The Film Daily (1934)

Wednesday, July 25, 1934 THE -c&Ok DAILY 13 « « « REVIEWS of FEATURES and SHORTS » » » "CLEOPATRA" with Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Henry Wilcoxon (Hollywood Preview) Paramount 95 mins. SUMPTUOUS HISTORICAL DRAMA, STRONG CAST AND GOOD ENTERTAINMENT VALUES GEARED TO CLICK NICELY AT THE B. 0. Cecil B. DeMille has fashioned a lavish production that will please audiences generally. Although the picture is a mighty spectacle, the principals have not been submerged. The seductive Cleopatra, brilliantly played by Claudette Colbert, brings about the death of Julius Caesar while trying to effect an alliance of Egypt with I the Reman Empire. Marc Antony, out to i avenge Caesar, falls in love with Cleopatra, f thereby arousing such protests that the ■ two end in suicide. Henry Wilcoxon, the ' English newcomer, gives a powerful performance as Antony and is a good screen bet. Warren William as Caesar, Ian Keith, > C. Aubrey Smith, Joseph Schildkraut, Irv ■ ing Pichel and Gertrude Michael furnish able characterizations. Waldemar Young, Vincent Lawrence and Bartlett Cormack, who wrote the script, did a worthy job, while Victor Milner's photography is also | deserving of a bow. Hans Dreier and | Roland Anderson, the art directors, and Travis Banton, costume designer, were capable aides to DeMille in pleasing the eye. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Henry Wilcoxon, Gertrude Michael, ' Joseph Schildkraut, Ian Keith, C. Aubrey ! Smith, Ian MacLaren, Arthur Hohl, Leonard Mudie, Irving Pichel, Claudia Dell, Eleanor Phelps, John Rutherford, Grace Durkm, Robert Warwick, Edwin Maxwell, Charles Morris, Harry Beresford. Director, Cecil B. DeMille; Screen Play, Waldemar Young, Bartlett Cormack, Vincent Lawrence; Cameraman, Victor Milner; Recording Engineer, Harry Lindgren. Direction, Big-time. Photography, Superb SHORTS Betty Boop in "Poor Cinderella" Paramount 7 mins. Swell Cartoon in Color Produced in Cinecolor, the new animated series gets a swell sendoff in an adaptation of the popular fairy tale. Brightly conceived for both comedy and romantic effect, it shows the abused Cinderella being sent to the prince's ball in a chariot by her fairy godmother, promptly winning the royal suitor, leaving one of her slippers behind as she rushes out ju,st before the stroke of midnight, and finally being found again by the prince as the only girl with a foot small enough to fit into the slipper. They'll go for this one in a big way. "Service With a Smile" with Leon Errol Vitaphone 18 mins. Swell Musical Comedy This miniature musical comedy in Technicolor is a sprightly and entertaining job. It presents Leon Errol as a service station owner who gets word at home that his place has burned down. So he goes co the insurance company, which promises to replace everything. As Errol describes the kind of a layout to be replaced, the camera shows ultra-modern service, provided chiefly by attractive femininity with which the service station abounds. For the finale, Errol and the insurance agent drive out to the premises and find that the reported fire was just an April fool joke. Columbia "Susie's Affairs" with Arthur Jarrett and Betty Grable Good Musical 19 mins. Done throughout in rhyme, this is a very pleasing musical affair with a nice little romantic twist thrown in. Betty Grable, a poor showgirl, meets Arthur Jarrett, a rich lad, and pretends she belongs to society. Making a date, she insists on picking him up at the club with her car. Through her show friends, Betty gets the use of a house, limousine chauffeur, etc., belonging to somebody who is away, and it turns out that the owner is none other than Jarrett, with a romantic climax following the embarrassment. Cast is good, the singing and dancing specialties are enjoyable and there is a satisfactory vein of comedy. Eddie Nugent and Grady Sutton in "Financial Jitters" Universal 19 mins. Fair Comedy Fairly amusing farce on a familiar theme in a college background. In order to replenish their depleted finances, Eddie Nugent wires Grady Sutton's rich uncle, Franklyn Pangborn, that Grady has taken a wife. Unexpected arrival of the uncle makes it necessary for the boys to produce the wife in question, so Eddie is forced to do a femme impersonation, leading up to babies as well, with uncle pretending not to be wise to the gag and immediately giving his approval to Grady's real girl friend, Mary Kornman. "Scarlet Pimpernel" in Work London — "The Scarlet Pimpernel", London Films production of the novel by Baroness Orczy, went into work yesterday at the Elstree studios under the direction of Rowland Brown. Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon co-starred. The production will be released through United Artists. "Congo Raid", the second of the London Films productions to be released through U. A. this season, goes into studio production next week. Paul Robeson and Nina Mae MacKinney have roles in the picture. "Bondage" Opens in Chicago Chicago — "Of Human Bondage", finally released by the censors, is be'ng shown this week at the RKO Palace. Board Lacks Quorum New York clearance and zoning board met yesterday but failed to transact any business because of lack of a quorum. Next meeting was set tor Aug. 2. Landi as Paramount Star West Coast Bur., THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Culminating negotiations which lasted for several weeks, Elissa Landi has signed a starring contract with Paramount studios. No assignment has yet been made for her first picture under the new contract. She recently appeared in "The Great Flirtation" for the company. Boston Brevities Boston — Phil Berler, booking manager for the 23 E. M. Loew houses, will be given a stag party Aug. 14 at the Cocoanut Grove. He married Dorothy Esther Copeland of Hollywood Films Exchange on Aug. 18. Nathan Ross of American Pictures claims a selling record as a result of getting 100 contracts out of 100 calls on exhibitors in a week. Angeline A. Maney of the Metropolitan publicity staff is at Cape Cod. Norman F. Mclntyre of Bristol, Vt., has been signed by Vitagraph to cover Vermont territory. Dog Series for Imperial Frederick White is the producer and Norman Brokenshire the narrator of the six tail-wagger dog novelties which Imperial Distributing will handle. The titles are "Every Dog Has Its Day," "Forgotten Hero," "He's My Pal," "Dogs Of A Nation," "Friends To The End," and "Naturalized Foreigners." Gets Serial for Orient Exhibitors Film Exchange has acquired distribution rights to the Sam Krellberg serial, "The Lost City," for Indian, Burma, Ceylon, China and the Phillipines. DuWorld Gets Animal DuWorld will distribute a series of six one-reel subjects of animal life. First of the series is titled "Micro-Unga" and deals with the sea-elephant. STA1L CA VICTOR PHOTOPHONE OFFERING YOU: • A Sound Box Office Attraction • Complete Ownership • A Self-Liquidating Investment PHOTOPHONE DIVISION RCA VICTOR COMPANY, Inc. Camden, N. J. A Radio Corporation of America Subsidiary