The Film Daily (1931)

^, August 7.3, 1931 THE j2E^ DAILY 19 "THE SKY SPIDER" ]\ein Pictures Time, 69 nmis. VIRY ENTERTAINING YARN 'itl GOOD AIRPLANE ACTION T>F AND HUMAN STORY ETURING BERYL MERCER SrHE MOTHER. : Ijis one is well up the list of the id<endent offerings, being handled 'it| class in all departments, triig cast throughout, a very hulaiand appealing story, and plenv ( action stuff in the airplane seue;es. The theme is that of three roiiers, airmail pilots, with an air acjteer securing the inside dope n ihipments of currency through is'riendship with the family. One f le brothers is followed in his igit and shot down over the rough eS-t country. Follows a series of ncents in which the other two rciers uncover the racketeer, and rs^e him to follow another flight, 'hi third brother comes up behind [J I pursuit plane, and after a hot alie, sends the air bandit ship 0^1 in flames. The first brother 3 fescued from his marooned spot n [le wilderness. Beryl Mercer as h^mother lends her usual fine porraal, lifting the story into the hun^ interest class strong. Nice hie-cornered love interest angle vh Blanche Mehaffey. 6t: Glenn Tryon, Pat O'Malley. John 're', Beryl Mercer, Blanche Mehaffey, os:h Girard, Philo McCuUough, George :h<boro. Jay Hunt. lector, Richard Thorpe; Author, Grace Le< Norton; Adaptor, same; Dialoguer, an; Editor, not listed ; Cameraman, not St.; Sound Recorder, not listed. Ijection, smooth. Photography, good. "THE MYSTERY TRAIN" Ictmental Time. 69 mins. NTERTAINING LOVE STORY rnT WILL PLEASE THE FEM4S AND SHOULD GO WELL IN riE SMALLER HOUSES. his one started off as if it was ;cig to be a sensational dramatic Art, then suddenly switches to a igt love treatment, that throws h; entire production all out of f ou Opens with a sequence finishn in a sensational train wreck, r.i the heroine escaping from the h-iff to whom she had been manic'd. The girl of course is inno•■4: of the crime of which she is icised. A society dame on the rn vouches for her as her niece, ii takes her under her wing. D-xi later the love interest devel\\ with the young and wealthy rnd of the family. This is treatdightly and with a certain charm, !i ing in some more or less drantic incidents, with the police auIrities trying to apprehend the r:l, but all working out to the usu iltiappy finish. Just fair entertainrnt in a rambling story that will )ase the uncritical. iast: Hedda Hopper, Bryant Washburn, ^; Stuart, Marceline Day, Jack Richardc Al Cooke, Eddie Fetherston, Joe Girard. irector, Phil Whitman ; Author, Hamper del Ruth, Phil Whitman ; Adaptor, Hampcdel Ruth; Dialoguer, Hampton del Ruth; i:or, not credited ; Cameraman, J. S. 3;wn; Sound Recorders, C. S. Franklin Ml Neil Jack. irection, fair. Photography, good. SOUND SHORTS "Rhythms of a Big City" Vitaphone Time, 10 mins. A Screen Classic Put this down in your date book as a truly distinctive short — the type that discriminating audiences, in particular, will rave about. Murray Roth and Glen Lambert, who co-authored and co-cjirected, have provided a variety of trick camera angles which greatly enhance the production. Relating the movements of a great metropolis, the picture sketches what perhaps may be termed an average day in its existence, briefly touching upon a tragic and dramatic incident. Dolly Gilbert and John Hickey are both attractive in their roles. No dialogue is included in the picture and certainly none is needed. Instead a splendid, moving score has been arranged by Harold Levey. The superb photography is by Ed DuPar and Ray Foster. Bert Frank edited the film. "The Voice of Hollywood" Tiffany Time, 11 mins. Pleasing This offering in the "Star" radio station from Hollywood employs the television device cleverly, with a gag worked all through the various shots of the Hollywood celebrities. Chester Conklin is used as the television subject, offering the public a new recipe for baking a cake. Meanwhile such well known screen characters as Charlie Chaplin, Dolores Del Rio. Carl Laemmie, Mitzi Green and Constance Bennett are presented, among many others. It is well handled from a production angle, with Lew Ayres acting as announcer. Tom Howard in "Two A. M." Paramount Time, 9 mins. Am.using Travesty Very humorous travesty on burglary. Tom Howard plays the part of the dumb assistant, who carries the tools, makes a lot of noise, calls upstairs to ask the folks for the combination of the safe, gets chummy with the cop and finally leads the way to the station house as though he were going on some joy date. The comedy idea is nicely worked out, and the skit ought to click nicely anywhere. "Little journeys to Great Masters" (E. M. Newman Travel Talk) Vitaphone 1248 Time, 8 mins. Mildly Interesting A Cook's tour of Italy, with stress placed on its beautiful cathedral and other historical and architectural points, is provided in this member of "Little Journeys to Great Masters" series. A descriptive voice has been dubbed in. It's mildly interesting. "Gold-Digging Gentlemen" Vitaphone 1263 Time, 10 mins. Good Flash Comedy Nicely entertaining skit dealing with gigolos and their elderly partners. Handled in a somewhat satirical vein, and with a cabaret sequence interpolated, the subject maintains satisfactory interest. Shows a couple of gigs playing up to their rich emi)loyers while "on duty," but denying their vocation and spending their dough on other dames during their off time. The dowagers come along and catch the foursome in a ritzy restaurant, whereupon the gigs are yanked back to their paid escort duties. Eddie Buzzell in "Chris-Crossed" Columbia Time, 9 mins. Nifty This is one of the best of the "bedtime stories for grownups' turned out by Eddie Buzzell so far. It is a travesty on the discovery of America by Columbus and shows Chris at home working out h^s theories despite objections from unsympathetic parents, then appealing to the Queen for backing, the voyage across and finally the s'ghting of land — none other than New York in all its skyscraper glory, with the discoverer being greeted by a harbor demonstration like that accorded the returning Lindbergh. Entire skit is richly humorous and should prove a big laugh number anywhere. Eddie Foy, Jr., and Eric Dressier in "Good Mourning" Vitaphone 1206 Time, 10 mins. Familiar Stuff Telling their wives that they must attend a friend's "wake," the two young husbands, played by Eddie Foy, Jr., and Eric Dressier, go on a party with a couple of hot numbers. Meanwhile the fellow who is supposed to be dead calls up one of the errant lads, resulting in the wives getting wise and the husbands getting it in the neck on their return. One of the wifey roles is played by Peggy Shannon. Nothing new in the idea, but it manages to hold interest pretty well nevertheless. "Tennis Technique" (Sport Champion Series) M-G-M Time, 10 mins. Interesting After getting off to a slow start, this William "Bill" Tilden release, speeds up and finishes with a bang. Tilden outlines and explains the fundamentals of good tennis playing and shows, in both normal and slow motion, some of the strokes for which he is famous. The "aerial marker" idea is clever and explanatory. The analysis of Tilden's masterful playing should interest everyone regardless of whether they are tennis fans or not. "Spring Training" Educational Time, 9 mins. Snappy Football The first of the "Football for the Fan" series, featuring the coaches of the famous college football teams, putting their squads through their gridiron work and showing all the inside work. In this, the first of the series. Coach Howard H. Jones of the Southern California "Trojans," shows his men in spring practice. It is a very well produced reel, snappy and full of action. Coach Jones explains each individual play before his team executes it. Many of the shots are in slow motion, so that each individual movement of the players is seen in detail. Should prove a strong feature with the football fans. "Success" Vitaphone 1257-8 Time, 17 mins. Excellent Co^nedy Jack Haley, who does the lead in this entertaining comedy, is a Jack Oakie type and his work is grand. Helen Lynd plays his sweetie. Story concerns young song plugger who wants to marry charmer but dad insists that his son-in-law be a baseball player. Boy, who is nearsighted, takes a try at baseball and through a streak of real comedy luck, comes through in big league style. Alf Goulding didn't miss anything in this story, which Fred Allen wrote. "The Navajo Witch" Talking Picture Epics. Time, 8 mins. Very Entertaining One of the Wild Life series. Very picturesque, being a personally conducted tour through the home life of a Navajo Indian family on the desert. It is very unusual and entertaining, showing the Indian youth tending the herd of goats, catching a hoot owl, and bringing it home to the family shack, where the old granny remonstrates, and has the owl released, sure that it is an old witch that will cause trouble. The narrator has a good delivery, speaking in a western style that fits in admirably with the subject. "Ye Olde Time Newsreel" Vitaphone Time, 7 mins. Novelty Interesting presentation of old library shots, with the narrator gagging and kidding the various views dating back to the very earliest era of pictures. Each shot is introduced by a quartet singing an appropriate old melody. The views cover such interesting relics as the trial flight of Wright's first plane, an old horse car, bathing beauty styles of the nineties, a fashion parade on the Atlantic City boardwalk, the first of the original horseless buggies, etc.