Variety (March 1932)

20 VARIETY Fil-M BE Vi E WS Tuesday, March 1,1932 FORD STERLING 'It Ought to Be a Cnme' Comedy SO Mine. Beacon, N. Y. Parahiount .. Well enough made and attacking the risibilities with eufflclent po- tency to merit play-dating on best of first-run ahows. Ford' Sterling, as a home-lOving German, is asked to demonstratfe how near wife-beat Ing a husband, can approach as a result of unreasonable aotionis. v Short opens with the wife scream Jng as though her hubby's killing her, with action shifting to the courtroom, where the defendant is lip against what looks like a tough eiege. His jury comiprises 11 old dames and. one half-baked man. But when the testimony reveals the wife was one 6f those home super- intendents who, had a pasb for mov- ing the furniture around all the time, the judge,, prosecutor, clerk of the court and even spectators get thummy. With that change, the material turns satirical with anything liable to happen contrary to court pro- cedure. Judge finally asks thei de- fendant to call hini 'George' instead of'Your Honor,'and so on. , When flnally His Honor suggests hubby and his pain, go Into his chambers to make up, the wife moves the chair from behind former and the flght starts all over, again; . Sterling has able support in Mar- Jorie Beebe, . Charles Haltoii, Jed Prouty, Walter Feniner and others. Albert Ray directed from a Btpry by Ifunnally Johnson. ; " Char. TRAGEDY OF EVEREST Scenic 8Q Mins, Roxy, N. Y. Capitol Three-reeler Is a travelog scenic, deriving its tragic title from the futile effort by two of the Capt. Noel expedition to surmount the highest mountafn peak oh earth. Beautiful scenically, the dramatic futility of man to. best nature's stark handicaps, in surmounting the Icy Everest, Is nicely gotten across. That it could have been done In two reels, and more effectively, eeemingly did not occur to anybody. David Ross, radio 'announcer, does the spieling. He Is effective It verbose in sending over, the mes- sage that no. white man . has ever scaled Everest before. It leaves the audience with the same feeling as the Byrd pictures did—^a sensation of having seen a lot of ice and ^ snow and nothingness. And It's : still tough to work yourself up over nothing. Oke in an early groove in ia class house but otherwise a chaser on its length.. AbeU BURNS and ALLEN 'Babbling Brook' .Comedy -9 Miha. Rialto, New Ybrle . Paramount . George'Sums and Gi-acie Allen inject much comedy into this sub- ject, albeit, the laugh's iare not as well palced ias In the previous Burns and Allen skits. The dizzy, inane quips of MisS Allen are as usual the substance .of the skit. With this team a , plot or a setting means nothing except as a backgi-ound for gags. Crossfire goes off irito .a tan- gent that could be practically as ef- fective against a backdrop. Miss Allen here is a saleslady In a book storje. Burns comes in to purchase a book and the Burns and Allen dizzy .crc^sfire ensues. Leads up to a small: sized niob scene all olierinig their versions of a plirase ('tar from me be if) which Miss. Allen Inverts and whicli all help to tangle. Contains enough . laughs' to score.. The crossfire of this, comedy team always works up a reispohse. , MARJORIE BEEBE Comedy^ 9 Mins. Strand, N. Y. Vitaphone No. 1301 Mafjprle Beebe«. . heroine of in-, numerable yitaptione,two-reelers, is center of an' elaborate low comedy' subject which looks as though it might have cost a g'ood- deal tb pro- duce./ If so, It Is scarely worth the cost or footage. Miss Beebe Is a plgaret girl in a night club, plenty of knockabout, loaded cligars and the like figuring here. Gets tangled up with an a.k. New Tear's Eve reveler on the make; leading to a struggle in a t^xicab later, pursuit by the police and a, burlesque sequence in a police court where the travesty judge takes up- the flirtation Idea: Short has a roughhouse finale, with judge, court attendtuits and all , going ibr more explosive clgalrs for a rough-and- tumble finale. Machlnermadedowning done in a routine way. Just a filler. Rudj/. TRAVELAUGHS John Medbury 10 Mins. May fair, New York Columbia Travelog on natives in Haiti, cus- tomary street scenes and habits, are touched up with sound effects and John Medbury wisecracks. A lot of people laush with Med- bury and a lot don't. Some of John's cracks are a little too - suggestive, even though all are bromidic. It takes a long time for the film to get to where John says tHe nar tives are voodooing. Scene, then, Is just straight up and down dancing with an occasional close-up Of some of the darker netherlimbs. Waly. MAGIC CARPET iSERIES 'Fiahermah's LucK' ' 10 Mins. Embassy, N. Y. , Fox Movietone One of the most gripping views of a rough sea,: tlirough a camera perchedi oh the decl; of a si.'all fish- ing vessel, opens this episode. It has to do with fishing off the Grand Banks, T^hich Is disillusioning to the average lub1>er. When the boys get on the grounds they just keep throwing over '.e nets and pulling them In until it is time to go home. Shark fishing Is more exciting. A short clip on this subject, shows a man falling overboard just as a big man-eater Is pulled alongside. Maiden pearl divers off the Japa- nese coasts are included. Trays of pearls as they appiear in store win- dows are obtained with little cfCort in this region. V Wahj. CURIOSITIES 10 Mins. Translux, .New York Columbia m his latest assembly of odd cii cumstances, Walter Futter shows parts of Arizojia where the drink- ing water has to be tested with a coin; New Orleans' 'suicide : oak tr<^e,' and a California fire eater; ALSO treasure hunting in Mexico is not uvcrlooked. llypriotlzine a hen uhtil it con ccntrates both eyes on a chalk line is an interesting clip. The one on Chinese fishermen using cormorants has lain long in the vaults of the average picture company, Waly. TALKCRTOON 'The Robot' 10 Mins. Loew's New York Paramount rnrtoon with s?ever.il iHiinhs and dashc-- of origliialltv; r.iinbo, the char.K ter, has to knocif put the oar nH'al champ to get married. So, he turns his auto Into a robot. Looiss as though It miftht have been inspired by 'Frankensftn.' Waly. 'BOB WHITE' Grsntland Rice Sportficfht; 10 Mins. Mayfair, New York RKO-Patho Some excellent capera work in this, ^nd some even better perform onoes by pointing .and retrieving dogs. Jt Is a great, short for the bird hunter,, but the kind holding little Interee^* for the average plcture- *roer. Tffl/y. SINO-JAPANESE CURSE' Travel 15 Mins. Strand, N.Y. '. Cinephone Made the subjec' of ' urrent inter- est; this old travel subject of indus- tries in Manchuria has 'jfeen taken off the shelf and tricked out with a dubbed lecture by Norman Biokeh- shire, radio announcer. Lecture Is trlmtly done, with In- teresting comment an : a little.gag- ging. . Public interest In the seat of the Sirio-Jap affair does the rest to sustain interest^ but. subject is shortlived now that action pt the real struggle aroima Shanghai are beginning to reach the American screen. Rush. Minialare Reviews 'WILD AND WOOLLY' Rodeo ■ ■'•• 10 Mins.. Loew's New York M-G-M Pete Smith, Metro's west coast press agent and one-time leading wisecracker at the p.a.. mass meet Ings,. is turning smirt in screen sound..- Scraps Of- bull throwing, i'idia?;' and broncho, busting are the targets tor Pete's jibes. Some ot tiie cracks are as old as the ones Pete made, at the WAMPAS five years ago—and almost as biad. People in the New York grinds, however, arei still flnding something funny in some of them. Walyt THE VOICE.OF HOLLYWOOD 10 Mins. ' , ;' Translux, New. York Tiffany . New idea In way of Introducing screen stars and their homes is by locaile .suggesting television. Lew Ayres as the guest broadcaster in this offcrihg is shown on the full screen but several other stars arc kept .jR'ithin a frame described as 'television.' Usual potpourri of comments, bows, etc., are included .Probably of general interest t( the more avid followers of ^s-'-ocn mags. Waly. ; 'Arsene tupin' (M-G-M). John and Lionel. Barryriipre's first joint : screen appeaxance which is eufflclent. Acting subordinates speeid of detec- tlve story, but its box office is' Burefli-e on the name dls- '.play/\ ■■ 'The Expert' (WB). Chic Sale's old man chaiacterlza-: tion and a fine buinan interest story spoiled by writing At . .down, to level of va-udeyllle low, comedy, FuM of -false values and mistreatment' of '. Edna Ferber original ta.le. and its later stage play. 'Gheaiters at PlayV (Fpx). . Elementiary. crook riieller with Thprtias Meighan and Char- lotte ;Grrtntvood. Weak b. o. candidate' best for middle class hPuses. 'Cross Examination? (Wels* 'BrPs.-Artclass), "Courtroom; drami, put prij rather, effec- tively to' solve a murder;' thus ■ making picture also a; mystery. 'Vy'eighs enough to hold down solo billing and Ideal ais half- of double feature shows. H. B. Warner the Star. " 'Law and Order' (U). Horses and gun's, \yithout a gal in the cast or action. Walter Hus- ton's work gpod ljut.resti'lcted to an all-male fiiidiehce. 'A Private Scandal' (Head- line). Cphventlonal indie melo- ; drama:,, good enough for :the dpuble feature houses with some more editing.:.. 'Final Edition' (Col.) A niewspa per story with the newsmen getting the best .of it and doing iip the gangsters. Plenty of action and a gen- erally good production with . Mae Clarke scoring another i'lit.' ': ■ ■ fLand of Wanted Men' (Monp- . gram), "tt'estevn story with plenty of action, hard riding . and several g:ood fights. Story not particularly well done, but lack covered up by actibni 'The . Dragnet Patrol'. (Ac- tion). Cheaply produced, poor- ly directed, simple theme with a, cast of names that doesn't mean much, 'Sein S c h e i d u.n g sgrund' (Ufa). Very poor German musical.. No name players don't help even fpr strictly . 'German houiaes. '.- 'Sally of the Subway' (Ac- tion), Mild croPk stpry. oh an. old framework, with Dorothy RcYier in for the name and ^ Jack Miilhall and Blanche Ma- haffey making good personal scores. Nothing whatever to do with subways. Merialy. a girl's gang name. ARSENE LUPIN ur-Q-M production and r«lea8C, co-slar- rini John and Lionel Bawyjaoro; .directed by Jack Conway. From tbe French atage ploy of two decodes or eo bbo .by Maurice LeBlahc and Francis de CTolsset. Adapta- tion by Cariey Wilson. DIalocr by Bayard Veltler and I>nore Coffee. Comerainan, Oliver T. Marsh. Film editor. Huph Wynn. At the Capitol. New York, Feb. ap. Run- nlng time, (M.mlns 'Diike of-Charmeraco.. Giierchard ;.....'....... Sonia ■..'...f....i..... Prefpct, of police...... Gourney-Mortin ...... Sher.l tt'n Man.,....... Sherlfll.s ..Maa..'.. •.. i. Btitler. ... • ■, • <. ■ Laurent ^..>..••.....'..I Marie *'. *.*...•«'..,..■> ,.,...John Darrymbrc .. .Lionel Uorrymore ,,; . .Knren . Morley ........John .MllJoh 'fully Marshall .Ilehry Armelta .Geonre Davla .',!.'...; John Dayldlson ..iJames Mack . .Mary Jane Irving WAIT TILL THE SUN SHINES' With Round Towners Quartet Max Fleischer Cartoon 8 Mins. Rialto, New York Paramount One of the Max Fleischer 'Betty Boop' song strips. Round Towners quartet, a radio harmony team, is featured on the song end. Short opens with the two ma:ln cartoon characters going ice skat ing and falling through the ice. Situation and query of Betty Boop /IS to what they shall do leads into the old song 'Walt Till the Sun Shines, Nellie,' which the quartet handles. Latter are garbed a la tin type charabters all muffled tip, Warbling is good and is adeptly cued with the lyrics^ and cartoon action shown on the screen, Oke song cartoph flllier. First ^ Screen appearance of , Jbhp arid Lionel'Barryriiore together and their acting of this bid standard de- tective, story insure its box office in spite .of this absence of other quail-' ties that, make; for notable screen successes. Fine-acting lifts the pro- duction to-a high artistic level, bu,t the suspicion does occur that , prob- ably it is that same acting that gives the unfolding of the tale some lather dull moments. < Action of ten is allbSyed to Tapse for dangerously IPrig Intervals' while the two Barrymdres elaborate their interpretation . of the super-thief (John) and ; the dogged detective (Lionel) , probably the only two players in the American studio field Who can subordinate dramatic ac- tion to their personal playing tech- nique and make the public like It. The story. from all angles is In- ferior to; the recent screening'- of 'Raffles' with Ronald. Colman,: and. for dramatic jjuiich and audience suspense: it doesn't inalcH the latter release^. But that doesn't Interfere with 'Arsene Lupin,' with the. Bar- rymores, becoming a major box- ofllce release, diie largely to the prestige of the players ahd their compelling .handling- of two rriles that are diistinctly artificial, but none the less absorbing In the. un- folding. The production. in its technical side is .splendid and the cast sur- rounding the two stars faultless. Picture is full of excellent stage device, shrewdly managed, and these things lift the story out of the wood- pulp magazine fiction , class into a spirited bit of adventure arid ro- mance. Perhaps it was good pro- duction, judgment that dictated the picture's handling, so that it avoided all the clap-trap of tho commercial detective-thief chase, device to which the Royal Family declined to stoop. At least it addresses itself to a higher class of fans than the lurid typxJ of dime-novel subject. John plays the glamorous Lupin without. any flambuoyant display, and even goes to extremes of suave repression. The brilliant crook finds himself in a tight place and extricates himself from the difficulty with a few calm words and a casual gesture. These things do not make foi^ popular applause, but they do create a certain admiration for the actor who can make them effective. Lionel's detective, Guerchard, man- ages the role with almost equal nonchalance,, except that lie does subtly suggest something of thie In- ner turmoil and fury of the plod- ding and frustrated thief catcher as the quarry slips away from him time iaftcr time. Indeed, although John has a monopoly on the ro- mantic interest throughout, Lionel gets an edge in iaictlng punch. A neat angle of the film version is the fact that the audience never sees Lupin in the act of larceny it- self, a trick of. indirection that works out well. His campaign Is always foreshadowed vaguely or re- vealed after it has been accom- plished, and this literary scheme Is maintained until the last episode, when the elaborate plot to steal the Mona Lisa from the Louvre Is worked out in detail and in sight, a fitting climax, and a well-paced and balanced sequence.' Capital surprise twiSt for the finish has Lupin, on the way to po- lice headquarters in a cab Tvith the' detective, when the thief catcher, surrendering to his admiration for the clever crook who has outwitted him so long, gives him a hint of a way to escaiM by Jumping from th« bridge. they are crossing and swim* ming away, while the detective firea purposely futile shots and then re* ports that the sociundrel was killed and lost in the river. And it is upon this solution that the picture clo.ses. Story has a touch of discreet but sophisticated; 'spide In the loye af- fair between Lupin and Sonia, the gli:l. reieaaed from prison 6i\ parole ahd.forced tp aid the police in the' pursuit. Several bedrobrii scones are managed with astonishing nkiu to gef dver iti hiaximum ot meaning with a minimum of blunt statement while ithei girl falls tard for the Beau Brummel crook and he goes for her in the siame spirit; but thq love passages are dealt with in a jaunty style, that is tho last word in subtle, exposition. Picture had numerous bits of conflict botwooa the thief and his 'pursuer: that achieve rear high comedy, an. elc- ment One does not: usually lopic fop in detective melodramas, unless they are played ^ by the Barryniorcg. Femme lead is played by Karen • Morley with a beautiful balanc^ of reticence arid occasiorial empha.si3 that gives to her a distinctive place m the picture, her acting skill be- ing fortified by much charm of bearing. Tully Marshall turns in his usuiil rounded and. .stitlsfying: performance in a. minor part. Rush. THE EXPERT^^ ' Warner Bros., production and rplense starring ChHrlos (Chic) Sale, dlrfot**.! by Archie. Moyo.. From the short, slorv. 'Old Man MInIck,' by Kdna Ferber. done'Into li stage , play by :-the:.-authoi: and C.oorBe ICaufman and. produced In H)1.M. . Adapta- tion and dialog,' Julian Jbseplisnn nnd Maude Howell. • Cameraman, nob If lin-le. Assistant directors,- Al Alborn and - Jnric Okey. Film editor. Jim Gibbon. At the Strand, New York, Feb. 20. RuMnliie lime, m mins. The Expert......... Dickie .i, Nettle. Mlnlcl! .. Fred MInlok .... Crp.wley '...;...... Sadie .... Al .................. tin Isy Miss Crackonwuld.. .. .Charles fCliK-) Sale .DIclile. Muora ......;... .Lois .AVIIson .......... .E;\il'c Foxe . ........ .Riilf; Hnrol.lo .... Adrimno. UorD r.....,. . WoIter. T.Ttloft ■ ■ .S'otfl' -Fnini'ls .. .lillznbetii I'litter.so'n 'Arsene Lupin' (Metro). Feminine enjoyment of tlil.s amiable, unexcit- ing detective yarn depends entirely on the Broljicr.s Barry more. Though the film provides Bro. John with an elegant role ahd an/plo opportunity to display his classic-prpflle, neither brother's prtscnt bo, standing can o.vercome a filmSyj fabulous plot. 'The Expert' (W.B.), Incompatability of the older gcnoralion and the new is an idea: which must be treated willj sincerity in. order to sustain a pictur^. Here it is gagged up, resulting jri an. unrelated chain of superficial irtcidents that deprive it of conviction aijd'thus interest for femme audiences. No box office names to save it. 'Cheaters at Pliay' (Fox). Old fashioned c>'ook .stulT' that will leave the flaps cold. .However, presence.of "Thomos Aloighan and nimble tcliing of the tale salvages It for the moms and kiddies. 'Cross Examination^ (Supreme). Repetltlou.^ flashbacks deaden harra- l ive arid .dimiriish feminine interest In the testlnioriy at.a murder- trial. No personality in the <rast for the ladies to hocomc greatly concerned oyer.' . ■; —^ i. 'File No. 113' (U). Title, ot no Interest to feminine audiences, will spare most fanettes the riecesslly of .sitting through thl.s dull recital of a.Pari.«)ian robbery. VIpt doesn't ostal)llsh sympathy f«n" any member of its .cast. Responsibility for an inferior re- lease with Chic Sale rests with the story, selection. Jt is best adapted to the lessor houses. Everything that could he dono with the material hais been done by the production .staff and the cast, but the fact is. that the subject doesn't JeK. Reason is not farto.seek and lies in the imppsslbility.df taking a <"hnr- . acter. and action tiiat propei-ly be-' longs in (lh<i comedy relief t-Ia.ss and. insisting with great determlri.ition upon blowing It up into a full-length feature. It's still comedy, relief and no dramatic vigor behind it for re- lief piirpo.scs. Script has. departed widely from both the Edna Ferber short .story original and from the stage play based upon it. Probability Is that the studio tried to make the story conform to the formula of the s.anio company's 'The Star Witness,' which involved writing much new matter around the .story^ and play, arid bringing in the new element • of a child part,.played extremely well by Dickie Moore, who also ngvircd in Witness.' The youngster (he's <iix) l.s'a fas- cinating figure on the pTOon. but here has small sentimental li.icking, while the S.alc part inspires more Impatience than sympathy. All that's left for the feattn^e, then, is a few crude comedy laughs, for which the producers have to thank more the remarkable Sale characteriza- tion than any skill the stiuilo lised in getting the story on the cielluloid. What Miss Ferber wrote as a, gently understanding view of an old man brought Into the hou.sehold of his married son, where both he and t^ie young couple suffer from the clashes of two well-intentioned generations who get on each pther'.q nerves, has been twisted around into a comic distortion of the jnother-inrlaw joko, with a self- sufficient old man in place-of the self-willed mama of the wife, 'fhe comedy that can be squeezed out of an agonizing family situation is en- tirely confined to tiie lowest grade of fandom, and it proves so in this case. ^Laughs are orily scattered, and the gross overplaying of the low cotnedy angle doesn't help the picture's cla.ss. . the title. 'The: Expert.' is J'l"^*^^' *° .capitalize Sale's amazingly popular monograph 'The Specialist' which suggests that pe.v 5^a£ il ^'esP.erate effort tp drag In a selling point. 'The Ex^ PnliM^i^ V"? ^" 'tself inspires^ no omiir^'^^'*''^'^**''* ^O 'ir^S the cus. Tn f ,^°wn^own fpr the evening: crook Who does a Fag n with the child breaks into the Minick. apartment and. jstpals $2,000 from the old man'strunk, throwing -suspicion on the boy. Old Mart Minlck gets a hint of. what ha.<j hap- pened and goes after the crook, f "i^ as a wrestler, a sur- vival of his young days, to pin the thief down and then hand«hini over to the police. Thl.s only adds to the teeung that the whole business is. a poor job Of patchwork, as does al.so the finish where Minicfc goes into a ritzy old men'.s horoe, and takes the child with him, the rules of the in- stitution making eligible a candi- date 'under 90;' Ix)ls Wilson, most per.'^na.sivo of .actresses in young matron parts,