Critical Moments

The first of the summer’s alleged light entertainment arrived in town the other night at the Forrest Theatre in the shape of a musical romance called “Caviar.” Patrick A. Leonard was the producer. Harden Church wrote the music. The lyric were supplied by Edward Heyman and the book conceived by Leo Randole. Nanette Guilford, who was connected once with the Metropolitan Opera Company, and George Huston, familiar to Gilbert and Sullivan fan, sang the principal roles, and sang them well.

“Caviar” is satisfactory. It is neither terribly brilliant nor deeply moving. It has charm and lightness, with lively tuneful airs and some rather good dancing, especially that of Jack Cole and Alice Dudley. Being a musical romance, “Caviar” has a plot, one that creaks, but nevertheless a plot. It concerns the desire of Elena Nanette Guilford), an actress, to marry a title. A troubadour Huston), who conveniently turns out to be a Russian prince, is the victim, and when he finds out he was picked for his title rather than for his manly beauty, he is sore, but everything turn out for the best.

Venice and Constantinople are the cities in which “Caviar” is set and although the scenery require one to stretch one’s imagination, it does give an air to the proceedings.

HOLLYWOOD TO THE RESCUE

The 1933-34 theatrical season was better than its predecessor. Out of 120 shows fourteen were out-and-out hit, and sixteen made at least some money for the producers. The big contribution of the season, however, was Hollywood. From the capitol of the moving picture world $800,000 was given to New York producers for picture rights to plays, and not all of thee plays were successes. Without this movie money they would have cost their sponsors a sizable bankroll.

Top money, according to Variety, went to “Ah Wilderness’ and “Sailors Beware,” both of which were sold of $75,000 each. Among the shows which were sold for $40,000 or more I found “Roberta” ($65,000), “She Loves Me Not” ($60,000), “Double Door” ($55,000), “No More Ladies” ($50,000), “Men in White” ($45,000), “The Shining Hout” ($45,000) and “The Milky Way” $(40,000).

For Films for the 1934-35 season will emphasize clean-cut stories “which shoot straight to heart and home,” according to their own admission. A total of fifty-eight features are on schedule and the following is what S. R. Kent, president of the company, has to say about the season’s output:

“In shaping our new season’s program we were cognizant of the constantly increasing demand on the part of the public for clean, wholesome entertainment and also the insatiable desire to see new personalities on the screen.”

CLEAN, WHOLESOME PICTURES, EH?

A close examination of the promised films brings to light Fox’s idea of clean, wholesome pictures. Such things as “Casanova the Great Lover,” “Young Ladies in White,” from Rian James’ novel; “Lottery Lover,” Dames Is Dynamite,” with Edmund Lows and Victor McLaglen; “George White’s Scandals,” “365 Nights in Hollywood,” etc.-all get a label of purity. However, to be fair, Fox has plans for doing “Life Begins at Forty,” an adaptation of Walter Pitkins’s best seller; “Dante’s Inferno,” a modernized version of the classic of that name; Sinclair Lewis’ “Work of Art,” in which Spencer Trace will play; “Nymph Errant,” the novel by James Laver; “One More Spring,” from Robert Nathan’s grand book, and Sigrid Boo’ powerful novel “Servant’ Entrance.”