The Film Daily (1932)

10 THE -^XH^ DAILY Sunday, Jan. 17, 193 REVIEWS OF SOUND SHORTS "Slide, Babe, Slide" Universal 9^/2 mins. Great Kid Stuff This is the first of the Babe Ruth series and it has been made with both eyes on the juvenile patronage. Kids will love it and the adults will find it entertaining. Babe Ruth is shown on the observation platform of a train. Seated next to him is Mike Donlin, an old-time baseball player. The train stops to change engines. Babe spots a back-yard ball game in progress. He runs to the lot and tells the kids that he is the only Babe but they scoff at him. He joins the game and shows the kids some of the fine points of the game. His determination to complete a home run makes him almost lose his train. Boswell Sisters in "Close Farm-ony" Paramount 8 mins. Good Singing Novelty In a barnyard setting, the trio of popular radio artistes put over a group of special numbers in their well-known crooning style. Preliminary to the musical items is a bit of skit wherein a farmer and his wife talk about some way to make their cows and chickens produce more milk and eggs. The farmer reads in a paper that music causes them to increase their productivity, so he brings on the three crooners and with the aid of a fourth male musician they stir up the works until the desired results are obtained. "The Jazbo Singer" Columbia 10 mins. Fairly Entertaining This Foy production has an allmonkey cast and monkeys around with the mammy singer idea. Father kicks young monk out of home because he wants to become an actor. Eventually he appears in an amateur night show and rises to the elevation of a Ziegfeld contract. Called home by the illness of his father and daddy forgives him. The children are sure to like this one, and adults somewhat. "Screen Snapshots" Columbia 10 mins. Lively A lively short showing some intimate sidelights on Hollywood and Industrial Movie House Described as the first talking pic theater devoted exclusively to auto bil . icture _., ._ -Utomo Diie exploitation, a movie show has been installed in the headquarters of the Craham-Paige Motors Corp. at 1877 Broadway. Talker programs, to be given regularly will deal with processes of manufacture, methods of selling and other subjects related to the automobile. various screen notables. Good action stuff with a tennis match and a polo game, with different screen players featured. Most of the fo(»tage covers Hollywood Dog Day, with hundreds of youngsters on parade with their various canine entries. Moran and Mack furnish the comedy highlight with a reproduction of their boxing bout for the edification of the assembled kids. fully colored. Polinization of orchids and the various stages of their growth until at the end of seven years they blossom; pet deer raising in Utah; Indian rug making; infinitesimal animal life in a drop of water, seen under a microscope; a man who permits cannonballs to be shot against his stomach and the use of lady-bugs to rid orange groves of parasites are the subjects. "The Voice of Hollywood" No. 13 Tiffany 10 mins. Weak The Television gag is used as usual in this one, to introduce the various Hollywood stars. Also a large book, from which various screen celebs step out and say a, lew words. A screen within a screen is introduced via "television," showing Jack Dempsey and his wife on a fishing trip. This number lacks the usual colorful shots of Hollywood surroundings. For some reason they have a gag running through, employing the detective who appeared in "The Great Jewel Mystery," the N.V.A. film. He is still hunting for the lost jewels of Norma Shearer, and interrupts all the celebs as they are speaking to the audience. What its purpose is is evidently another mystery. "Hello Good Times" Vitaphone 6307 17 mins. Good Musical Novelty A lot of novelty song-and-dance entertainment, plus a timely skit, has been packed into this edition of the "Broadway Brevities" series. Directed in a fast tempo by Roy Mack, the revue has two motivating characters, one an old skeptic who symbolizes depression, and the other a lively young chap representing the return of prosperity. To bring the gloomy fossil out of his rut, the enthusiastic young fellow trots out a variety of musical numbers representative of the reawakening activity and prosperity spirit. Highlight of the program is a novelty dance in which a nimble stepper prances around among all sorts of objects from drums, tin pails, washboards and chairs to washtubs, ladders and what not. Another punch is a striking impersonation of Col. Lindbergh. Harmony singing, chorus numbers and some solo song numbers are other items in the enjoyable concoction. It's an unusual short with action that never lets down. "Strange as it Seems" (No. 16) Universal 9 mins. Fine Novelty This is a good one and contains six interesting curiosities, well described, photographed and beauti "On the Beach" Columbia 6 mins. Swell Another pip cartoon number from the Walt Disney shops. In both idea and execution, it is far above average and should have little trouble throwing almost any audience into gales of laughter. The lively action revolves around a beach picnic, where Mickey and Minnie Mouse play host to some of their animal friends. A big black octopus comes up out of the ocean and proceeds to menace them, but they fight him back in way that provides plenty of comedy kicks for the audience. Slim Summerville and Daphne Pollard in "Sea Soldiers' Sweeties" Universal 19/^ mins. Not So Good This time Slim and Eddie Gribbon, private and sergeant in the Marines, are in Siam and they continue the usual stuff of Slim putting it over on Eddie. The colonel tells Eddie to keep the boys away from the beautiful Siamese girls but Eddie falls for a nifty miss and as usual the girl is stolen by Slim and then stolen back again by Eddie. Not much to laugh at, and draggy. Gags are old and dialogue flat "Broadcasting" Tiffany 17 mins. Chimp Comedy A Chimp comedy, with the monks doing a travesty on Rudy Vallee. They show the gal in love with Rudy, and his rival, a German count. The action is carried on at a lively pace, with the chimps doing some clever stunts in a very human manner. The human voices add materially in building up the comedy. Father Chimp doesn't like either one of the girl's sweeties, and expresses his dislike in typical monk style. "Screen Souvenirs" (No. 6) Paramount 10 mins. Swell Like all the others in the series, this echo of early days in the movies is one hundred per cent entertainment. The scenes are amusing and the running comment adds to the comedy enjoyment. First come glimpses of 1898 showing a trouj of lady tourists romping around tl| Grand Canyon, Chicago policemi on parade all dressed up in the handle-bar mustaches, and tl Wright brothers giving an earj flying demonstration before a di; linguished audience that include President Taft and other notable Then there are excerpts from thiv early action pictures, including Hai ry Carey in an Indian picturi Francis X. Bushman emoting in padded cell, and Blanche Sweet i a schooner rescue. "The Red Shadow" | (Shadow Detective Series) Universal 15 min: Fair It doesn't take long to guess tht guilty person in this detectivji drama. The story, taken from , popular detective magazine, suffer from lack of suspense. It concern the wealthy owner of an estate wh< arrives home inebriated and dia charges his housekeeper, who ha. been in his employ for 20 years His action is resented by the butle; and the chauffeur. A man arrive with a watch dog which the mastei has ordered. In the presence of thi four people, he is seen to put i valuable necklace in the wall vault' Next morning he is found murdered Then detectives enter th scene and after the usual stuff, the murderei confesses. "Any Rags" (Fleischer Cartoon) Paramount 6 mins Fine Animated Betty Boop, her friend Bimbo and Koko again provide a pleasant round of cartoon merriment in this Max Fleischer subject. Bimbo plays the role of an old clothes dealer going around with his cart picking uji rags. With his cries of "Any rags" he attracts the attention of Betty Boop, who joins him in his travels around the streets. The rags come to life and cut some capers, with the cart finally running away and crashing, and presto being transformed into a cottage to house the couple. For musical accompaniment there is the popular number, "Ninety-nine Out of a Hundred." Vitaphone Releases Two new Vitaphone shorts are being released this week. They are "The Pagan Moon," one of the "Merrie Melodies" series of comedy song cartoons being produced on the coast for Warner Bros, by Leon Schlesinger, who is also the producer of the "Looney Tunes" cartoons, and "The Imperfect Lover," a two-reel comedy with Jack Haley, favorite of Broadway's musical comedy stages. The latter was made at the Brooklyn Vitaphone studios.