Unlike that notorious, but probably most interesting, gentleman who bragged that he could resist everything except temptation, this department prides itself on being able to resist everything but tradition, writes Frank S. Nugent in the New York "Times." Tradition dictates that this article take the form of a semi-annual report.
If it's a statistic you want, how about 322? "That happens to be the number of pictures, domestic and foreign, reviewed in this paper since Jan. 1, Surprisingly, considering the recession and all, there were more this six-month than there were for the comparable periods in 1937 (282) and in 1936 (275)
Human Hearts," which—you may remember—we were plumping for earlier in the season: that ending really was too bad.
The Better Foreign Films Again in the order of their appearance, the foreign best for the first six months begin with "Storm in a Teacup" (English), "Un Carnot de Bal" and "Generals Without Buttons"
(both French), "To the Victor"
(English) and "Lenin in October" (Russian). Those are the significant five. After them we might mention "The Divorce of Lady X," "The Girl Was Young" and "Three on a Weekend" (all English), "Lonely White Sail" (Russian) and "The Pearls of The increase, however, is not so the Crown" (French) much in domestic production as in foreign. Of those 322, just 178 were American-made, as against 140 from Sure as we were earlier in the year that "Un Carnot de Bal" was—ud would the best," we remai Better British Film Business Things are definitely looking up in the British film industry after last year's slump and the terrible unemployment it brought to those whose names are never advertised. but whose work is in its way just as important and usually more strenuous than that of the actors.
The average cinemagoer, entranced by the vision of his favourite star, is apt to forget the existence of that vast army of technicians, property-men, electricians, cutters, cameramen and laboratory workers who do the real hard donkey work of the studios Their salaries are comparatively small, too small to allow them to put very much by for a rainy day, and their kind of work so specialised that they cannot easily find employment in any other industries.
A six months' or even a year's enforced "rest" may be a welcome holiday to a star or a director. To those others it spells grim tragedy. The news that the floors of Denham and Pinewood are humming with renewed activity is therefore doubly welcome.
METROPOLE BALLROOM.—Cabaret, Santos' orchestra, entertainment, METROPOLE HOTEL.—Gul) and dining rooms for business tiffins and other occasions.
PALACE HOTEL.—Tea lounge, snack counter and grill room. Music during tiffin, tea and dinner by a classical trio.
PARAMOUNT.—Cabaret. Gloria 'Andico's orchestra, Entertainment. PARK HOTEL.—Grillroom, dinner dance nightly. Itkis' orchestra. Tea dance every Sunday. Tea and cocktails in the lounge.
RENAISSANCE.—Restaurant and ballroom, At tea and dinner in the summer garden Koudiateft's Trio, It used to be popular music, then it was jazz, then it was swing—and now it's fling! Fling music appropriately was given its name by Martha Raye, who with the able aid of Dorothy Lamour, Tito Guizar and others introduces it in the new Paramount tune film "Tropic Holiday."
Just to keep everything authentic, Paramount imported the Dominguez Brothers famed marimba band from Mexico to delineate the music for "Tropic Holid creating some amazing effects with the use of seven various sized marimbas, together h accordion, drums, trumpet and violin.
The hosiery bill for pretty legs is now $1,150,000 a year. That's the revelation of Willy de Mond, former extra who has long been Hollywood's No. 1 entrepreneur of exotic hose tothe stars and studios.
"The Hollywood studios alone spend upwards of $350,000 a year on stockings for their wardrobe needs," says de Mond. "The rest is the cumulative personal bills of the stars."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.