Motion Picture Herald (Apr-Jun 1931)

MOTION PICTURE HERALD 37 April 4 , 19 3 1 Doctors' Wives (Fox) Pleasing Little Picture T HE story thread is very, very slight in "Doctors' Wives," yet the picture, skilltjlly directed by Frank Borzage, comes through as a pleasing, although entirely unimportant, piece of entertainment. What it does demonstrate, however, is the charming running mates that Warner Baxter and Joan Bennett make. Baxter is the doctor and Miss Bennett is the wife. It takes a good deal of footage to establish the argument that doctors' wives have to put up with a good many things, such as neglect, real and fanciful, simply because the rigors of the profession give the medicos no way out. Two secondary plots are introduced to develop the idea. Vivian Crosby (Helene Millard) is the feminine menace who makes a violent play for Baxter and almost succeeds in wrecking the peace of the establishment. The male menace, Victor Varconi, is a res^rch doctor who picks up Miss Bennett where Baxter lets her down. As you might imagine, it all works out to a happy conclusion. The performances are uniformly good. Baxter and Miss Bennett are completely charming and Varconi giyes a splendid performance. Many of the chuckles are provided by Cecilia Loftus, who plays an aunt of Baxter's. Playing musicals and comedies on the bill ■with this feature should give the best results. Produced and distributed by Fox. Directed by Frank Borzage. Story by Henry and Sylvia Lieferant. Adaptation by Maurine Watkins. Edited by Jack Bennis. Cameraman, Arthur Edeson. Release date, March 15, 1931. Footage, 7,354. Running time, 82 minutes. THE CAST Dr. Jude Penning Warner Baxter Nina Wyndram Joan Bennett Dr. Kane Ruyter Victor Varconi Vivian Crosby Helene Millard Dr. Calucci Paul Porcasi Julia Wyndram Nancy Gardner Dr. Mark Wyndram John St. Polls Aunt Amelia Cecilia Loftus Dr. Roberts George Chandler Lou Roberts Violet Dunn Charlotte Ruth Warren Mrs. Kent Louise Mackintosh Rudie William Maddox The W Plan ( British International ) Good War Drama A. British International product being released in this country by Radio Pictures which has considerable merit. Despite the recent deluge of war dramas, this story of the British espionage system, its horrors and manifest complexities are well told in "The W Plan." A British officer on searching a captured German finds a sketch of the W plan and is assigned to get the original draft. He does get the original after a series of nerve-wracking exploits in German terrain. There is a love story knitted through the series of events the British officer experiences and ultimately leads to their coming together in Switzerland, a destination decided upon when the officer was forced to leave his German sweetheart at a crucial moment. The action by a foreign cast is superb, as is the direction. A number of scenes, those of the German underground system which is a part of the W plan, are excellently done. The picture as a whole is realistically depicted and deserves much credit. Lighten the balance of the program zvith comedies, cartoons or musicals. Produced by British International. Distributed (U. S.) by Radio Pictures. Story by Graham Seton. Director, adaptor and producer, Victor Saville. Release date, March 15, 1931. Footage, 8,824. Running time, 98 minutes. CAST Colonel Buncangrant Brian Aherne Ulrich Muller George Merritt Commander-in-Chief C. M. Hallard Colonel Jerdois Frederick Lloyd Frau Mul'er Mary Gerald Rosa Hartmann Madeleine Carroll $H€CT$ Parents Wanted (RKO Pathe) Fair Entertainment A Folly comedy number, but nothing to become greatly enthused over. Concerns the tight spot into which the young hero gets himself by trying to fool the boss into giving him an increase in sJilary on the plea that he wants to marry the latter's niece. He produces as his mother and father, his landlady and a downand-outer he had picked up on the street. When the boss comes over for a visit, the parent and "parents" do not click very perfectly. Call it mild entertainment and let it go at that. Running time, 22 minutes. Making Good (Vitaphone) Satisfactory Joe Penner, the stuttering comedian of the Vitaphone lot, makes a brave attempt to be amusing, but only succeeds partially, if that. He works too hard, and that never produces good comedy. The idea behind the short is good, however, and there is a plentitude of entertaining situations, all of which help a great deal to make the comedy at least mildly entertaining.— Running time, 10 minutes. The Cat's Paw ( U niversal ) Only Fair Daphne Pollard is bound for a bird exhibition in San Francisco in this comedy, and she is better than usual. Most of the action is taken up with the extreme difficulties, and the general commotion she causes aboard when the pet she has smuggled on the train despite the objection^ of the ticket-taker makes its presence known. Running time, 17 minutes. Call of Mohammed (RKO Pathe) Fine Tom Terriss is the wandering leader of the audience once more in this Vagabond Adventure, visiting the land of the .A.rab, through the famed Khyber Pass, and stopping momentarily at the various sacred shrines of the people's prophet. Again, as usual, the excellent accompanying line of description by Terriss does more than a fair share of adding to the effectiveness of the short. The pictures are artistically splendid Running time, 10 minutes. Peculiar Pets . (Ideal Pictures) Interesting This short indicates how almost any species of wild animal may be domesticated, including squirrels, ferrets and lions. Several shots from foreign libraries are particularly interesting, and the general appeal is quite wide. — Running time, 8 minutes. The Old Hokum Bucket (RKO Pathe) Good One of the Aesop Fables series and it does quite well by itself and its authors. The animated character animals pajf a visit to the farm, imbibe not wisely but too well of the peppo flake, and proceed with their amusing antics, which are peculiar but funny. Running time, 7 m.inutes. Heroes of the Flames (Universal) Good Stuff Here are the first three episodes of Uniwersal's new 12 episode serial, and if the rest are like this sample, the series is worth playing and playing hard. The youngsters are going after it with open arms, and almost anyone will get a real kick out of it. Action, excitement, adventure and romance are plentifully sprinkled through the record of the lives of the big city fire-fighters. It's hokum, of course, but that makes no difference and there are thrills from the word go. Tim McCoy plays the fireman hero, and just as an example, in the first reel, he rescues a youngster from under the fire apparatus and then the youngster's sister from a burning building. Marion Shockley, as the sister, overacts a bit but is satisfactory, McCov is excellent, but Bobbie Nelson, child player, is irritatingly fictitious in his acting. The carry-over is neatly accomplished through the stunt of a reporter hinting the coming story over the telephone to a re-write man. Robert Hill directed in splendid style. The first episode is due for release on June 2, with each running 17 minutes. Twisted Tales (RKO Pathe) Not Much A fairly weak effort in the comedy direction, revolving around a lion and a lion skin. The henpecked husband's wife refuses to permit him to go to the fancy dress affair, and his friend borrows the lion skin costume. Of course, a real lion breaks out of the zoo, the wife comes home and mistakes a real for a fake and that is about all. TRe comedy is rather non-existent, and the laugh spots few. Arthur Houseman, Marion Douglas, Gertrude Astor and Lorin Raker play the parts. Running time, 22 minutes. Honeymoon Trail (Vitaphone) Poor It may be a good idea to play scenic shots in the picture of a honeymoon journey, but when the recording is poor, the shots not clear, and the material more or less ancient, the idea becomes a very bad one. The wedding is supposed to be an exterior, but it is a great deal different from the actual exterior shots. — Running time, 7 minutes. Dublin and Nearby (M-G-M) Gets By One of the Burton Holmes "Around the World" travelogues, with scenes of Ireland, its inhabitants, customs and geography. The people of the country are caught by the camera at work and play, but photography and recording are not at all times sufficiently sharp, which is a sad defect, particularly in a travelogue number. Fair is the rating. Running time, 10 minutes. Partners (Vitaphone) Excellent Billy Caxton of the legitimate musical comedy stage puts over his act, including a great line of chatter and some splendid acting, in a way that calls for applause. As the boss who is broke, owes an employee three months' salary and is in danger of losing his girl, he is fine. He finally disposes of a piece of property he owns, lands a steady job and all is well. — Running time, 21 minutes.