Motion Picture News (Jul - Sep 1930)

42b Motion Picture News July 5, 1930 His Honor, the Mayor {Christie — Paramount — Talker) Tiresome CHARLIE MURRAY is the star of this short and he's cast as a Scotchman who is running for mayor. His enemies frame him by having a girl pull a disrobing act in his shoe store, but eventually, after much uproar from the horns backstage, he gets the nomination. The story is too slim for two reels and it's been padded out with gags that miss fire and clutter up the slight tale with meaningless interruptions. Charlie himself is not so hot without his customary Jewish foil. He needs better material than this. Directed by William Watson. Running time, 19 minutes. Will serve as balance for melodrama. Audio Review, No. 26 (Pathe— Sound) Rates About 60% THIS has its strong spots — and very weak ones, too. In the latter category are the sequences in "Musical America," in which Pathe cameramen caught a group of bathing girls on a boat landing strumming some jazz tunes. The voices are sour — and how ! Supporting the same unit are Henry McBride, versatile amateur symphonist, and the Cincinnati male quartet, both bad. "Sailor Take Care," the basso's delight, is set to music while the camera roams around Gibbs Hill, in Bermuda. The light house is strikingly screened from many angles. Closing the reel we see some striking shots of the Temple Emanu-El synagogue in New York. Running time, 10 minutes. Where novelty is needed use this, particularly with a light feature comedy. Drifters (Harold Auten — Synchronized) Boresome MADE by John Grierson, billed as an "eminent Scotch critic," its entire 4,000 feet are devoted to a fishing expedition, presumably off the coast of Scotland. Its only interesting feature shows the hauling of the fish-filled net aboard ship, and half a reel would have sufficed for that. Most of the footage reveals a bewildering succession of close-ups of such fascinating bits of action as smoke issuing from the stack and the rolling waves. Human interest is entirely lacking. Running* time, 40 minutes. J^Hl Length too azvkivard for consideration. Jazz Preferred (Paramount — Talker) Okay A NOVEL short featuring Zelaya, billed as a celebrated South American pianist, but probably hailing from Brooklyn. Upon his entrance his studio is filled with young people reveling in jazz. Horrified, he commands them to stop ; then sits at the piano and plays a classical selection. Soon a sexy little blonde diverts his mind and when a telephone call from a hot mama comes he becomes converted to jazz. Appeals through its novelty and fast tempo. Running time, 6 minutes. Spot it into a heavy program. A Hot Time In the Old Town Tonight (Song Cartoon — Paramount) Very Amusing DARN clever, that Fleischer chap. Here he displays his ingenuity again by taking a well-known and well-worn song and turning it into a delightful bit of foolishness. It's all in the cartoon work and the clever twists Fleischer gives his treatment. Recommended for any program and any audience, the harderboiled, the better. Running time, 6 mins. With heavy or light feature, makes no difference. This stands on its oivn. Short Subjects Campus Favorites (Pathe— Talker) Okay VAN BEUREN'S new Rice "Sportlight" is more musical than sporty, although predomination by college tunes takes little away from its entertainment value. Favorites of campus glee clubs are sung while the teams battle hard for honors. There's a boat race at Cornell, a baseball tilt between Princeton and Yale, and a football squabble elsewhere. Fine stuff. Running time, 9 minutes. Nice with a dramatic feature. Man Hunter ( Universal — Silent) Old Stuff TED CARSON as the Royal "Mountie," Lotus Thompson as the girl and a bunch of stereotyped bad men carry on in the usual manner in this condensed western. Need more be said ? J. Levigard directed again . Running time, 17 minutes. Only for kids and Western fans. Two Fresh Eggs (Pathe— Talker) Anything But Fresh TINNY jazz orchestra, weak singers, poor dancers and a blah story combine to make this an unconvincing two reel musical comedy. Wholly lacking in originality, the film is of the same type which has more or less flooded the market ever since someone discovered a use for a photo electric cell. Al St. John and Jimmy Aubrey supply the comedy, what little there is. They don't disappoint, but a heavier concentration of work from this team would have brightened up the subject considerably. Only one of the three dance numbers by the chorus clicks, the rest being pretty floppy. Monte Carter directed. He should forget it, and try again. Running time, about 20 minutes. Don't depend upon this too much for laughs. If you use it for comedy relief, hook a snappy cartoon. Barnyard Concert (Disney-Columbia — Sound) Amusing MICKEY MOUSE couducts an orchestra composed of various barnyard animals, the "Poet and Peasant" overture being played from start to finish. There are enough good gags in it to keep the chuckles going at a steady pace. Running time, 6 minutes. Good zvhere a program needs lightening. Humanettes (Radio — Talker) Hash FRANK NEWMAN, former Kansas City exhibitor, is credited with originating this novelty, consisting of actors' heads, poked through a black backdrop, being used with miniature forms in caricature style. It may be a novelty, but once is enough. The material supplied these "human marinnettes" is awful stuff, and the gags creak with age. Benny Rubin is featured, but he couldn't get a laugh out of an audience that was aching to laugh. Directed by Leigh Jason. Running time, 8 minutes. Run it with a strong bill. A Peep on the Deep (Radio — Talker) Good THE story is a cock-eyed affair, but Clark and McCullough, vaudeville favorites, keep the laughs coming at a rapid pace and demonstrate their box-office appeal in talker comedies. In this case, Clark is mistaken by the crew of an ocean-going yacht for the captain, and he commands the vessel on the trip around the world, making it in 35 days and thereby breaking a record of some kind. He and his partner are furnished with a lot of gags that would sound foolish in print, but get the roars. The title is based on the fact that Clark swallows an egg whole, and thereupon whenever he opens his mouth the chick inside the egg peeps. It's crazy, but funny. Directed by Mark Sandrich. Running time, 21 minutes. Men Without Skirts (Radio — Talker) Fair HERE is the first of the two-reel comedies starring George K. Arthur and Karl Dane, and while it is packed with production values, its humor misses fire. In fact, for a major portion of the footage Arthur and Dane appear so amateurish that one wonders how they ever were considered comedians. Later the tempo is stepped up, but the few laughs garnered are due to the old pants-dropping stuff. In one instance, a hand grenade drops into the seat of Dane's pants — pulled down by Arthur in fright. That's enough explanation of the level of the humor in it. In addition, there are some wisecracks that Noah told in the Ark. Yola D'Avril plays the feminine lead. The story centers about a couple of Yanks at the front in France, and the settings are impressive for a short subject. Directed by Lewis R. Foster. Running time, 21 minutes. Will fit in with a society drama. The Golf Specialist (Radio — Talker) Dandy WC. FIELDS clicks a lot of laughs in • this amplification of the golf act he's used so many years on the stage. The action has been elaborated to a considerable extent, but it holds the attention throughout and keeps up a steady round of laughter. Fields' voice is ideal for talkers and his camera presence excellent. All types of audiences will enjoy it. Directed by Monte Brice. Running time, 23 minutes. Use it to back up a weak feature. Warners Squash Rumors About New Stock Offer Warners will not offer new stock at $25 a share, contrary to rumors which have helped depress Warner stock in Wall Street circles. Another report had it that the dividend would be cut to $2, and this, too, has been dissipated. Talking Trailer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Sensational Hit "THE BIG HOUSE" Get it from National Screen Service CHICAGO NEW YORK LOS ANGELES