Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1937)

December 18, 1937 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 51 theme and name values. While efforts may be made to kindle the interest of general audiences in the film, the fact that the theme is one of particular interest to women makes it evident that a determined drive should be waged to arouse the attention of that portion of audiences. Previewed December 9th in the Village theatre, Westwood, Cal. Audience reaction indicated that the women in the gathering were more interested in the production than the men. Appreciating the work of the leading players, as zvell as the contributions of the supporting cast, the women, particularly, seemed to look upon the picture as one that put the question, "What would I do wider similar circumstances?" right up to them. Comment overheard in leaving the theatre, with many women making that query of themselves or friends, suggests that it might be a good idea to adapt as a means of calling attention to the picture. — Gus McCarthy. Produced and distributed by MGM. Louis D. Lighton, producer. Directed by Richard Thorpe. Based on a story by Fanny Heaslip Lea. Screen play by Vincent Lawrence, Waldemar Young and George Oppenheimer. Edward Woehler, assistant director. George Boemler, film editor. Musical accompaniment directed by Franz Waxman. Photographed by Karl Freund. P. C. A. Certificate No. 3899. Running time, when seen in Westwood, 78 minutes. Release date, Dec. 31, 1937. Adult audience classification. CAST Mimi Swift Myrna Loy Jimmy Kilmartin Franchot Tone Elizabeth Kent Rosalind Russell Alan Wythe Walter Pidgeon Florence Rita Johnson Meg Swift Nana Bryant Jane Ruth Hussey Bob Leonard Penn Tommy Gaunt John Miljan Minister William Stack Gus Oscar O'Shea Fight Announcer Dan Toby Madamoiselle Docteur ( Capitol-Trafalgar) Spy Melodrama Spy pictures have by now tended to follow a pattern and this unexciting but not displeasing production makes little attempt to get away from it. Here are the same old dramatic formulae, the conflict 'twixt love and duty, the ancient and venerable codes and disguises, and the inevitable narrative obscurities, woven into a film which has its moments, and at least two fascinating performances, but lacks the excitement of real melodrama and the essential pictorial punch. It is a studied effort but stilted, drab in its camerawork and indecisive in its narrative, with a climax which one might be pardoned for explaining on the grounds of directorial fatigue. Into it comes Dita Parlo, charming blonde star of the Continent, in the role of Anne Marie Lesser, a spy who actually worked for Germany during the war, and Erich von Stroheim, whose deliberate bull necked study of Teutonic tenacity makes substance out of the shadow of a very fictitiously designed role. La Parlo's role is the not unfamiliar one of the woman who joins a German spy organization to avenge the killer of her boy friend, and at long last finds herself face to face with him in the young officer she has learned to love. We get to this ultimate problem through a sequence of incidents of the accredited espionage nature, with prying into portmanteaus, escapes across frontiers, and passwords in Salonika, where Stroheim lurks disguised in a fez and a black eye patch. Director Greville, or his scenarist, or both, make little attempt to find a solution, for in the climax, a German air raid on the town, we are left with the knowledge that each knows the other's secret but with little idea of how they are going to cope with it either by escape, or death, or . . . and the trouble is that we do not very much care. John Loder's obscure and rather stagey British Captain is not the least indigestible of the film's elements, many of which take a deal of explaining away. Shown at the London Pavilion, the picture, being a spy drama, a favorite with West End audiences, awakened some interest. — Aubrey Flanagan. A Capitol-Trafalgar Production. Distributed by United Artists. Produced by Max Schach. Associate producer, I. Goldschmid. Directed by Edmond Greville. Assistant Director, Vincent Permane. Scenario, Ernest Betts. Based on the story by George Neveux and I. Cube. Adapted by R. Bernaur. Dialogue, Basil Mason. Music, Hans May. Photography, Otto Heller. Camera, Alfred Black. Art Director, Oscar Werndorff. Sound Recordist, A. R. Jolly. Editor, Ray Pitt. Running time, 77 minutes. Adult audience classification. CAST Anne-Maria Lesser Dita Parlo Lieut. Peter Carr John Loder Col Mathesius & Simonis Erich von Stroheim Gaby ."Claire Luce Lieut. Hans Hoffman Gyles Isham Coudoyan Clifford Evans Armand John Abbott Mario Anthony Holies Carr's Orderly Edward Lexy French General Robert Nainby Col. Burgoyne Brian Powley Proprietress of Blue Peacock. . .Molly Hamley Clifford Col. von Steinberg Raymond Lovell Col. Marchand Frederick Lloyd Capt. Fitzmaurice Claud Horton Exiled to Shanghai (Republic) Newsreel vs. Television An entertaining action picture, as modern as tomorrow's headlines, has been made from a story of newsreel men. Most newsreel stories are of rivalry among the cameramen, in obtaining exclusive pictures and in getting the pictures first on the theatres' screens. Here it is a newsreel company against the radio, wired-photos and eventually news by television. In the story the newsreel runs a poor fourth. The application of television here, incidentally, is beyond the wildest dreams of today's optimists, what with broadcasts from far away Shanghai to New York. The picture stars Wallace Ford, who has a leading role in the highly successful "Of Mice and Men," now playing on the New York stage. He also recently appeared on the Rudy Vallee radio program in a scene from the play. June Travis, daughter of the vice-president of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, plays opposite Ford, turning in a well rounded performance and in addition impressing one as a typical American girl, if any. The story opens in Spain where "Ted Young" (Wallace Ford) is shooting scenes of the war. On his return to New York with the "shots" he discovers that newspapers had featured wired pictures a week ago. In his endeavor to scoop the newspicture services "Young" photographs "Nancy Jones," believing her to be a sweepstakes winner. The pictures are released, then withdrawn, when it turns .out that "Nancy" is only a winner of a television exploitation contest. "Young," out of a job, becomes television-conscious and crusades for this new medium. A fraudulent company agrees with "Young's" plans, the company's stock is pyramided on the strength of the idea, and a demonstration is held for investors. The demonstration turns out to be a trick. "Nancy" heads for home, thinking "Young" guilty, but he in typical serial fashion parachutes out of a plane, stops her train and joins her. The picture ends with the television broadcast from Shanghai. Reviewed in projection room. — Paul C. Mooney, Jr. Produced and distributed by Republic. Associate producer, Armand Schaefer. Directed by Nick Grinde. Original screen play by Wellyn Totman. Photographed by Ernest Miller. Supervising editor, Murray Seldeen. Film editor, Howard O'Neill. Art director, John Victor Mackay. Musical director, Alberto Colombo. Costumes by Eloise. P. C. A. Certificate No. 3810. Running time, 64 minutes. Release date, December 20, 1937. General audience classification. CAST Ted Young Wallace Ford Nancy Jones June Travis Fred Sears Dean Jagger Andy William Bakewell Bud Arthur Lake J. B. Willet Jonathan Hale Powell William Harrigan Aunt Jane Sarah Padden Maloney Syd Saylor Walters Charles Trowbridge Poppolas Johnny Arthur Hotel manager Maurice Cass Claire Minerva TJrecal Mabel Sally Payne Daughter of Shanghai (Paramount) Melodrama Condense all the excitement of a multi-chapter superthrilling serial into 60 minutes running time and you get some idea of the entertainment character of "Daughter of Shanghai." No war picture is this. No expedition is made to Shanghai. The only reason for the title apparently is that Anna May Wong, an American born Chinese, is introduced to the ribald habitues of a tropical island honky tonk as "the daughter of Shanghai — exotic dances." Directly the picture has to do with the experiences Miss Wong and an oriental undercover government man played by Philip Ahn meet when they set out to break up an alien smuggling ring. A wild and woolly melodrama, everything, including characterizations, action, dialogue, situations and locales is pointed to accentuate that quality. For resisting racketeers "Barden" and "Sleete," "Quan Lin" is killed, but his daughter, "Lan Ying" escapes. Under the supposed patronage of "Mrs. Hunt," "Lan Ying," refusing the cooperation of "Kim Lee" determines to break up an alien smuggling ring. On an island, where she pauses for a while to be a cabaret entertainer, she encounters many harrowing experiences, and gets information pointing to "Hartman" as one of the key figures in the racket. Arriving back in the environs of San Francisco, there are more hair-raising goings-on, imagination-defying escapes, until "Mrs. Hunt" is revealed as the hypocritical queen and brains behind the smuggling ring. Previewed December 10th in the Dome Theatre, Ocean Park, Cal. A surprise showing, attended by no studio officials and by only a very few paying customers, those present apparently most enjoyed themselves by kidding the film, telling the characters what and who to suspect and how to go about outwitting them. — G. M. Produced and distributed by Paramount. Directed by Robert Florey. Screen play by Gladys Unger and Garnett Weston. Based on a story by Garnett Weston. P. C. A. Certificate No. 3775. Running time, when seen in Hollywood, 60 minutes. Release date, Jan. 21, 1938. General audience classification. CAST Lan Ying Lin Anna May Wong Kim Lee Philip Ahn Otto Hartman Charles Bickford Andrew Sleete Larry Crabbe Mrs. Mary Hunt Cecil Cunningham Frank Barden \ J. Carrol Naish Olga Derey Evelyn Brent Harry Morgan Anthony Quinn James Lang John Patterson Captain Gulner Fred Kohler Jake Kelly Frank Sully Quan Lin Ching Wah Lee Ah Fong Maurice Liu Yung Woo Michael Wu Sam Blike Ernest Whitman Lil Mae Busch Wild Horse Rodeo (Republic) Western This subject should prove satisfactory to western fans in most situations. The story shifts from rodeo to ranch to rodeo and back to the ranch as two factions fight for a wild horse. The final sequence, wherein a group of horses is herded by airplane into a corral, a shooting duel between those on the ground and those in the air, and finally the destruction of the plane by a pistol shot from the ground, stops at nothing, but youngsters' enthusiasm is not likely to be troubled by incredulity. The story, like others in the Three Mesquiteers series, has a romantic tinge, but the love story is left open for another feature. Bob Livingston, Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune are the Mesquiteers ; June Martel, the girl, and Walter Miller, the trouble maker. "Stony" is a rodeo performer for "Colonel Nye's" outfit. "Tucson" runs a ranch. "Stony" and "Lullaby" borrow $1,000 from "Nye" to help "Tucson' by promising to capture the wild {Continued on page 54)