The Film Daily (1935)

13 R E VEWS OF THE N E W FILMS Emil Jannings in "THE MAKING OF A KING" ("Der Alte und der Junge Koenig'') (In German, with English titles) General Foreign Sales 98 mins. IMPRESSIVE GERMAN DIALOGUE FILM WITH EMIL JANNINGS IN A MASTERLY CHARACTERIZATION. Emil Jannings gives another of his finely etched, biting performances — this time as the overbearing, ruthless, inflammable patriot, Friedrich Wilhelm the First of Prussia, who had built his poor and defenseless country into a proud and financially solid state. His son, the Crown Prince Friedrich, later to become Frederick the Great, is a lover of music and books, not averse to a bit of gambling. He hates his father and wants to escape from Prussia. His friend, Lieutenant Katte, after witnessing a frightful scene between the ruthless Kaiser and the Crown Prince, agrees to help the Prince flee to France. The Kaiser discovers the plot and Katte is beheaded under the Prince's eyes. His spirit broken, the Prince resigns himself to his father's wishes: he obeys orders, marries at order, but the shadow of Katte is between him and his father until the latter is on his death bed. The picture ends with the reconciliation scene. Cast is uniformly excellent. Cast: Emil Jannings, Leopcldine Kcnstantin, Werner Hinz, Claus Clausen, MarieLuise Claudius, Carola Hoehn, Friedrich Kayssler, Gecrge Alexander. Producer, Emil Jannings-Deka; Director, Hans Steinhcff; Authors, Thea von Harbou and Rolf Lauckner; Music, Wolfgang Zeller; English Editor, Julian Wolf; Cameraman, Karl Puth. Direction, Very Good. Photography, Good. "WOLVES OF THE UNDERWORLD" with Godfrey Tearle Regal (Julius Hagen) 57 mins BRITISH-MADE CROOK DRAMA WITH Lm™N.TAL R0MANCE MAKES FAIR ENTERTAINMENT FOR POP STANDS. For fans who like crook melodrama regardless of the names in the cast, this British production should prove fairly satisfying. There's plenty doing in the picture as far as action is concerned, with everything from the slick art of counterfeiting to a train wreck and a prison break. Endangered in the plot of the crooks is a society girl, who engages a detective to work on the case. The dick eventually solves the mystery and wins the girl as well. The cast, though British stamped, put their lines across in a readily understood manner, while the direction keeps things moving at a nice gait all along the line. Cast: Godfrey Tearle, Isla Bezan, Fred Groves, Michael Hogan. Producer, Julius Hagen; Director, George A. Cooper, Authors, Arthur Rugby and R. H. Douglas. Direction, Good. Photography, Good. FOREIGN "DER TRAUM VOM RHEIN" ("The Dream of the Rhine"), in German; produced by Robert Neppach; directed by Herbert Selpin; with Gay Christie, SchroederSchromm, et al. At the 79th St. Theater. Light romantic comedy holds interest chiefly due to beautiful scenes of the Rhineland. produced by Terra; directed by Charles Klein; with Harry Liedtke, Maria Paudler, et al. At the 86th St. Casino Theater. Entertaining rural drama helped by a good deal of comedy and a bit of pleasing music. "VASEMBER" ("Man of Iron"), in Hungarian; produced by Laszlo Sas; directed by Emil Martonffi; with Ida Turay, Jeno Torzs, et al. At the Hunnia Playhouse. Satisfactory comedy about a supposedly hard bachelor who capitulates quite easily to the charms of a pretty brunette who has married his nephew against his will. "WENN AM SONNTAGABEND DIE DORFMUSIK SPIELT" ("When the Village Plays on Sunday Evening"), in German; SHORTS "Second Hungarian Rhapsody" Gen'l Foreign Sales Corp. 12 mins. Outstanding Symphonic Film Franz Liszt's "Second Hungarian Rhapsody" as played by the Orchestra Symphonique of Paris under the direction of Professor Oscar Fried is reproduced in this finely photographed short. Sound recording is excellent, and the visual appeal is diversified with shots of various players as their instruments take up the burden of the music. Should find a hearty response wherever audiences like the best music. of the ocean, are interspersed with shots of a trio of skiiers piloting their perilous way down slopes that threaten momentary disaster, and jumps that are breath-taking. Photography is excellent. There is no dialogue but the scenes unroll to the accompaniment of music. "Bon Bon Parade" (Color Rhapsody' Columbia 8 mins. Splendid A gorgeous cartoon in Technicolor as good as anything in its field, and better than most. It is the story of a little boy who makes a wish that he could always live in Candy Town. His wish is granted, and he finds himself seated beside the king of Candyland as the parade of candies goes by. The ingenuity employed in the candy characterizations is unusual, even for the cartoon technique where this ingenuity finds so much expression. Charles Mintz produced it, and it's a darb. "Stars of Tomorrow" (No. 3) Columbia 11 mins. Mountains and Skiis" Gen'l Foreign Sales Corp. 10 mins. Beautiful Scenic Subject Gorgeous views of the Austrian Alps, high above the snow-line, make this short release an outstanding scenic. Shots of the snow-clad mountain summits, cloud formations, drifts, snow-swirls like the waves Okay Well presented galaxy of real amateurs, with just enough of each so that they do not grow tiresome. Three telephone girls open with a close harmony. A hot-cha colored band go through some fast harmony with the leader doing some stepping and vocal work. A comedy acrobatic act, a fan dancer and a little girl stepper round out an interesting reel. Says Distributors Block Self -Regulation Project (Continued from Page 1) ed that "the whole project is blocked by the withholding of any offer of essential cooperation by the distributors." In an association bulletin, Kuykendall said: "The industry today stands challenged to regulate and discipline itself in commercial matters. If no such responsibility will be assumed by the producers and distributors, they should not complain of Governmental interference if the legislatures and the courts move in and do it for us. We cannot continue much longer without any restraint or self-control or regulation of abuses and unfair trade practices." Stating that 12 states have enacted old age pension laws, Kuykendall visualized introduction of admission tax measures in legislatures as a means of raising revenue for these purposes. "Caution must be exercised by the producers in not overdosing the market with too many spectacles, classics, fantasies and Tiighbrow' pictures generally lacking in human interest and dramatic suspense," Kuykendall warned. "The almost uni New Theater Company Is Formed in Trinidad Port of Spain, Trinidad, B. W. I. — Globe Cinemas of the West Indies and South America, Ltd., has been formed here by Ramcharan Gokool, with the backing of six other shareholders and initial capital of $300,000. In addition to building theaters here and in British Guiana and Barbadoes, the company will take over the Globe, Port of Spain; Globe, San Juan, Trinidad, and all independent nouses in British Guiana, Netherland Guiana, St. Vincent, Grenada and Barbadoes. Would Back Local Groups As Film Talent Trainers Randforce Annual Kiddie Party Samuel Rinzler and Louis Frisch, operators of Randforce Amusement Corp. comprising 44 theaters in Brooklyn and Queens, will conduct their fifth annual kiddie free food matinee during the week of Dec. 22. versal opinion among exhibitors is that the saturation point has been reached in this type of picture. A further increase in the percentage of photoplays of this type will be disastrous." (Continued from Page 1) Little Theater organizations as training groups for screen talent. The Dallas Little Theater, the Hedgerow Theater at Philadelphia and the New Orleans Little Theater were mentioned by Piazza. Cagney in "Dream" Voted Month's Best Performance (Continued from Page 1) Guild. Honorable mention went to Carole Lombard in "Hands Across the Table" and Preston Foster in "Last Days of Pompeii." Screenplay of "Hands Across the Table" by Norman Krasna, Vincent Lawrence and Herbert was voted the month's best by the Screen Writers Guild, with honorable mention to George Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind for the screenplay of "A Night at the Opera" and Nunally Johnson for the script of "Thanks a Million". Harold Buckley Dead Harold Buckley, Empire branch manager at St. John, is dead, according to word reaching New York yesterday. He formerly worked for Educational in Canada. High Court Refuses Ruling on Contract (Continued from Page 1) by Justice Sutherland, was brief and unanimous. Contention of Fox was that illegality of the arbitration clause did not affect the other portions of the contract. The film company had sued A. B. Muller, exhibitor of Maple Lake, Minn., on two contracts made in 1929 for a total of 46 pictures. Muller refused to accept the films. While no mention was made of Muller's end of the action it is expected that further decision will be handed down next Monday. Washington Confab Makes Lame Start (Continued from Page 1) man precipitated the disturbance. More than 1,200 were present at the auditorium conference. Abram F. Myers, Allied chairman and counsel, who had predicted the conference would be a "bust," was the only film man seen on hand. M. H. Aylesworth of RKO Radio was reported as expected to arrive last night. Irving Thalberg, who had written Berry saying he favored the conference, did not show \m. /