Universal Weekly (1933-1935)

UNIVERSAL WEEKLY EJan. 13, 1934 U BY CANDLELIGHT n “SCINTILLATING COMEDY,” Says Wanda Hale in the News 20 ” NEWSREEL No. 212 President Roosevelt reads his message to Congress. SPECIAL pictures of the appalling French train wreck in which almost 200 men, women and children were killed during the holidays, were rushed to U. S. screens by the Universal Newsreel during the past weekend as the result of a striking instance of newsreel enterprise. All newsreels had been closed for the week when the wreck pictures arrived aboard the S. S. Europa late Thursday night. Realizing the importance and timeliness of the subject, Allyn Butterfield, Editor of the Universal Newsreel, laid plans to rush it to Universal Exchanges as a special, rather than to hold it up until this week's newsreel issues. The pictures, taken a few hours after the wreck, show the terrible disaster in all its graphic details, with the bashed-in locomotive which ploughed its way through a wooden coach load of trapped passengers, the splintered coaches which telescoped with their human freight, and the sad and painstaking search of the tangled debris for dead and injured. Babe Ruth officially starts the baseball season by going into training at McGovern’s Gym. UNIVERSAL has taken Siegfried Geyer's comedy "By Candlelight" that was shown on the legitimate stage here several years ago, featuring Gertrude Lawrence, Leslie Howard and Reginald Owen, and transformed it to the screen. The result is entirely satisfactory. Under the capable direction of James Whale, combined with the clever portrayals of Paul Lukas, Nils Asther and Elissa Landi, the screen version has lost none of the spicy flavor of the original. The masquerading of a butler and a maid as their royal master and mistress is the theme upon which this light and highly amusing comedy is based, and so entertained will you be in the comical situations and bright dialogue that you will hardly be reminded of the fact that masquerading is one of the more hackneyed forms of comedy. Elissa Landi is charming as the lady's maid, but her work is overshadowed by the performances of Paul Lukas and Nils Asther as butler and master. Beautiful Esther Ralston is rightly cast as lady nobility. The smart Continental settings are laid in Vienna and Monte Carlo. Josef (Paul Lukas) is Prince Rudolph's (Nils Asther) butler. He is intrigued with his master's ability in making lovely ladies stoop to folly. He meets Marie (Elissa Landi) who, thinking he is the Prince, poses as a Countess. Thinking the Prince gone for the evening, Josef persuades Marie to call for a cocktail. Using his master's technique, he is going great with Marie, when Rudolph unexpectedly returns home. Amused by the situation he dons his butler's coat and helps along with the adventure. More mix-ups follow, but they are all cleared up. Don't miss this picture at the old Roxy. + + * “AMUSING,” Says Mordaunt Holl WITH its philandering prince and a butler who also has an eye for feminine beauty, a countess who welcomes flattery from the opposite sex and a very artful and comely girl, "By Candlelight," the present film at the Roxy, affords a pleasantly amusing diversion. It is shallow and somewhat obvious in spots, but its little intrigue is set forth with admirable cunning by James Whale and others*. This harmless affair hails from the German Siegfried Geyer's play, "Candle-Light," which found it’s way to the English-speaking stage through P. G. Wodehouse's adaptation. Out at the Universal studios they decided to make the story a little more intricate and therefore employed Hans Kraly, F. Hugh Herbert, Karen de Wolf and Ruth Cummings to put it into screen form. It might be said that the result is one of the few instances where too many cooks have not spoiled the broth. Here one finds Paul Lukas portraying Josef, Prince Alfred von Rommer's butler, and Elissa Landi appears as — well, Marie, who is always arrayed most becomingly. The Prince comes to life in the person of Nils Asther and Dorothy Revier appears as Countess von Rischenheim. A little contre( Continued on Page 28)