living in Casablanca with a fiddle and a monkey. In Paris, where he was jailed for whistling the Marseillaise in public, he was suspected of lunacy for claiming to be the Samuel Pokrass whose classical compositions had been published in France. Denied a job in the orchestra of the Winter Circus for lack of a card in the musicians’ union, Sam became a performer and played his violin while hanging by his knees from a trapeze. Among such humiliations went a few triumphs. His first composition, written when he was 10, swept all the Slavic countries. He wrote dozens of gypsy songs, most of them introduced by Natalia Tamara. He composed for light opera and authored two revues which wore produced in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
the |
| genius to the symphonic scoring
LNT [es
Barbara Stanwyck—Joel JlcCrea
“UNION PACIFIC”
At 10:05-12:44-3:38-6:22-9:11 Also Popeye Cartoon, ‘Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp”
Cool EX 554
FIRST RUN! Fred Scott “IN OLD MONTANA Robert Montgomery, ‘Fast and Loose’ Warren Hull, “MANDRAKE, THE MAGICIAN”
Cal TERE, |
party unintelligible and full of Sam was a tough one for inter-
E wrote songs for Michael Vawditch and the Dolly Sisters and Maurice Chevalier, along with two more revues in Paris and some orchestrations for Mau- | rice Ravel. One night in a club | he was asked to play for a visiting American theatrical producer, Jake Shubert.
A PLANE AND FANCY BATTLE
The latter seemed unimpressed | §
with an hour’s recital of Pokrass originals, but pricked up his ears | when the discouraged musician | trailed off into Irving Berlin's “All Alone.” “Hey!” exclaimed Shubert, “that tune ought to be a hit!” And he gave Pokrass a contract. Out of that engagement came a fine score for “Cyrano de Bergerac.” But with no more assignments, Sam drifted into odd jobs, wrote some tunes for the Florida invasicn of a Minsky burlesque company, and became a vaudeville
| stooge for Jack Pepper.
u u ”
INALLY he was brought to Hollywood. Pokrass came
with hopss high for giving his
of fine pictures. Taken for an interview with an executive who never had heard of him, the emo-
tional composer played part of his “Cyrano” music with interpolations of gestures and tears. “Looks like a good screwball comedian,” said the moviemaker. “Bring him back for a screen test.” Sam went out and got drunk. Then he went back and waited for an assignment. After several months, it came. He was to write tunes for the Ritz Brothers. He went out and got good and drunk. But he did a good job for them, and he tried hard to live down to the rude jokes and crazy horseplay that went on in that bungalow. But when the rowdy Ritzes had left for the set, you could say, “Play something good, Sam,” and the short, swart, ugly little man would thank you with his big, lugubrious eves. Then he would scuttle over to the scarred piano and play. There would be grandeur in it, sometimes hysteria, always melodic sadness. Half the stuff he played was never written. It never will | be heard again. When Pokrass died the other day, local papers had only a paragraph about him. They said there had been something the matter with his heart.
Judgment of te Jungle e! Y live | \Whic 08 ) ed ° Go Md a oe ve ens five! hip <2 oy Ss fa © other's
hurt ess—3! Life?
craven:
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25¢ UNTIL 6 30¢-40¢c AFTER 6
| Adrienne Ames. | Salkow.
| Barrie, Ailen Jenkins and C. Aubrey Smith. |Dalton Trumbo and Nathanael West.
engagements. {The advertising man finally marries her to keep her under control.
Lamour, Edward Arnold, Betty Grable and Binnie Barnes.
|Carrol Naish and Heather Angel. | William R. Lipman.
Chester Morris, left, and Kent Taylor, center, battle to keep their airplane in control as John Carradine, right, battles to take over the controls. The action is in “Five Came Back,” starting tomorrow at the Apollo.
Opening Tomorrow—
Alamo
with Frieda Inescort, Garrett Fort.
Otto Kruger and
“THE ZERO HOUR,” Directed by Sidney
Screen play by
A star and the producer who trained her are to be married. The producer is invalided before the marriage but the star remains true to him. She loves another and realizing it, the producer kills himself. “RENEGADE TRAIL,” with William Boyd, George Hayes and Russell Hayden. Screen play by John Rathmell. Directed by Lesley Selander. Renegade husband of a beautiful ranch owner plans to rustle her cattle. Hopalong and Lucky checkmate the rustlers.
Apollo
“FIVE CAME BACK,” with Chester Morris, Lucille Ball, Wendy Screen play by Jerry Cady, Directed by John Farrow. A transport plane is grounded near the headwaters of the Amazon River in South America. After repairs are made only five of the ten passengers can come back. A confessed murderer makes the decision. “THE GIRL FROM MEXICO,” with Lupe Velez, Donald Woods and Leon Errol. Screen play by Lionel Houser and Joseph A. Fields. Directed by Leslie Goodwins.
A young advertising man imports a Mexican singer for New York She is a wildcat and completely disorganizes everyone.
Circle
“MAN ABOUT TOWN.” with Jack Benny, Eddie Anderson, Dorothy Screen play by Morrie Ryskind. Directed by Mark Sandrich. Jack Benny is 2 Supreme Sultan as he becomes embroiled in a harem
of beauties. Rochester (Eddie Andersen) continues to play faithful
| stooge.
“UNDERCOVER DOCTOR.” with Lloyd Nolan, Janice Logan, J. Screen play by Horace McCoy and
Directed by Louis King.
A promising surgeon goes wrong and hecomes doctor to a gang |of crooks. He can't get out of the racket and deceives both his fiancee and the girl who loves him. Tie G-Men finaily get him.
Loew's
(Holdover)
“GOODBYE MR. CHIPS,” with Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry
Kilburn and Paul von Hernried. Screen play by R. C. sherriff from the novel by James Hilton. Directed by Sam Wood.
(cd
Young Mr. Chipping grow older in the service of his beloved Brookfield School, falls in love with Kathie and is saved from a crotchety old age by this, his one great love. He becomes headmaster and finally an institution at his school. “TELL NO TALES.” with Melvyn Douglas, Louise Platt, Gene Lockhart and Douglas Dumbrille. Mike Cassidy, managing editor of the Guardian, is out of a job when his paper is purchased by a rival sheet. Cashing his last check, he gets a marked hundred dollar kidnap bill. He traces the bill and exposes the kidnapers, There's a girl in the show, too, and Mike marries her Lyrie “CRAZY SHOW” on stage with Bert Wheeler aided by Hank Ladd and Francette; George and Jack Dormonde, comedy unicyclists; Ginger Manners, comedienne; Medley and Dupree, and the Twelve Glamour Girls. “THE KID FROM KOKOMO,” with Pat O'Brien, Wayne Morris, Joan Blondeil and May Robson. Screen play Jerry Wald and Richard
| Macaulay.
Fight promoter Pat O'Brien and his girl bring Wayne Morris, a farm lad who is a natural for the championship, to the big city. They claim they'll find his-mother and they turn up with shop-lifting May Robson. Wayne wins the championship.
EAST SIDE
gm Posh ra Humphrey Bogart—Gale ‘YOU CAN’ T GET AW AY WITH CRDER’ First City Showing Ray Milland—Isa Miranda “HOTEL IMPERIAL" EXTRA! Sensational Swing Band Artie Shaw & Orchestra Sarty Sun. “Alexander Graham Bell” OTO ON DANGER ISLAND”
1 853 5:48
“THE_LADY’S FROM KENTUCKY” “PRISON WITHOUT BARS
IRVING “550% E. Wash. St.
Bobby Breen Leo Carrillo MAN'S WHA
“FISHER LT MIWELVE "CROWDED HOURS”
2412 E. Wash. Dishes to the
TACOMA Ladies Tonight
“BROADWAY SEREN Scott Colton “EXTORTION”
STRAND WG
‘Hardys Ride High’
Mickey Rooney and Folks Alexander
Graham Bell”
Loretta Young, Don Ameche Henry Ponda
ERR KERR a Fan
Fred MacMurray
Pa ramount Shirley Ross
“CAFE SOCIETY __ “WANDERER OF THE WASTELAND”
4020 E. New York TUXEDO Ronald Reagan Ila Rhodes “SECRET SERVICE OF THE AIR” “BEAUTY FOR THE ASKING”
WEST SIDE
gr “MYSTERIOUS ISS xX
_ COOL—W estinghouse
CINEMA
E. Wash, & N. Jersey
“LIFE of A ALEXANDER pr TRADA I BELL”
Russell Gleason
BELMONT Shirley Deane
“UNDERCOVER AGENT” Bette Davis “THE SISTERS”
COOL—Westinghouse Air-Conditioned
W. Michigan St. Chas. Laughton
NEW DAISY Flsa Lanchester
“THE BEACH COMBER" John Litel—"ON TRIAL”
Speedway cha wasn SPR
4 lc Sa AR
Ruggles Ratbest
Belmont and Wash,
dway City
“THE BLACK BANDIT”
Humphrey Bogart—Gale Page “You Can't Get Away With furder™ “RACKLTEEFRS OF _THE RAN
Joe E. i Faille “FLIRTING WITH F “TROUBLE IN SUNDOWN”
NORTH SIDE Talbott at 22d
Errol Flynn TALBOTT Basil Rathbone DAWN PATROL OF THE GIANTS” Air-Conditioned
“THE “VALLEY
Lew Avres “1939 TCE FOLLIES” __“SERGT. MADDEN"—Wallace Beery
16th & Delaware Merle Oberon Laurence Olivier “WUTHERING HEIGHTS” “LITTLE ADVENTURESS”
Errol FI via Taran “CHASING DANGER” Y [= x [SAL
meche—Loretta Young
42ND AND COLLEGE
WOLF ON OUR STAGE
WORLD'S FAIR TALENT REVUE
Cs ST. CLAIR A Sev
“3 SMART GIRLS | GROW UP”
& JACK LONDON’S “ROMANCE OF REDWOOD”
Ta oN Cage il
BRODERICK CLASS TO END RECITALS
The second of two dance recitals presented by the students of Anna and Jac Broderick will be given at 8:30 o'clock tonight at the auditorium of the American United Life Insurance Building. The participants will be assisted by the Edith Jane Fish Singers. Students of the Muncie branch of the studio will also take part. Accompanists will be Mary Fry, James Brown and Lorene Slinger.
ie AST DAY! SYLVIA SIDNEY
‘ONE-THIRD OF A NATION
Plus “Adventures of Jane Arden”
WESTLAKE
Louie Lowe's Orch.
JOOCS Mr. CHIPS!
Enthusiastic crowds just won’t let Mr. Chips go! They’re coming back to see him again and again! He’s an overnight sensation! A new kind of movie star — breaking more hearts than Clark Gable, winning more friends than Dale Carnegie! He's the people’s choice . . 4 unanimously elected for
2ND SMASH WEEK!
YOU'RE SURE TO ENJOY THIS ADDED HIT
THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES °
MOVIES
By HARRY MORRISON
OVIEHOUSE ushers have always terrified us. they've made us a little bit angry.
Many times, too, But there are reasons for
all of it and the reasons are discipline and service. When you've looked into the darkened auditotium of a theater and seen at least 20 good seats right where you want to sit the usher
has often asked you (politely at Many times you've done as requested. Many other times you've slid into one of the seats you wanted and dared him or anybody else (under your breath) to move you. And they haven't moved you. The average good-sized theater will seat 2000 persons at once and serves 10.000 persons daily. With this crowd to handle it’s necessary to have about 25 well-trained ushers doing their job every minute. ” ” ” N a theater of this size the coveted seats are in the center from about the 12th to the 25th row. But they are not always the best because there is more in-and-out traffic there. Consequently you stand up and sit down more times than a nervous young man at a Ladies Aid meeting. Art Baker, manager of the Circle Theater, explained some of the tricks of ushering to me. “We must always know how many seats are vacant in the house,” he said. “There's an usher, known as a ‘seater’ on the aisle. He passes this information along to an usher at the entrance to the aisle and then to a ‘director’ who regulates the flow of patrons. The director tries to seat them with a minimum of bother to those already in the theater.” One trick is the method of pointing out seats. The usher will catch your eye and bring it down to his hand. Then he points his finger. “If he doesn’t get your eye on that finger, nine times out of ten you won't follow his direction,” Mr. Baker said.
8 2 »
SHERS wear uniforms so that they can be recognized. Because they wear uniforms they must look disciplined and say, “sir.” That's the main reason you don’t see one hoy slouched against a door jamb, another idly combing his hair and a third listlessly watching the picture. They never point when asked a question. They are trained to tell you, in words, the location of a lounge or a telephone from any point in the building. An usher almost literally has no mind of his own while on duty. The management knows just what kind of question will be asked and has prepared answers. The next time I go to a show I'm going to ask the director what the Dow-Jones industrial average was for the day before. Most theaters get their ushers from the local high schools, starting them at the ages of from 16 to 18. The Circle gets a lot of ushers from Manual Training High School. They work part time while they're still going to school and full time during the summer months. Tt used to be that ushers worked their way up to be assistant managers and managers. That was in the days of rapidly expanding theater systems when Paramount-Publix was trying to circle the globe with theater fronts. Back in the Twenties they had a peak of more than 1600 theaters. Now their chain has decreased in number and the opportunities aren't open to the boys so much.
” n x
LIL these routines are listed in the “Manual of Proced-
ure,” written by Jack Knight, West Point graduate, and Harry Marx, first manager of the Chicago Theater, one of the largest theaters in the Middle West. The book was used by Macy's,
New York department store. It is the basis of contact between patrons and emplovees of the store. Different methods of approach were tested to determine the best relation and the manual lists those found to be most satisfactory. As an example of the degree of specialization found in this work, Carl Strodel! of Chicago. who had been personnel manager of Mandel Bros. large Chicago department store, went from there to be manager of the Oriental Theater in that city. The next time I go to a show I'm going to go where the usher asks me to go and I'm going to sit there like a meek little lamb. If T don’t get a good seat then I guess I'll just have to give up.
WHEN DOES IT START?
APOLLO
er of Midnight,” with Yillam .Powe Ginger Rogers and Gen Lockhart at 12:34, 3:36, 6:48 and or “The 1 ast Patrol.” with Victor MeLaglen, Boris Karloff and Wallace Ford at 11:21, 2:23, 5:35 and 8:47.
CIRCLE
“Susannah of the Mounties,” with Shirley Tempe, Randolph Scott ane Margaret Lockwood at 12:52, 3:58, 7:08 and 10:10. “The Gracie Allen Murder Case”. with Gracie Allen, Warren William and Ellen Drew at 11:37, 2:48, 5:49 rhe M hy f Time” at 11:20, WY arc b+ 1 me” a 2:26, 5:32 and 8
LOEW'S
LYRIC
Johnnie “Scat” Davis and a stage at 1:08, 3:52,
a 9 ancy Drew, Trouble Shooter,” Vite Bonita Era nY I at 11:45, 2:25, 5:23, 8:07 and 10:31.
is Or6:48
MELVIN in “TELL NO TALES”
LAST DAY— CIRC : 3
tf ait tl
least) to take the next aisle over.
Betty Ruth Wins Test
Goes to 'Miss Indianapolis’ Semifinals Aug. 9.
Miss Betty Jeanne Ruth, 4418 Winthrop Ave. won first place in the first elimination trials of the “Miss Indianapolis” contest at the Fountain Square Theater last night. Miss Eugenia Spencer and Miss Florence McNeely were selected by the judges along with Miss Ruth to compete in the semifinals on Aug. 7. The elimination trials are to he held at the theater every Wednesday night. The final contest will be held Aug. 9. “Miss Indianapolis” will go to Michigan City on Aug. 11 to compete for the title of “Miss Indiana” against girls representing 25 other cities. The prizes for the local winner include an all-expense trip to New York if unsuccessful in the state competition. The state winner will be presented with a Dodge automobile and an all-expense trip to Hollywood, where she will compete in the Hollywood international beauty pageant. Earl Cunningham, manager of the Fountain Square Theater, is in charge of the local contest. He announced today that girls, unmarried and between the ages of 16 and 25, still may enter the contest.
CLUB TO GIVE PLAY
The Hillside Christian Church Dramatic Club will present “The Deacon’s Daughter,” a three-act play, tonight at the church.
THURSDAY, JU NE 29, 109)
—sommnY SCAT DAVIS a Bane
Nuttie? !
Sal
COOL WASHED AIR
dale
HOME
OWNED" NOME OPERATED
4. ON THE SCREEN .
A Noosier “Joe Palooka’” Makes a Chump Out of the Champ!
wilh
PAT O'BRIEN. WAYNE MORRIS
LL « may rosson . sane wyman STANLEY FIELDS + MAXIE ROSENBLOOM * SIDNEY TOLER
25¢ UNTIL 5 o 30c-40c AFTER §
STARTS TOMORROW!
+. the big show's ready to start!”
Wake up, Americal were's the show td Sullivan and all the critics and columnists say is the best of all Paramount musicals . . . and that's saying something... A terrific laugh-a-minute plot. A terrific bunch of song hits, topped by America’s Neo. | smeosh, "Strange Enchantment.” A great all-star line-up plus those Petty girls . . . the prettiest in pictures . . .
\ “HELLO, JACK...
you're throwing a very exe
.+«« my feets sure is ready to go to town”
CIRCLE
HIRI
“HELLO, JACK...
me sing ‘Strange Enchantment’ ?”
“HELLO, JACK... hear about your making love to my girl friend?"
ll” 7s - “HELLO, JACK. . .what'ya doing this evening. How about an expensive dinner for two?"
want to heat
0
what's this |
i Ti
| understand
pensive party just for me..."