Daily News from Los Angeles, California • 11

4 JACK OAKIE begs his theatrical teammates, Donald Coolc and Marla Montes; not to desert musicals for heavy drama in Bowery to Broadway," Thursday at Loew's, Chinese, Uptown and Wikhire. haltutleui amgelb. California uailjf (IONIAT, NOnMIIl J7. H44 II 'k Music, review By MILDRED NORTON Brazils foremost composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos, yesterday1 afternoon made his North American debut as guest conductor of the Janssen Symphony orchestra, at Philharmonic auditorium. In a program made up entirely of hia own works, nqne of which had ever before beep presented in' this country, he opened with hie Symphony No.

2, In B-minor, Included one of the Chores for which he is famous (No. 6) and concluded with a work entitled "Rudepoema, a bit of musical portraiture he composed with his friend, Artur Rubinstein, as subject. Villa-Lobos' Second Symphony was written in 1917, and the other two works In 1926. While they were enjoyable, one might have wished that he had presented some of his more recent works, and especially one of the delightful Bachianas Brasileras, two of which Werner Janssen has already Introduced to local audiences. The second symphony is a monumental work almost too long to hold the interest of Its audience.

In four movements, it la conventional In design, modem in orchestral treatment. Throughout, a shimmering tonal coloring overlays a tightknit tsxture shot with brilliant threads. There Is a wealth of material, but with all hia elaborate development, the composer has frugally used his themes in modulation through successive movements, A master orones-trator, he utilizes piquant orchestral combinations such as flutes over four French horns, or a bass clarinet solo over tam-tam. In the first movement, a broadly sweeping in file strings lends a pervading romanticism. Perhaps further hearings of such an ambitious work will resolve it mors definitely Into divisions of rhythm and contrast than wert apparent at yesterday's hearing.

But In its first performance it seemed to lack contrast, dynamic swell and focus. Tha composers originality and orchestral inventiveness have further led him to extend hie work, not beyond material, which seems lnexhaust-lble, but beyond Its scope. This was by no means the esse with the Choros No. 6. It had a good spanking rhythm, broken refreshingly by tempo changes and vivid orchestral material The Choros, aa a musical form, stems from an early Brazilian serenade, but in its orchestral form It Incorporates the different modalities of Brazilian, Indian and popular music, woven upon an Ingenious, rhythmic and tonal framework.

It alkies easily from one melodic vignette to another, with constant Introduction of. fresh material meticulously worked out. The "Rudepoema, or sav-age poem, was heard here1 when Rubinstein introduced It In a keyboard version three years ago. In Its orchestral scoring it exhibited even more the abundant vitality, the rugged Vigor, the fierce will that underlie the continental suavity of the keyboard virtuoso, as he has been caught In music by his Brazilian friend. Like all hia works, the "Rudepoema la rich in the orchestral effects end thematic' originality that characterize one of the greatest inventive geniuses of our day.

Tha concert was 1 broadcast via shortwave to South America. RUDOLPH VALENTINO Is with Vilma Banky Son of the Sheik," silent film dassie revived at Grand, k2de co-teamed in ALAN MOWBRAY claimi priority on crowded Washington apart, ment Jane Wyman shares with tnree other girls in The Dough-girls," now screening at Warner's Hollywood, Downtown, Wiltem- MMMnmrav, Virginia WriIi4 Drama Editor Melvin Levy leaves Hollywood this weekend to attend rehear ala of hia new play, "The Demo-Orate. Behind that terse announce- sncnt lies a drama of resolution 'aiid coincidence'' valid enough to oonvert any skeptic to a belief in predestination. It was several "years ago that Levy wrote this play about the young Thomas Jefferson, cbam- pion of the people, revolutionist and the sage who tried to insert an abolition clause in the Declaration of Independence. The drama was sold to a Broadway producer even before it was written, but on Us completion the playwright and the producer disagreed on casting.

Melvin Levy wanted Ralph Bellamy to play Jefferson; the producer demurred, and the deal wa called off. Levy's Interest In Bellamy was completely impersonal. He had never seen the actor on the stage, but he recalled, a film in which Bellamy -had played a Norwegian sea captain, a performance which kept recurring to him as ho wrote "The Democrats. The virility of that portrait was the sort of thing the playwright wanted to see in the characterization of Thomas Jefferson. After the stage deal fell through Mejvin Levy was offered $27,000 for the motion picture rights to his unproduced play.

That was a tempting price, and the playwright could have used the money, but he turned it down. Melvin Levy.is no detractor of motion pictures. He feels this is the most important medium for any writer, and his play, "The Democrats, was written for the people who can pay 60 cents for a theater ticket, and not exclusively for those who can afford $3.60. While anxious for the larger audience of motion pictures, Melvin Levy was equally anx-ious that' his play emerge as he had written it And he knew enough about Hollywoods tampering habits to be wary of selling an unproduced play. New conviction' He held oil to his manuscript, more convinced than eyer that Bellamy should play Jefferson after he had seen that actor in "Tomorrow the World on Broadway.

At the end of the play Levy considered going back stage to see him, but an old prejudice against people who barge into dressing rooms with scripts under theV arms deterred him. Some months lateh he made his third trip to Hollywood to write for the screen. "The Democrats came with him, and Levy called In a secretary to make some extra copies of the play. He went about his business then of writing "Sunday Dinner For a Soldier and The Life of Riley for 20th Century-Fox, and the secretary joined Hunt Stromberg Productions as a script clerk on "Guest In the House, film which brought Ralph Bellamy back to the screen. It was purely a chance remark of Bellamys one day on the set that he was looking for another play.

The script girl overheard him, remarked that she had typed a fine one recently, and mentioned "The Democrats. (She knew nothing, at the time, of Levy's previous interest in Bellamy.) The actor showed polite curiosity and said hed like to read it. When he called Melvin Levy at Fox, introduced himself over the phone, and expressed inter- eat in the play. Levy could hardly credit this miracle of coincidence. The upshot was that Bellamy not only wanted to play Jeffer-.

son, but to produce "The Democrats as well. According to present plans it will open on' Lincoln's birthday an apt date considering the plays dramatic struggle for insertion of the anti-slavery clause. In his enthusiasm for the play Jules Dassin obtained a leave of absence from MGM to direct "The Democrats, with Frances Dee as Mrs. Jefferson, Ernest Gossart as Bishop Muir and Vir- ginia Mullin as Mrs. Cabot.

ther roles have not yet been cast When "The Democrats conies to the screen (as it in. evitably will, for it is an exciting, "stirring drama with Important things to say) Melvin Levy will write the screenplay and Bellamy win again be Jefferson. They have a mutual contract to that effect governing the sale of ycreen rights. First screen sale Melvin Levys first play, "Gold Eagle Guy, produced by the Group theater in '34 and 35, was sold to MGM, but'that drama of a rugged individualist has never materialized for the screen. 1 It did bring the playwright his first screen contract, however, and in a manner more fan- FRANCES BRYAN is one of 24 beauties in Harry Howard's new revue, Hooray for the Girls," tomorrow on Orpheum stage tastic than any Hollywood satirist could devise.

Stories of the frantic efforts to get writers out here in a hurry are legion, but thej extremities In Levys case are madder than all the rest. After he signed the contract a little man showed up at his home insisting that Levy leave at once for Hollywood. "Mr. Mayer Insists, and it means my Job was the little mans pitch. Levy said It was impossible, he would leave in a couple of wcclu, No! No! the man cried.

"It must be now. Mr. Mayer is counting on you. "All right, maybe I can go next week, the playwright conceded. Hie fellow pleaded for an earlier date, and Levy, a kindly man concerned about, other peoples Jobs, agreed to go at once, If train tickets could be arranged.

But it seems the man already had tickets for the plane the next day. The next day it stormed; all flights were canceled. But MGMs man was not deterred. He came plowing through the snow at dawn with a train ticket to Chicago clutched In his fist The playwright was whisked off to the train and handed a plane ticket from Chicago. The storm spread to the west, and In Albuquerque his plane was rounded.

Another pilot, however, agreed to take a batch of courageous passengers if they cared to go. Thinking always of Louis B. Mayer and the emergency Melvin Levy boarded the other plane. As the plane tried to rise in the storm its wings bent the tips of trees, but It stayed In the sky. It was like a mad, hysterical version of "Excelsior.

When Levy landed at the Burbank air- WALTER SLEZAK, secret pirate ally, claims Virginia Mayo as his own prim in Tha Princess and tha rirata," at Pantagas, frost. Startling Drama and Romantic Firewerkil Tha Ladd knows bow to handle women, for ho tells them off and they come back for moral man of lhfinlta control The next shocks cam with tha Information that hia producer waa Just leaving cm a vacation, that they had no intention of letting him write the screenplay of "Gold Eagle Guy (ignoring hia vast amount of unused research material and Instating he had contributed all he could to the play) and that he could spend the next couple of weeks looking at movies which hs did. On that first visit Melvin Levy wrote the screenplay for "Robin Hood of El Dorado, the first picture, bidden tally, to approach the race problem and Beulah Bondi CscHKeDaway DtnOtJ by WING nCHCl ANrmmmml ftcfwv tfARAMOUNTi IIRITCIsmrtsn hlf Irtw Am SnW FAY DAY QUIZ OUmOODmVOWNTOW STAG! Size taf A KMfCs Am make dark skinned men the heroes and pals faces the vll port he was met by an emls- Jains Creighton Peet NEW YORK, Nov. 26. (Ex- elusive) It would seem obvious that five or even three minutes of steady thinking would have resulted In the conclusion that "Sadia Thompson (or "Rain, as It has been known) would not make a good musical comedy.

But neither Howard Deitx nor Roubeh Mamoullan nor those who sunk a large kettle of cash In this latest musical realized one essential fact. This la that Sadie Is really a bitter and even tragic little girl and that -no number of South Sea Jungle ballets or moonlight and honey duets can cheer things up. The only wise one was Ethel Merman, who withdrew from tha 4 cast long before Sadie reached Broadway. good a stonemason ever 1 to starve. In addition, to writing screenplays for "First Cornea Courage.

"Shes a Soldier, Too, and half a dozen others, Melvin Levy has been occupied here aa chairman of the editorial board I of the Writers Mobilization, which assigns the writing of scripts for the overseas film unit of the OWL aary from MGM. ready to drive him directly to the studio. The playwright was about to collapse, but the man at this end. as persistent as the one In New England, would allow him time only for a shave. He was whisked from the barbers chair to Culver City and Into' the presence of Sam Marx, then Story editor.

Im Levy, announced the exhausted playwright, falling into a chair. "Levy? Mark questioned. "Melvin Levy, Gold Eagle Guy, he mumbled. Oh! Why we arent expecting you for a couple of weeks. Fortunately Melvin Levy is A Levys second trip to Hollywood was made when a Broadway producer offered him a $5000 advance and said he would produce anything Levy would write, only he would Jell' him what to write.

Levy, who previously had anon the John Golden award of $1000 as one of the five moot promising playwrights In the country, refused the advance: If ho was going to be told what to write, he said, he would write for the screen. But Melvin Levy accepts such dictates in Hollywood only when they agree with his own convictions. "I would only write what I dont believe If were hun-fijt. he insists, "gnd Im too SMjm-CAftrbN WfHAp-MAtoNikG jr A wm JOHN A1IANDI CSAIO HUMS. stivini saiiaia mown aian mowsiav sons TOSAf Dittos Sy JAMtS KWS rMwfSytoAWHeiUNOtt VtSr- 1 ii.