Critical Moments

After staying at the Rivoli for more than a month, “The House of Rothschild,” the picture of the year in which George Arliss starred, moved out. It was not because the film was not drawing the crowds, but simply because United Artists, who control the theatre, had to find a spot for “Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back,” which opened yesterday. Ronald Colman again plays the role of Captain Drummond and he is supported by Loretta Young, Una Merkel and Charles Butterworth. I will tell you more about the picture later in the week…

SPANISH PICTURE OPENS

Not to be outdone by the Jews, the Germans, the French, the Italians and the Swedes, the Spaniards in New York now have their own motion picture theatre. It is called the Teatro Campoamor and is located up in Harlem. The other night the house was opened with fitting ceremonies and as the main attraction of the evening Carlos Gardel, Argentine singer made a personal appearance. He also plays the lead in the cinema now showing in the Campoamor entitled “Cuesta Abajo” (The Downward Path). Naturally the picture was composed to give Gardel a chance to sing and his delightful voice will almost make you forget the obvious plot that has been fashioned out of some very trite material.

DAMES AT THE STRAND; OTHER FILM NOTES

Last evening at the Strand the Warners offered another musical picture which they have titled “Dames.” Ruby Keeler (Mrs. Al Jolson) Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Zasu Pitts are among the featured players. Of that also more anog…

Today’s opening is another picturization of Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous “Treasure Island” which started what is hoped will be a long run, at the Capitol. Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper and Lionel Barrymore are in the cast.

I almost forget to mention that the Paramount, which has been closed this past week, opened last night with Cecil DeMille’s loudly heralded “Cleopatra.” Reports have seeped through the barrage of silence to the effect that De Mille used everything in this film from Charlie Chaplin’s shoes to Theda Bara’s first vamping costume. Among the features advertised are: 10,000 ostrich plumes, galleries of 400 manacled oarsmen, 200 mermaids in golden chains, 500 foot of deck of a royal galley; to say nothing of Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Henry Wilcoxon and a cast of some 8,000 players. The filming of “Cleopatra” must have been a major boom to the army of Hollywood extras.

LEGITIMATE NEWS

The barnyard theatres are rushing productions against the coming Fall. In Westport at Lawrence Langner’s theatre, “Kill That Story,” a comedy based on the newspaper and advertising business opened. As you might guess, the play concerns the fate of a newspaper publisher who becomes involved in some scandal and what happens when the story about this exploit is suppressed … At Locust Valley, L. I., where they wear stiff shirts regardless of the thermometer, Rosemary Casey and B. Iden Payne’s comedy, “The Saint’s Husband,” had its premier at the Red Barn Theatre. The play tells of a mother who decides to devote herself to the betterment of mankind and her efforts to enlist her entire family to her cause. Complications arise when a debunking aunt arrives on the scene and points out that mother’s family also have a right to live their own lives regardless of the fate of humanity.