Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

October 25, 1930 Motion Picture News 77 The Bluffer (Sennett — Educational) Very Good THIS is the first subject of the Sennett Brevities and introduces Sennett Color, the producer's new process. The coloring is beautiful and effective, but more important is the fact that this is a very good comedy, with Andy Clyde pretty much the whole show. He always can be depended upon for laughs, and in this he comes through nicely, aided by the pretty Patsy O'Leary, Gaylord Pendleton and Lincoln Stedman. Clyde had offered a big job in South America and his daughter's hand to the braver of two suitors. Stedman appears loaded down with medals and gets the assignment. But Pendleton and Patsy upset things when Clyde and Stedman are out fishing. Some very good gags in this. Running time, 11 minutes. Fine anywhere. My Mistake (Vitaphone Varieties 1086) Mildly Amusing THE idea behind this might have been sold to better effect. It is not especially new, but there is a laugh or two left in the gag. A professional killer enters a man's apartment and takes a pot shot at him. The gunman has been hired to bump him off and they get into an argument as to how it shall be done. The man is an undertaker and knows something about killings. By chance it is discovered the gunman is in the wrong apartment and the undertaker makes a deal with him to leave business cards whenever he kills anyone. Neither Donald Brian or Pat O'Brien get much out of their material. Running time, 10 minutes. Okay for opening when you need several shorts. I The Hoosegow (M-G-M) Dandy T WAS a bad day for everybody up to the governor when Messrs. Laurel and Hardy were sent to jail for some reason or other. When they had finished with their pranks it didn't resemble a jail at all. This is gorgeous slapstick all the way through and the customers roared without a stop. After a series of side-splitting episodes in the place the governor appears for an inspection. A practical joker tells Laurel to put a lot of rice in the radiator of the governor's car, with the result that a mountain of gooey goo emanates. At length the governor, his staff, the warden, some swell dames and the prisoners indulge in throwing the stuff at each other. Mack Sennett and his custard pies never made a mess like this. Running time, 20 minutes. Surefire in any spot. Our Nagging Wives (Gayety-Educational) Not So Good FORD STERLING is capable of better stuff than this. It's a comedy with the laughs few and far between, and doesn't shape up so well. Ford is a lingerie salesman, who always is getting into jams with his wife. She gives him one more chance, and when he tries to help the fiancee of a friend, he rides into another mess. Better comedies are expected from Al Christie. Arvid E. Gillstrom directed. Running time, 19 minutes. With a feature comedy. Grandma's Girl (Sennett — Educational) So-So AN odd one from Sennett. If it were not for a couple of tossed pies, you could hardly believe the barking dog trademark. Andy Clyde is an old-fogey father refusing to allow his daughter, Baby Kane, to know the modern youths of the town. Her only approved boy friend is Lincoln Stedman, a nice steady bank clerk. Then grandma arrives. She is Short Subjects modern from the word go and, when Andy departs on a trip, she throws a real party. The girl meets Nick Stuart and forgets Stedman. Father returns and grandma frames him into permitting the kids to marry. Not many laughs. Florence Roberts outstanding as grandma. Others merely average. One song by Baby Kane means little. Running time, 21 minutes. Probably will fit with a strong comedy feature. Take Your Medicine (Sennett-Edueational) Fairly Good AS a vehicle to exploit Sennett Color this is a good novelty, but it is only fairly good as a comedy, and falls quite a bit below "The Bluffer," first of this new Brevity series. As usual, Andy Clyde carries the picture. He is a hypochondriac, intent upon keeping his daughter from marrying a radio singer. They are vacationing and the scenery is used to splendid advantage to show off the values of the color process. Eddie Cline directed. Running time, 10 minutes. Fits any kind of bill. Midnight (Pathe) Full of Laughs A CAT quartette yodeling "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider,'' and six dogs singing the "Sextette from Lucia" furnish the major portion of the laughs in this Aesop Fable, the sound and action synchronization being done so cleverly that the effect is good for a number of roars. The story concerns the plight of a farmer, annoyed by the cats, who pulls a boner by calling on the pound for a score of dogs to stop the nuisance. But they supply more whoopee than the cats did. Running time, 7 minutes. Fine for added comedy. Below Zero (M-G-M) Another Laugh Treat LAUREL and Hardy go through a lot of silly experiences in this new comedy, but they are good for plenty of laughs. They are street musicians, the picture opening with them trying to panhandle in front of an institute for the deaf. Later they find a purse containing plenty of dough and go with a copper to a tough restaurant. When it develops the purse belongs to the cop, there is plenty of excitement. Another reason why Laurel and Hardy are so popular. Running time, 22 minutes. On any kind of program. Scotch Taffy (Vitaphone Varieties No. 956) A Wow NEAT dialect monologue and plenty of funny material which is fresh and all fits the bill. Scotch character played by Scott Saunders introduced as a scissors grinder who has had but one customer in three years. Opens with a song and closes with the final chorus of same number. In between is a genuinely amusing series of Scotch anecdotes. Saunders sells himself splendidly on the screen, having an admirable sense of timing. Caught on a bill which included three other shorts, this was the only one getting a hand. One reel. Heartily recommended wherever a real laughgetter is needed. Neighborly Neighbors (Paramount) A Howl LULU McCONNELL is pretty much the whole show in this short, but she's some show. It's filled with laughs, some of them of the uproarious variety. She moves in on her neighbors for a game of bridge. Her husband hasn't a chance to get a word in edgewise, neither have her neighbors, in fact. And when the liquor is served, Lulu gets gloriously pieeyed, the affair winding up in a near fight. Any audience will get a big kick out of this. Running time, 22 minutes. Great support for a zt'eak feature. Too Hot to Handle (Darmour— RtiO) One Continuous Laugh LOUISE FAZENDA turns on all her laugh guns in this one and furnishes two reels of continuous laughter. It's pure slapstick of the kind that turns on the laughs at the start and keeps them rolling until the final fadeout. Louise is cast as a social advisor who agrees to supply an "old Southern family" as atmosphere for her employer, a "climber" of the worst sort . Many ludicrous happenings occur before it is revealed that the "old Southern family" are all relatives of the "advisor" and come from South Brooklyn. It's Miss Fazenda's show from start to finish, but the supporting cast, gags, direction and dialogue place this one at the top of the list Vernon Dent, Fern Emmett, Harry Bernard, Lyle Tayo, Joe Young, Hilliard Kerr and Irving Bacon are the other players. Musical shorts should be used to balance. Lonely Gigolo (Vitaphone Varieties No. 3931) Misses A TECHNICOLOR musical in which Lotti Loder sings two numbers. She makes her entrance in male attire backed by a chorus of girls. Female orchestra also spotted in background. After singing title song, Lotti wishes she could be a woman for just a short time. Dissolve grants the wish and at the same time changes the chorus girls to chorus boys. The orchestra is likewise transformed. Then the second number. Miss Loder has not a particularly good singing voice. Nor are her dance routines out of the ordinary. Mistake was made in working chorus girls too tall and large for her. The whole idea just misses. Running time, 9 mins. Color only reason for using this. Cannibal Islands (Talking Picture Epics) Highly Interesting EPICS has cut up "Across the World with Mr. and Mrs. Martin Johnson" into serial form, and the result is interesting. This is the first of the four chapters and an interesting one it is. Johnson accompanies the film with a lecture pointing out points of interest and describing the cannibalistic natives of the Solomon Islands. With the present vogue of travel talk pictures, this one should go over well. Running time, 20 minutes. Spot with musical shorts. Jumping Beans (Terry-Toon — Educational) Weak Cartoon THIS is pretty shy on laughs or funny gags. As the title indicates it is a Mexican border affair, built around the effects of eating jumping beans. Terry has turned out so much better stuff that this one suffers plenty by comparison. Can't hand it much. Running time, 11 minutes. Use with good support.