Motion Picture Herald (May-Jun 1936)

May 16, 193 6 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 37 of his uncle Edward Seymour and the attempt of the Protector's brother, Thomas Seymour, to make a protegee of the innocent young Lady Jane Grey, whom he brings to Court to await the moment when the ailing Edward shall die, in the expectation that Mary will be barred from the throne as a Catholic and Elizabeth as illegitimate, leaving the way clear for Jane. The Protector discovers his brother's plans and executes him. The Earl of Warwick heads a rising, sends Somerset to the block, and forces Lady Jane into a marriage with his son, Lord Guildford Dudley. She falls in love with him. The young Edward VI dies. Warwick has Lady Jane proclaimed Queen, but the nation rejects her. Mary Tudor's troops easily defeat Warwick and enter London in triumph. Warwick goes to the block and, after an ineffectual plea to Mary, the innocent Lady Jane follows her husband to Tower Hill. It is history, told by the re-creation of a series of historical crimes ; overshadowing every episode is the raised ax of the headsman, the boom of cannon announcing another violent death and the sense of innocent lives hopelessly in the toils of plots of which they know nothing. In the creation of that atmosphere almost all is due to the brilliant direction of Robert Stevenson and the excellent acting of Nova Pilbeam as Lady Jane Grey, John Mills as Dudley, Desmond Tester as Edward VI and Gwenn Ffrancon-Davies, Leslie Perrins and Felix Aylmer. Art direction has added magnificent reproductions of old house-lined London Bridge, palace interiors and costumes all perfect of their kind. You can sell this as authentic history (though minor liberties with fact have been taken) or as glamorous, colorful costume-drama. Press-shown at the Tivoli, London; prior to a New Gallery run, it had high praise for its atmosphere, settings, and characterization and for the exceptional level of all the acting. "A good one for America" was a common expression from those who should knozv. Allan, London Produced by Gainsborough Pictures and distributed by Gaumont-British. Directed by Robert Stevenson. Running time, 78 minutes General audience classification. CAST Lady Jane Grey Nova Pilbeam Earl of Warwick Cedric Hardwicke Lord Guildford Dudley John Mills Edward Seymour Felix Aylmer Thomas Seymour Leslie Perrins Henry VIII Frank Cellier Edward VI Desmond Tester Mary Tudor Gwenn Ffrancon-Davies Jane's parents / ift**^ ^ ( Miles Malleson Ellen Sybil Thorndyke Speed Mad (Columbia) Vehicular Review From camel-back to Cadillac was a somewhat longer step than it is made to seem in this brisk review of human conveyances, but amusing shots of pioneer motors and motorists build up effectively to the dramatic automobile racing sequences and these register strongly, without preachment, the always commendable suggestion that speed and safety are things apart. A number of speedway crashes, obviously although unannouncedly resulting in death, are graphically pictured. The presentation is adroit and there is no emphasizing of moral by narrator or by closeup of maimed and dying, a technique which adds conviction to the point that cannot be too forcibly and widely made. The subject warrants widespread exhibition. — Running time, 10 minutes. The Undersea Kingdom (Republic) I 2-Episode Serial The "lost continent" of Atlantis sank gradually instead of instantly into the sea, according to the story employed as basis for this serial, and the inhabitants had time to wall off the encroaching waves and have lived and developed their own civilization under the ocean bed ever since. But one of the monarchs competing for supremacy seeks to destroy the earth-surface civilization we know and has rigged up scientific apparatus for doing so ; it is he who causes our earthquakes. Ray "Crash" Corrigan is cast as a naval officer who accompanies a scientist and a girl reporter and others on a submarine voyage to this sunken continent and at the end of the first episode the party is in plenty of trouble. The futuristic gadgets popular in contemporary comic strips, ray-guns, disintegrators, etc., are utilized early and often in working out the action, but the star's physical prowess is not overlooked at any time and even the advanced citizens of the nether world still use bows and arrows, chariots and horses, so physical conflict figures prominently in the general strife. The serial is directed by B. Reeves Eason and Joseph Kane from a screen play by John Rathmell, Maurice Geraghty and Oliver Drake based on a story by Tracy Knight and John Rathmell. Among the members of a big cast are Lois Wilde, Monte Blue, William Farnum, Jack Mulhall, Boothe Howard, C. Montague Show, Lon Chaney, Jr., Lee Van Atta and Smiley Brunette. The first episode runs 26 minutes. Share the Wealth (Columbia) Political Comedy Bearing directly upon an economic doctrine still receiving considerable public attention, and keyed by content to contemporary interest in the ballot, Andy Clyde's latest comedy has a good deal in its favor as a commercially vendible product. It would have a good deal more if a certain amount of incidental, offside, extraneous and ineffective gag material were deleted. The story presents Andy as a small town candidate for mayor on a share-the-wealth program. The day before the election he inherits $50,000 and tries to leave town but is restrained from doing so by his gangster backer. He is elected and the pleased citizens share his possessions with him to the extent of wrecking his store and creating a riot. The picture ends with him telephoning the president to say he has tried the share-the-wealth plan and it didn't work. Unfortunately, the action is slowed up in spots and stopped in others for the gag purposes mentioned. Probably the damage isn't fatal. — Running time, 17^4 minutes. Dick WhittingWs Cat (Celebrity) Color Cartoon Chiefly juvenile as to point and performance, this ComiColor cartoon sets forth the adventures of a feline which escapes death twice by fortuitous circumstances and wins for its baker's-boy master a chest of gold, reward for ridding an Oriental potentate's palace of mice. The subject is especially suitable for children, adequate for adults. — Running time, 9 minutes. Screen Snapshots No. 9 (Columbia) Excellent Fan Food The consistently high average of entertainment value maintained over a long period in Screen Snapshot releases is substantially exceeded in this number. The entire subject is given over to the photographing of the Santa Anita race track, with preliminary shots presenting the magnificent course, the major portion of the footage devoted to closeups of thirty or forty stars in attendance, and a satisfactorily dramatic conclusion showing the running of a race. Widespread interest in the track augments the normal attraction of personalities pictured and suggests special exploitation of the picture. It is sound material in every sense and well qualified for program inclusion with any type of feature-length production. — Running time, 10 minutes. Changing of the Guard (Warner) Color Musical Several years back, in 1931 to be exact, Florence Ziegfeld produced his last "Ziegfeld Follies" at the theatre bearing his name in New York. Perhaps the most spectacular, and certainly the best remembered, ensemble number of that production was Bobby Connolly's "Changing of the Guard," featuring Mitzi Mayfair and Hal LeRoy. Warner's, here, in Technicolor and again under Connolly's direction, bring that scene to the screen in two reels. The manner in which it is done, on a broader scale in this version, should prove more than satisfactory to audiences. As the film opens it is New Year Eve in London and a retired army officer is amusing his young granddaughter with stories of his glamorous past. Excitedly, the child says she will be a King's Grenadier when she grows up. She marches up the room giving orders and the scene fades to the front of Buckingham Palace as the royal guardsmen are to change watches. The youngster, played by Sybil Jason, sings and dances her way through the scene, leading some thirty chorus girls. Throughout are interspersed several other excellently handled musical numbers. The cast also has Halliwell Hobbes and Sidney Bracey. The combination of the cast's performances, the brilliant colors and songs and dances makes this short subject worthy of a good spot on practically any program. Running time, 20 minutes. Major Google ( Columbia) Color Cartoon In common with contemporary custom, the producers of this color short borrow copiously from the popularity of Major Bowes' amateur hour and, again in common, extract quite a bit of practical humor from their burlesque of the same. Barney Google is the microphone maestro, of course, and Snuffy, Little Bunkie Hill and others do their stuff, the whole affair ending somewhat madly but not unamusingly in a takeoff on a marry-me-or-pay-the-rent melodrama. The short is above average technically and is without age restriction as to interest. — Running time, 7 minutes. Football Bugs ( Columbia ) Color Comic The theory underlying manufacture of this item seems to have been that a football game between teams made up of bugs would be very funny because bugs have so many legs. Accordingly, gaudily colored distortions of divers insects were devised and sent through dizzily paced and uninspired conflict against a gridiron setting. When it didn't seem to be getting anywhere, resort was had to the veteran gag about the alcoholic stepping up of the drinking water and after that it didn't much matter what was done, anyway, so came the end. There may have been something in the theory, but it didn't work out. — Running time, 8 minutes. Midnight Blunders C Columbia ) Frankenstein Stuff Tom Kennedy and Monte Collins, cast as dumb detectives, do what they can with a slapstick revival of the familiar Frankenstein monster idea, and there are Chinese cutthroats tossed into the thing for good measure, but nothing very funny comes of it. Maybe the Frankenstein idea is dead for comedy purposes, or maybe the idea of detectives being stupid isn't as funny as it used to be before J. Edgar Hoover began exploding the myth on front pages, but probably the chief fault of the comedy is its extraordinary lack of humor. For whatever reason, it's very dull. — Running time, 17 minutes.