Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

October 11. 1930 M o 1 1 o n P i c l u r e X e w s Opinions on Pictures Up the River (Fox) It's a Pip (Reviewed by Red Kami) GO out and treat yourself to a Coca Cola in anticipation of what's coming your way. "Up the River," a prison yarn with an entirely new twist, is sufficient excuse for the extravagance. Take it from us. We've seen; and we've been convinced. Maurine Watkins, playwright, who demonstrated her cleverness when she wrote the stage play. "Chicago." authored this original, which gets tar off the beaten track of jail yarns and stays that way clear through to the end. From every angle, "Up the River" clicks. To begin with, the yarn is there. The dialogue does lull justice to the subtleties and twists of the >tory. John Ford must have realized what a fine property had been thrown into his lap. This is reflected at every turn of his direction. The cast, too, very patently caught the spirit of the thing. Clear down the line and beginning with Spencer Tracy, the performances are fine, the most unimportant of the lot being Claire Luce, musical comedy performer and novice in talkers. Tracy, who played "Killer" Mears in "The Last Mile" on the X e w York stage, is "St Louis" in the picture. Audiences won't know who he is, but it's a cinch they will be asking for lots more of him after "Up the River" makes the rounds. Coupled with him is Warren Hymer, who has been playing tough egg roles in many talkers. They make a marvelous team. Both hard as nails, you see St. Louis as the smart roughneck and Hymer as Dannemora Dan, the dumbbell. All through its footage, the picture demonstrates a treatment that is rich in comedy, pathos and irony. The yarn deals with crooks and prisons, but the slant is new — to pictures at least. Running all the way from straight comedy to the sardonic, "Up the River" presents criminals for the human beings they are. The story has St. Louis and Dannemora break jail and then fall out when the former doublecrosses Danny and makes his getaway, leaving Danny to shift for himself. Dannemora gets religion and joins the Brotherhood of Man. The religious fervor burns until Danny spots St. Louis riding around town in a benzine buggy with two swell-looking gals on the leash. Then he bursts into flame, socks St. Louis and both are sent back to prison. Steve, played with intelligence by Humphrey Bogart, supplies the love interest and the dramatic motivation for the story. Claire Luce, convicted on a bogus stock racket charge, falls for him. When Steve, parole time having arrived, leaves the prison he promises to wait for her. In the interim, Frosby, who walked out on Claire when the going became too hot, gets wise to the love match and follows Steve to his New England home, threatening to expose him to his family if he doesn't co-operate in fleecing the local townspeople. Claire learns of this in prison, confides in St. Louis and Danny who tell her they'll fix Frosby so that he won't cause any more trouble. L'sing the annual prison show as an excuse, they make their way out of prison, hop a rattler and arrive in New England in time to secure the bonds Steve's mother had turned over to Frothy, while it is intimated that the shark gets his just desserts at the hands of his sidekicks who suspect Frosby was planning to walk out on them. Their job finished, St. Louis and Danny resume their train jaunt and return to prison in time to win the annual baseball game for their prison alma mater. Into this has been injected brilliant comedy and thrusts of satire. Tracv and Hvmer are excellent in their character shadings. As a matter of fact, if the Fox powers are successful A Find Tiffany has a real find in Anita Louise, 15-year-old player who makes her debut in "Just Like Heaven." Miss Louise has looks, grace, acting ability and can sing and dance. Advance report is that she scores a big hit in "The Third Alarm," which has just been completed. She should prove a real bet for the company. HYNES in obtaining material which fits their capabilities, exhibitors have a crackerjack team to figure on for box-office drawing power with this picture as a starter. Iu advertising "Up the River" you have no picture names with which to play. Sounds like handicap, and ordinarily is. But promise somethin unusual and pound that idea hard. You won't be misrepresenting. t artoons and newsreels suggested as com paumn pieces. Produced and distributed by Fox. From original story by Maurine Watkins. Scenario and dialogue by M murine Watkins. Photographed by Joseph August. Length, f.JSO feet. Running time, 92 mins. Release date, October 12. THE CAST St. Louis. Spencer Tracv Dannemora Dan Warren Hymer Steve Humphrey Bogart Judy Claire Luce Pop William Collier, Sr. Jean Joan Lawes Jessup George MacFarlane Edith La Verne Sharon Lynn SHm and Clem "Black and Blue" The Warden Robert E. O'Connor Dick Richard Keene Mrs. Massey _ Louise Macintosh Happy Johnnie Walker Beauchamp Pat Somerset Frosby Morgan Wallace Mrs. Jordan Edythe Chapman Cynthia Althea Henly Deputy Wai*den Joe Brown Just Like Heaven (Tiffany) Good Entertainment (Reviewed by Charles F. Hvnes) IT'S too bad that" Director R. William Neill saw "Seventh Heaven," for he obviously has tried to pattern this after that outstanding success. Had he given it a different and a little better treatment than he has, he would have had a smash. As it is, the picture is good entertainment, which will appeal to the family trade particularly. It could be speeded up by trimming. The picture starts out slowly, but gains momentum and has a good climax, which will send them out pleased. One of the faults of direction is that some of the players affect a French accent while the others do not. The cast is overshadowed by Anita Louise, young leading woman, who looks like a comer. She is not yet 16 but has all-around acting, singing and dancing ability. David Newell is good playing opposite. Gaston Glass gets over a difficult part and Yola D'Avril is a fiery, if not always convincing, Fifi. Thomas Jefferson is effective in a brief part and the balance of the cast is satisfactory. The story is of the Paris streets, where Tobey, a balloon vender, is ambitious to produce a pageant. In order to win a scholarship, he saves his money and jealously guards his stand, evicting all trespassers. However, he is unable to frighten away Mimi, a little spitfire, who is with a dog circus. He resists her efforts at friendliness, but finally falls in love with her. The girl's grandfather is killed in a fall and Tobey takes the fainting girl into his room, which he turns over to her. He secretly pays all the funeral expenses and doctor bills and then finances the girl's dancing lessons out of the money he had hoarded to stage his pageant. The girl had planned to dance in the pageant, but accepts a theatrical offer when Tobey refuses to go on with plans for the pageant. A cafe dancer who had robbed the girl's grandfather finances the pageant, but it is doomed to obvious failure when the girl insists upon doing the dance in cafe style. Tobey then withdraws his production, but Mimi, told of Tobey's plight, foregoes her scheduled debut to come and dance at the pageant, which Tobey wins. Comedy shorts needed. Produced and distributed by Tiffany. Directed by R, William Neill. Story and screen play by Adele Buffington. Kdited by Charles Hunt. Sets by Ralph De Lacey. Technical director, Andre Chotin. Photographed by Max Dupont. Length, 5,850 feet. Running time, 65 minutes, Release date, not set. THE CAST Mimi Anita Louise Tobey David Newell Fili Yola D'Avti! Jean Gaston Glass Michael Thomas Jefferson Mme. Fogharde Mathilde Comont M. Fogharde Albert Roccardi Pierre Torben Meye" Dulac Emil Chautard Feet First (Lloyd Prod.-Paramount ) Laughs and Thrills (Rei'iewed by Bill Crouch ) HAROLD LLOYD'S latest talking picture, "Feet First," combines thrills with laughs and the result is a picture that will please any audience. Parts of the talker are greatly reminiscent of "Safety Last," but with sound effects the thrills are more clearly brought out and are of a hair raising type that often border on the hysterical. With the Lloyd name — plus entertai ning comedy — this picture is plenty of attraction for the exhibitor. The story never lags and many amusing complications keep the film moving at a fast tempo. Will be excellent fare for the better first run theatres and subsequent bookings. The picture will hold up under heavy exploitation as it has the goods. The story opens with Lloyd working in a Honolulu shoe store. His great desire is to become a shoe salesman. When he meets Barbara Kent, he starts out to do bigger and better things. After a correspondence course study of developing personality he becomes a salesman and meets with success. Striving to break into society he visits an exclusive club where he meets the girl and makes a good impression upon her and her employer, Robert McWade, who is owner of the chain of stores for which Lloyd works. Next we find him aboard a steamer delivering shoes. He fails to get off the boat in time and has to stay aboard the ship bound for the States. Lloyd spends the greater portion of his time dodging the ship's officers. The rest of the time he spends with Miss Kent and in trying to find food. McWade takes a liking to Lloyd and they are very friendly until Lloyd by mistake gives him a loaded cigar. McWade then becomes infuriated and tells Lloyd that if he wishes to redeem himself he must deliver some papers to the mainland the next day, while the ship is two days from shore. The ship's officers, finding that Lloyd is a stowaway, try to catch him but he gets into a mail sack and is put aboard the plane that visits the ship. As a result he arrives at the mainland on the right day. However, the sack falls from the mail truck, onto a swin^in*4 scaffold and is hoisted up alongside a skyscraper. Here Lloyd gets out of the sack and finds that he can't get on the inside of the building. After many attempts — which are thrilling, he gets to the top of the building and later delivers the papers. Offered a new job bv McWade — he proposes and is accepted by Miss Kent. As with most Lloyd comedies the gags are very good and are new. The thrill sequences