Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

54 M o t i on P i c t it r e X ews October 11 , 19 30 Opinions on Pictures where Lloyd is on the outside of the building, arc most spectacular and have some very exciting moments. On board the ship some clever comedy situations produce hearty laughs. The picture is ninety per cent Lloyd who carries the piece with little effort. Barbara Kent. Robert McWade, Lillian Leighton and a shurYlin' negro lad by the name of Sleep'n'eat, are well cast and add interest to the talker. The direction by Clyde Bruckman is above average. He handles the comedy situations very deftly. The photography is particularly noticeable for its merit and adds considerable to the picture. The story is not at all unusual, and in several places somewhat vague. However, this fails to spoil the fun and will be forgotten among the laughs and chills. Use dramatic shorts with this. Produced by Harold Lloyd. Distributed by Paramount. Directed by Clyde Bruckman. Story by John Grey and Al Cohn. Adaptation and dialogue by Felix Adler, Lex Xeal and Paul Gerard Smith. Pnotographed by Walter Lundin and Henry Kohler. Edited by Bernard Barton. Length, 8,100 feet. Running time, 90 minutes. Release date, Oct. 25. THE CAST Harold Horne Harold Lloyd The Girl Barbara Kent Tanner Robert McWade Mrs. Tanner Lillianne Leighton End it ott Henry Hall Mi i arson Alec B. Francis (lull man Arthur Hausman Sleep'n'Eat Himself Morocco {Paramount) Hail a New Garbo {Reviewed by Jack Grant) THERE'S a new name going up in lights on theatre marquees from one end of the country to the other. Marlene Dietrich makes an American debut in "Morocco" that will be hailed with superlatives which have not been used since Garbo first swept them off their feet Nor does the comparison between the new German importation and the Garbo end there. They look and play so much alike that the after-preview lobby chatter concerned nothing else. Physically the resemblance is remarkable with Dietrich, it anything, having a bit the better of the deal in beauty. Garbo's insouciance that approaches insolence is exactly duplicated on the screen by Dietrich. Both radiate the same brand of sex. As far as can be judged by a single appearance. Marlene Dietrich probably is capable of a greater range of characterization than Garbo. For one thing she has no accent with which to contend. She sings with the nasal inflection of the French, an impression heightened by the fact that her first number in "Morocco" is in that language. But her reading of English dialogue is delivered in a deep-throated voice nearly entirely devoid of the suggestion of a I ' mtinental origin. Although the billing of "Morocco" reads Gary Gonper and Marlene Dietrich, both the story values and the cutting reverse that order oi importance. Obviously the release^ was framed to introduce Dietrich as ostentatiously as possible. Paramount knows full well what a bet it has in this girl. Cooper's name will draw patrons in, but they will leave talking Dietrich. The part she plays was intelligently chosen and ably directed by Josef Von Sternberg, her discoverer. She is essentially a woman of mystery in the plot action and the past that sends her to Morocco is never disclosed. Playing such a role makes her personality all the more alluring. The picture opens with the arrival of Dietrich in Morocco. Quartered there is the For i i i li battalion to which Cooper is attached. They meet -Alien she makes her fir^t irance as an entertainer at a local cafe Cooper is interested in her only as another of a series of many conquests which include an affair with a superior officer's wife. Adolphe Menjou, as a wealthy man about town, is also interested in Dietrich, but his intentions are more honorable. Cooper is about to desert the Legion to avoid trouble over the officer's wife and plans to take Dietrich with him. But, with the realization of how much more Menjou can provide for the girl, he changes his mind and goes into action with his company. Dietrich, left behind, agrees to marry Menjou. Their engagement supper is broken up by the music of the returning Legionnaires' band. She runs into the street to find Cooper and is told he was left wounded in another town. The report is found false when she travels to the hospital. Cooper was transferred at his request to another company which is moving back into the desert the next day. Knowing that she cannot go through with "her wedding to Menjou, she joins the little group of women who follow the soldiers and marches into the desert after her man. Von Sternberg has embellished this tale with top-notch production values. It is slow paced, but the spots where the picture drags will doubtless be removed by further cutting before release. Splendid use of the camera has been made to keep the tempo moving and composition and mass details are noteworthy. Mention should also be made of the intelligent use of sound with superfluous dialogue eliminated. When the characters talk they have something to say. Cooper finds in Legionnaire Tom Brown one of his best roles. He delivers a well conceived and robust portrayal. Menjou makes a distinguished return to American productions and the rest of the cast are uniformly excellent. But it is Marlene Dietrich about whom the talk will center. From every angle the picture has been built around her. "Morocco" will make a strong bid for position on the best ten lists of critics at the end of the year though it may not make much money for Paramount. Regardless of the financial returns on this initial venture, it is predicted that *he name of Marlene Dietrich on subsequent releases will mean real money at the boxoffice. Strong comedy support in shorts suggested. Produced and distributed by Paramount. Directed by Josef Von Sternberg. From the play, "Amy Jolly," by Benno Vigny. Adaptation by Jules Furthman. Photographed by Lee Games. Edited by Sam Winston. Length not set. Release date, December 7. THE CAST Legionnaire Tom Brown Cary Cooper Amy Jolly Marlene Dietrich La Bessiere Adolphe Menjou Adjutant Caesar Ullrich Haupt Madame Caesar .' Eve Southern Corp. Tatoche Francis McDonald Lo Tinto Paul Porassi Col. Quinnevieres Albert Conti Anna Dolores Juliette Compton Sunny (First National} None Too Bright Musical (Reviewed by Jack Grant) T"*AKF. four dances by Marilyn Miller, two *■ songs, a typical musical comedy plot filmed with but slight variation of the original stage script and you have the formula for "Sunny," Designed as a follow-up to "Sally," it will do business in the spots where the former Miller picture was successful. But chances are doubtful that it will prove as sensational. "Sunny" has been adapted to the screen with minimum imagination. In recognition of the public's current ukase against filmusicals, the song numbers have been held down to a single solo and one duet. Both are repeated a couple of times but never accompanied by the usual dancing-singing chorus. In fact, there is no one even remotely resembling a chorus girl in the production. The dancing of Miss Miller is undoubtedly the picture's highlight. They have been generous with her routines, giving a tap, burlesque ballet, eccentric and an interpretative fox hunt number. The comedy stepping is performed with joe Donahue as partner. Miss Miller's singing voice is recorded better than in her previous effort, the familiar "Who" being particularly well delivered. Her acting has gained assurance and lost something of its charm in the process. The two roles of "Sally" and "Sunny" are as similar as their titles, both falling under the general classification of the Cinderella theme. But the appeal of the first has not been duplicated in the second. "Sunny" is much more matter-of-fact and correspondingly artificial. Little need to recount the story in much detail. Sunny, a circus girl pledged by her father to wed an Englishman she does not love, becomes a stowaway on an ocean liner to America. On the boat is Lawrence, the man she really loves, but, who, in turn, has a fiancee. In order to be near him and also to be allowed to enter the States without a passport, Sunny marries his best friend, Joe Donahue. It is marriage in name only and divorce is quickly sought after landing. A misunderstanding causes her to start back to England, but Gray realizes Sunny is the only girl for him just in time to stop her. The usual clinch provides a happy ending. All this is tojd with the deadly seriousnes: with which musical comedy books are always filmed. On the stage such plots merely fill the waits between song numbers. By omitting the music on the screen, undue emphasis is placed on story construction. It suffers accordingly. The only two people who mean anything in entei tairment value are Marilyn Miller and Joe Donahue, an easy playing, likeable comedian. Brother of Jack Donahue who originated the role he now plays, Joe won a long-term First National contract as a result of this performance. It is apparent why. O. P. Heggie is badly cast in the Joseph Cawthorn stage part and fails to get all his laughs. Part of this fault must be borne by the lack of new gags in the dialogue. Lawrence Gray has little opportunity to be more than the typical juvenile. The rest are bit assignments although Judith Vosselli and Mackenzie Ward make their roles worthwhile. Mention should be made of the possible confusion in the titles of "Sunny" and "Sally." This is dictated by an overheard snatch of conversation at the preview. A woman left the theatre remarking how she wanted her daughter, now in dancing school, to see Marilyn Miller. She was going to watch for the release of "Sally." It might be a good thing to keep this in mind when preparing advertising copy for "Sunny." Stress the fact it is the second Miller feature. Almost anything in shorts will fit except dancing and singing shorts. Produced and distributed by First National. Directed by William A. Seiter. From the musical comedy of the same name by Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II. and Jerome Kern. Adaptation by Humphrey Pearson and Henry McCarty. Photographed by Ernest Haller. Length, about 8,550 feet. Running time, approximately 95 minutes. Release date, not set. THE CAST Sunny Marilyn Miller Tom Warren Lawrence Gray Tim Deming Toe Donahue Peters O. P. Heggie Weenie Inez Courtney Margaret Barbara Bedford Sue Judith Vosselli Wendell -Wrn<lcll Mackenzie Ward Sam Gyde Cook