Exhibitors Herald World (Oct-Dec 1930)

N. Y. EVENING JOURNAL // Action aplenty in 'Her Man"7 By ROSE PELSWICK. "Her Man" is a vigorously contrived film with plenty of action .that takes place in a waterfront dive in Havana. Helen Twelvetrees is Frankie, who picks sailers' pockets while she makes them buy gin, and Ricardo Cortez is 'Johnnie, her flashy boy-friend who collects her money, makes love t(> Nellie Bly and stabs a customei in the back with a penknife. And for a climax there's a swell ■free-for-all in which the sailor mops up the barroom floor. CASTING EXCELLENT. The honky-tonk atmosphere of I the "Thalia Cafe" is well built up Land Director Tay Garnett has in'fused the piece with a lusty swing. An excellent job was done with the casting: Miss Twelvetrees, one of the most promising young actresses of the new film generation, is an appealing Frankie. and Cortez gives a -> ivt> portrayal of the two-timing Johnnie who killed through the hardwood door | and art outstanding piece of work is done by Marjorie Rambeau as Annie, one of the oldtimers of the waterfront resorts. James Gleason, Harry Sweet. Slim Summerville and Franklin Pqngborn supply good slapstick comedy; Thelma Todd is Nellie Bly (whose share here in the Frankie and Johnnie legend is considerably toned down) and effective types were selected even for minor parts. N. Y. EVENING POST // Racy and Exciting // The work which Miss Twelvetrees docs in "H<?r Man" is enough in it [self to lift the picture out of the ordinary, but it is by no means its only [virtue. The entire cast is unusually good, and, added to that, there is a I story which is fitted logically and smoothly into-the setting and manages [at all times to remain credible. I IN "Her Man,," the current picture at the Globe, Pathe has brought forth I A a picture so colorful, so vividly realistic, so expert in its direction and so Iskilled in its acting that it must be set down at once as one of the most [completely satisfying screen productions that have come to the notice of |this reviewer in a long time. The climax of the picI ture Is a fight between Dan and John| nie In which several hundred persons take part. It is the grandest, maddest, I wildest battle I have ever seen either on or off the screen. Chairs and tables are smashed on the heads of the fighters, bodies hurtle through doors, the air Is thick with splinters and broken glass. It is a tremendous scene, and It | Is directed with consummate skill. In this matter of direction "Her I Man" can teach a lesson to the majority of directors. It moves fluently from incident to Incident, letting the camera tell the story and wasting no time on dUlogue. It is action throughout, withjout those lapses Into static conversation I which have been the bane of so many. alkl.es. Director Tay Garnett has done ndc^ble lob with "Her Man." The varied types of the Havana cafe are admirably realized by the large cast. Phillips Holmes as Sailor Dan might conceivably have been more rugged, but he succeeds In creating an illusion of strength in the climax. -Marjorie Rambeau is excellent as a blowzy hangeron; Ricardo Cortez is entirely credible as the villainous Johnnie, and both James Gleason and Harry Sweet are hilariously funny as a couple of loutish sailors. I can think of a dozen good reasons why "Her Man" should have a successful rim at the Globe. I hope It does. By Thornton Dclehanty New York Premier Proves A Whirlwind Success The critics soy: "Exciting plot, slick comedyCast deserves three hearty cheers— Completely satisfying— Hats off to director Tay Garnett." N. Y. AMERICAN "Entire cast merits three Hearty Cheers" Smashing melodrama is the order of the day at the Globe Theatre where "Her Man" is the featured photoplay. For straight, ont-and-out popular entertainment it hasn't been topped on Broadway in a month of Sundays. Brisk in pace, it is a happy blend of thrills and laughter which is bound to please the picture public. The picture has a million dollars worth of color, there's a fight that is as thrillingly vicious as any ever 4,o come out of Hollywood, and if you don't howl at the antics of Jimmy Gleason there's something wrong with your funny-bone. The entire cast merits three hearty cheers. Ricardo Cortez is superb as a suave, cruel killer. Helen Twelvetrees is a revelation in the role of the dancehall moll. Phillips Holmes, who plays the sailor boy, moves up a whole lot of rungs in the ladder of film fame. And Marjorie Rambeau gives each of the principals a hard run for first honors in the role of a drunken drab superbly portrayed. In lesser support James Gleason, Franklin Pangborn, Harry Sweet, Stanley Fields, Mathew Betz and Thelma Todd do admirably. Hats off, too, to director Tay Garnett. Rcgina Crewe. EVENING GRAPHIC "Worth Viewing Twice" "Her Man" which arrived at the Globe late last night I bringing a new and highly dramatic variation of the 'rankie and Johnnie story is the most interesting picture! iVat theater has housed this year. I'.'s a film worth viewing twice • arii brings out a new star of such potential talents »ni charm as to m:ke it a doubly significant screen present ation. H e I • n Twelvetrees, after this titular Characterizatior, should te counted as one of the finest of the ne# camera artists in Hollywood. Helen Twelvetrees The colorful Frankie and the man who did her wrong have served the movies as a pair of theme characters since drama was first turned out in celluloid. But never has it been offered in such a smoothly constructed vehicle or with such a worthy cast. Every featured player in "Her Man" builds up the production ngainst a hectic background of Havana dives. It moves so quickly through the familiar, but still exriting plot, balancing melodrama with slick comedy, every role perfectly cast and all working harmoniously through action that holds suspense until the last shot. The picture is Helen Twelvetrees', I with a new slant on Frankie, and! this girl's performance is one ofl the season's surprises. She's thrill1 ing as Johnnie's sweetheart, ped-l dling her blond line in a cheap! dance hall, blindly obeying her man! through the only environment she I had ever known, but believing there! was something else for her in life. T Marjorie Rambeau, in the opening scene, sets the tempo for "Her Man," and goes through the subsequent reels like the veteran actress she is. Ricardo Cortez is quite convincing as Johnnie, and Phillips | Holmes does surprisingly well the sailor lover. James Gleason, Harry Sweet and | Stanley Fields, in the comedy parts, inject hearty laughs in the serious 1 proceedings, and Thelma Toddl wears a brunnet wig for the vamp I bit. Tay Garnett was the directorl of this worthy addition to the seaJ son's line-up. He has given Frankie and Johnnie production! without any salacious gags or cheap! innuendo and he should be proud [ of his job. fyjui !A Shaw ELL PATHE presents ANOTHER "BIG HIT" ON THE