Talkie Talkie

Italy. As dramatically as Horatius at the Bridge, Signor Benito Mussolini has taken stance on the principle that English language talkies shall not pass into Italy-- but in practice Il Duce makes not a few exceptions, personally.

In Il Duce's private talkie theatre, the hero of a U. S. film entitled Il Cantante Pazzo for Italian consumption recently wailed at Il Duce: "Mammy! Mammy!"

Vastly diverted by Il Pazzo, Il Duce permitted Italians to enjoy last week Pazzo Al Jolson in The Singing Fool.

Rumania. Dowager Queen Marie permitted herself to be elected last week president of Regina Maria Productions, a talkie-making firm which will produce 100% Rumanian films.

Perhaps the only downright disparaging remark England's Queen-Empress Mary is known to have uttered was her icy observation, four years ago, that the Queen of a certain Balkan state, who was then touring the U. S., ought to go to Hollywood and remain there. Queen Marie is Queen Mary's husband's second cousin.

Hungary. "Money, money! Give me money, Papa Zukor!" screamed a coarse-faced peasant woman in the village of Ricse last week, thrusting up a hand that half begged, half threatened at Cinema Tycoon Adolph Zukor, who with Mrs. Zukor was revisiting his Hungarian birthplace.

"And why am I to give you money?" asked Mr. Zukor. Already he has given thousands to Ricse, and although a Jew, has rebuilt the Protestant Church.

"You took my picture when you were here last."

Not for a moment allowing his day to be spoiled, Mr. Zukor rode with Mrs. Zukor beamingly beneath a triumphal arch, down a quaint main street, finally reached the synagog. "Welcome, welcome, Mr. Zukor," cried the Mayor of Ricse, and added somewhat redundantly, "We hail you as the greatest citizen of our village!" ( He is in fact the world's foremost cinema executive, president of Paramount-Famous-Lasky.)

Germany. Professor Max The Miracle Reinhardt pooled his resources with Showman Curtis Melnitz, onetime Berlin manager for United Artists Theatre Circuit of America, and bought controlling interest last week in Terra Film, a leading German cinema firm which he will use to produce German talkie operettas, later talkie operas.

Palestine has 27 cinema houses, 20 owned and patronized exclusively by Jews. One of the Jewish ones at Tel Aviv is installing sound equipment. Jews are boycotting it for fear that film English will corrupt their children's Hebrew.

France. A representative of Western Electric Co. was in Palestine last week, arranging to take to Paris a troupe of 100% Jewish actors to make talkies in France in Hebrew.

Britain. Said famed Director J. H. Graham Cutts, producer of the first British film to win international success (Woman to Woman) last week: "I am not going to work for the pocket-money fees now offered British directors. I have bought a roadhouse. The competition of talkies from the other side makes Britain's film future wholly obscure."

Playwright John Drinkwater (Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee) said he would write a biography of Cineman Carl Laemmle (Universal Pictures Corp.), native of Laupheim, Germany.

A-B-C Countries. Latin America bought more U. S. film last year than Europe, but Latins are getting more and more excited about the "invasion of English language talkies." Today the study of English is compulsory in Chilean schools, but last week a writer in the authoritative monthly Chile warned that "a reaction" (by Chileans against talkies in English) "may lead to total exclusion and even reflect back on the teaching of English in the schools."

Brazilians are growing equally vexed, and in the Argentine last week the City Council of Buenos Aires debated a choice between two ordinances, one entirely forbidding the exhibition of talkies in English, the other increasing by 50% the tax on theatres showing such films.

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