The Film Daily (1929)

DAILY Sunday, November 17, 1929 Irene Bordoni in "Paris" with Jack Buchanan, Louise Closser Hale (All-Talker) First National Length: 9007 ft. BEAUTIFUL PRODUCTION WITH LOTS OF ATMOSPHERE, GORGEOUS SPECTACLES AND FINE DIRECTION. CAST IS FINE. SUREFIRE. Stage spectacle. Adapted from stage play of same name. Here is a bright production in all departments, with two gorgeous sequences _ in Technicolor, catchy tunes, beautiful stage girls, a liberal dash of comedy and a cast that puts it over without any "ifs." Irene Bordoni comes through on the screen equally as well as she has sung her way to fame on the musical stage. She has charm, vivacity and real screen ability. Louise Closser Hale in a finely characterized mother part injects the real human interest and holds a rather sketchy script together beautifully. Then there is Jack Buchanan, the young English actor, who steps right up front into the select screen circles with his delightful performance. Clarence Badger directed this with everything he had, and that's plenty. Story is about the trials of a young American mixed up with a Parisian actress. Looks surefire anywhere. Cast: Irene Bordoni, Jack Buchanan, Louise Closser Hale, Jason Robards, Margaret Fielding, Zasu Pitts. Director, Clarence Badger; Author, Martin Brown; Adaptor, Hope Loring; Dialoguer, the same; Editor, Edward Schroeder ; Cameraman, Sol Polito. Direction, showmanship. Photography, beautiful. "Woman to Woman" with Betty Compson (All-Talker) Tiffany Length: 8065 ft. A RATHER INCREDULOUS STORY, AWKWARDLY DIRECTED, WHICH MIGHT GET BY ON THE STRENGTH OF ITS APPEAL TO WOMEN. Drama with tragic finale. Two women love the same man, a British officer. One is a French war bride without benefit of ceremony, which was intercepted by a sudden call to the front. As a result of injuries in a bomb explosion, the officer returns to England with a complete loss of memory and marries a woman of his set. Later he sees his old French sweetheart, now a famous dancer, and his memory returns. There follows a struggle between the two women for first claim on the man, winding up with the French heroine bowing out of the picture for the sake of her little son's future. Not a happy or satisfactory ending. Sequence work is bad and a series of loopholes does much to ruin the impressiveness of a theme which had plenty of possibilities. Acting is good under the circumstances, with fine performances by Betty Compson and George Barraud. It may go all right with feminine film fans, but its general appeal is moderate. Cast: Betty Compson, George Barraud, Juliette Compton, Margaret Chambers, Reginald Sharland, Georgie Billings, Winter Hall. Director, Victor Saville ; Author. Michael Morton; Adaptor, Nicholas Fodor; Editor, Not listed ; Dialoguer, Not listed ; Cameraman, Not listed. Direction, poor. Photography, good. "Fanny Hawthorne" with Estelle Brody, John Stuart (Silent) Excellent Pict. Length : 6285 ft. POOR BRITISH PRODUCTION BASED ON OUTDATED STAGE PLAY HAS DRAGGY STORY AND DIRECTION. JUST A FILLER FOR GRINDS. Drama. Based on the old stage play "Hindle Wakes," by Stanley Houghton. This play of British life written for a past decade hardly fits into the modern requirements in the way of screen fare. Direction by Maurice Elvey and Victor Saville is heavyhanded and lacking in a proper building of the dramatic incidents. The story is that of a girl employed in an English mill, with the son of the owner taking her to a hotel. The young man's dad insists on a marriage to square everything, or else he will disinherit his son. This queers a marriage with the Mayor's daughter. Then the dramatic "surprise" comes when the gal refuses to go through with the ceremony. The interest centers in a suggested thought that the youth is coming to really love her, and all might be well after all, and then they cut the picture abruptly. A very unsatisfactory ending for which American fans won't cheer. Cast: Estellle Brody, John Stuart, Marie Ault, Humberstone Wright, Herman McKinnel, Irene Roche, Peggy Carlisle, Gladys Jennings, Arthur Chesney. Directors, Maurice Elvey, Victor Saville ; Author, Stanley Houghton; Adaptor, Not listed; Editor. Not listed; Titler, Not listed; Cameraman, Not listed. Direction, poor. Photography, average. "Shanghai Lady" with Mary Nolan, James Murray (All-Talker) Universal Length: 5926 ft. GETS OVER AS STRONG MELLER WITH SEXY STUFF PILED ON THICK IN SHANGHAI SETTING. POP FARE MAKES GOOD PROGRAM PICTURE. Melodrama. From the stage play "Drifting" by John Colton. In spite of some rather crude construction and situations, with dialogue that rates less than satisfactory, the meller stuff with the heart throbs carries a big popular kick. The work of Mary Nolan as the white gal in the Shanghai joint trying to go straight, and James Murray, an exconvict, also trying to pull the moral stuff to please her, makes the picture much better than its treatment. The situation is the kind that pulls at the heart strings, for it carries oodles of sympathy, and that's why it will no doubt wow them in the popular priced houses where they like their heart stuff strong and sugary. Mary tries to fool the ex-convict into thinking she's been a good gal, and he make the same play. Then the half-caste Chink heavy gums up their game, tries to frame the gal for himself, and so into the happy ending. Will ride with the mob easily. Cast: Mary Nolan, James Murray, Wheeler Oakman, Anders Randolf, Mona Rico, Yola d'Avril. Director, John S. Robertson ; Author, John Colton ; Dialoguer, Not listed ; Adaptors, Huston Branch, Winifred Reeve ; Editor, Milton Caruth ; Cameraman, Hal Mohr. Direction, satisfactory. Photography, good. Belle Baker in "Song of Love" with Ralph Graves, David Durand (All-Talker) Columbia Length: 8000 ft. A SATISFYING ENTERTAINMENT, WITH BELLE BAKER'S NAME AND A NEW KID FIND COMBINING TO PUT IT ACROSS. Drama of backstage. The story, which gets under way slowly but builds up steadily without running into any air pockets, is the familiar hoke about the male member of a mixed vaudeville team who quits his wife and child for another dame, and ultimately returns. The dramatic plot, however, is incidental here. The picture will attract first of all, Belle Baker fans who expect to hear her sing and sentimentalize. And she does — plenty. Most of the songs are over the plate. The theme number, "Take Everything But You" will be remembered. Then there is a likable and talented youngster, David Durand, who starts in where Davey Lee left off and bites off a big chunck of the honors. Between Miss Baker's drawing power and the kid angle, this one can be considered in the bag. Cast: Belle Baker, Ralph Graves. David Durand, Eunice Quedens, Arthur Housman. Director, Erie C. Kenton ; Authors, Howard Green, Henry McCarthy; Dialoguers, Dorothy Howell, Norman Houston; Adaptor, not listed ; Editor, Gene Havelick ; Cameraman, Joseph Walkers. Direction, fair. Photography, fair. Gloria Swanson in "The Trespasser" (All-Talker) United Artists Length: 8223 ft. SURE-FIRE VEHICLE OF THE TEAR-WRINGER TYPE WITH GLORIA SWANSON SCORING A PERSONAL TRIUMPH AND B.O. BET. Drama bordering on meller. Gloria Swanson, making her talker debut, rings the bell for a personal triumph on all counts — voice suitability, emotional work, clothes and showmanship. Almost a new Gloria, clicking throughout. The story, though not out of the ordinary, serves its purpose. It relates the tribulations of a poor but honest steno. who marries a rich man's son and then is separated from him by the efforts of his socially ambitious father. Great tear-wringer stuff, worked for the last drop, but the fans, especially the women, will eat it up. You won't go wrong with this one. Cast: Gloria Swanson, Robert Ames, Kay Hammond, William Holden, Marcella Corday, Mary Forbes, Blanch Friderici, Wally Albright, Turnell Trapp, Henry B. Walthall. Director, Edmund Goulding; Dialoguer, Edmund Goulding; Editor, Cyril Gardner; Cameramen, George Barnes, Gregg Toland ; Adaptor, Not listed. Direction, good. Photography, satisfactory. "Arsenal" (Silent) Amkino Length: 6900 ft. SYMBOLIC RUSSIAN FILM BEWILDERS WITH ITS TREATMENT AND AMOUNTS TO LITTLE FOR PICTURE HOUSE. ART SUBJECT. Drama of the Ukranian revolution. A Wufku production. Now that we have had dozens of Russian films telling us all about the revolution against the Czar, they have turned to the revolution in the neighboring Ukraine. It is a symbolic treatment of the workers' struggle against their oppressors, and amounts to nothing but a series of camera studies. The camera angles are often unique and very well handled, but they are thrown in so loosely that they lose most of their value. The story tells of a Ukranian peasant who becomes a male Joan of Arc to liberate his people from the capitalist oppressors. The part is played very impressively by S. Swazhenko. He becomes practically a saint, for when the Cossacks fire upon him he is miraculously saved, as the bullets melt before they touch him. Unique camera work, but not picture house fare. Cast.: S. Swazhenko, rest peasant types. Director, Alexander Dovzhenko ; Author, Not listed ; Adaptor, Not listed ; Editor, Not listed; Cameraman, D. Demutsky. Direction, amateurish. Photography, novel treatment. Department of Reviews conducted by Jack Harrower Colleen Moore in "Footlights and Fools" with Raymond Hackett (All-Talker) First National Length: 6952 ft. GOOD PROGRAM OFFERING WITH COLLEEN RISING ABOVE STORY HANDICAP. REGISTERS AS GOOD ENTERTAINMENT. Colleen in this is an Irish girl who poses as an imported French star and though her French accent isn't so hot, she gets over the story to make it click as a good program offering. It's another of the backstage yarns, with variations, and contains some good Technicolor sequences. There are comedy bits which are good for laughs and opportunity for Colleen to display some new histrionics. The ending leaves something to be desired, but otherwise the picture carries the interest. It's about a musical comedy star who endeavors to make her gambling boy friend go to work. He is helped by an admirer, but turns out to be a crook. It can be sold as something entirely different for Colleen, but don't promise too much. Raymond Hackett is good in an unsympathetic part, and the remainder of the cast is good. Cast: Colleen Moore, Raymond Hackett, Frederic March, Virginia Lee Corbin, Mickey Bennett, Edward Martindel. Adrienne d'Ambricourt, Frederick Howard, Sidney Jarvis, Cleve Moore, Andy Rice, Jr., Ben Hendricks, Jr., Larry Banthim. Director, William A. Seiter; Author, Carey I Wilson ; Adaptor, Katherine Brush ; Dialoguer, | Not listed. Direction, good. Photography, fine.