Variety (May 1933)

Tuesday, May 16, 1933 FILM RC VI E Wf VARIETY 21 THE BIG CAGE (Continued from page 17) caged up -vtrith lils big cats most of the time In his first and only feai- ture picture. The-tlireat of vio- lence that's always pre3ent in the actual aniinal moments, plus clever staging that manages to bring out the utmost possibilities, make 'The Big Cage' excltixlg now 4hd then. But not often enough. The story that Was trumped up to 86t ofC the cage antics goes .about the business of creating situations In a crude and. dull way. Rather than a help it's a hindrance. • The cage momentis, excellently photo- graphed, . would have ihade a great tworreeler. But they can't . carry 'TO minutes of feature, nor tlld the studio provide thia supporting name, help that was required. 'Cage' will Interest the kids mostly, and .it probably won't see healthy , returns In general. .. No dame stuff for Beatty. He's confined to his. animals and an at- tachment for an orphan kid, Mickey Rooney, who worships him. The romance end is handled by Anita .Bage and "Wiallac^ Ford. Additional precaution against a p))ssible bad performance by the Rlngling show's star attr|tction was taken by the script department. The dialog con- fines Be&tty to brief, curt sentences, none of which demands emoting. Consequently Beatty's entire per-: formance must , be judged .by hla' scenes in the cage, and,- for effect, must depend on the illusioh built up around his. frequent bouts v^ith the beasts. Beatty in real life is the first to have worked libns and tigers iii the same ring on a lar^e scale, and that fact is borrowed to serve as the meat, of the story;.. His feat, if ac- complished, is expected to pull the nearly bankrupt Whipple circus out ..:.of. the hole .vafter a-. taUgh.. season^ Action goes oii in~the wintef quar- ters, where Beatty, prepares his turn, and the picture ends with the opening performance of the season. Beatty malces two trips -to the hospital as ia result ofclawings .be- fore he' finally conquers the beasts. After a finished performance at.the opener, a storm blows down , the tent and the. animals break loose, but it winds up okay for everybody.. Whsn Beatty is cracking his whip, Ticking with his chair, and otherwise maneuvering the cats, meanwhile always on -thef lookout to keep the lions and tigers from mixing, it's always exciting. His optical hypnotism of a heavyweight tiger, in which he makes: the ani- mal roll over and do everything but play house, is the climaxing high- light here, just as It is in Beatty's real life sawdust specialty> In one corking sequence a lion and tiger get into a tangle and the fur fliesl. .-They break ^em- wlth a hose, but not until the warring &hi- mals have connected plenty with each other's throats. Anita Page, who can wear tights, does a Lietzel, with Ford her animal training sweetheart, who loses his nerve after being badly ma,ngled In action. Vince Barnett arid Andy Devine are in for comedy purposes, with feeble material holding them dowji. Bige. patrons at this house giggled through most .of the sequenee. Nancy Carroll is the unfaithful wife. .She's a more mature char- acter than usual, and has been pro- vided a wardrobe in that connec- tion which helps, taking her away from the junior misses. But in try- ing to go dramatic in a couple Scenes Miss Carroll overplays badly. This is also triie of Frank Morgan, particularly ih the display of his- trionics during the courtroom se- quence. "Whale's direction, outside of. the boudoir scene where .Morgan de- velops murder instincts,, raises an otherwise drab subject to effective- ness. McGuire's punchy dialog, to- gether' with comedy lines Woven into the pattern, also contribute mijch. ' Char. FORGOTTEN MEN . Presented by Jewel Productions, Inc.. and jreleitsed. Independently. .Ba^ed on World War material.- Cbniplle'd 'and supervised by' Samuel Cumnitns. . At the Rialto. N. y;, beetlnnlne Hay 12. Runnlns time,. about 82 irilns. If this subject is copiously ex- ploited it Will draw in almost any type of house, excluding, of course, the deiuxers. It is "a certain bet especiklly for freak-policied the-, atres.. The picture itself, is out- standing in its class. Many enterprises have delved into government archives for ofllciieil ma- terial. 'Forgotten Men' is probably the first which approximates- a con- tinuity and actually succeeds in knitting World War events tog'ether ih such a. way as not only to enter- tain but to be invaluable as an edu- cational'medium. '■'•>. Carefully edited in a^ to empha- size .a story thread for pacificism against a battlefield background, and also to introduoe the develop-: ment of the war step by step, are :eight ofilcers. representing sls many countries/: In 'this'; iirianfiej;. toarchr: ihg troops,' guns, sinking ships, planes,, etc,, are afforded slight in- termissions and are given an added clarity and significance. The material has been so assem- bled that, even though viewers of similar subjects, will note familiar clips, th'" general audience attitude will be one of witnessing something, new. While most of the riiaterial probr ably was culled from actual govern- ment rec9rds, there Is also a generous sprinkling of close and semi-close- ups, which, from every point of logic, could have only b^^lTmade in a studio. 'What Price Glory,' 'Lilac .Time,' 'Q iShips' are all. suggested in certain of the assemblage. Jt this is true, then the compilers aje to be congratulated. There is nothing so boring as a straight 80 minutes of rainy government matter.' 'Forgotten Men' Is. also Gomlhg out at a time when the Wai^ subject is ^ brand hew to another, generation and When, the boys who took part will doubtless be eager to re-live the earlier days. Waljf. Eagle and the Hawk Paramount, producblon and release. Features Fredric March, Cftry Grant; sub- features Carole Lombard, Jack Oal<l£. Di- rected by Stuart Walker. Bn^ed On story by John Monk Saunders. Bogart Rogeris, Seton I, Miller, screen pidy; Harry Fish- beck, camera. At Paramount, N. T., week May 12. Running time, 74 mins. Jerry Yoong> i.......Fredrlo March Henry Crocker........ C^i*y Grant Mike Richards...Jack Oaklc The Beautiful Lady....,.. .C.irole Ijombard Major Dunham...;.Sir Guy Standing ,Fanny .Adrlehne 'D'Ambrlcourt EX-LADY Ki$8 Betore the Mirror tlnlversal production and'release; Fea- tures Nancy Carroll, Frank Morgan, Pau' Lukas and Gloria Stuart. From play by liadisldUB Fodor. Adaptation for screen by William Anthony McGulre. Directed-by James 'Whale. Photography by Karl Freund. At RKO Roxy, N. T., week May 12. Bunning timet 07 mins. Maria : Nancy Carroll Dr. Paul Held...'..l Frank Morgan Dr. Walter Bernsdorf.Paul Lukas Frau Bemsdorf Gloria Stuart Hilda. '.........',...,.'...Jean Dixon Bachelor Walter Pldgeon Schultz Charles Grapewin Maria's Lover....^ ....Donald Gook Hilda's Lover....'....; ..Allen Connor Prosecutor .• .vr. .;. . ;-. . . ».... . .Wallls. Clark Murder arid;iove for passable'en tertainment in this , instance. Much, of the credit goes to the direction of .James Whale and the adaptation of William .Anthony McGuire: Will need effective campaigning, but for general, first-run purposes, includ-r ing first-runs in 'B' houses, it Ought to see average returns. It has a^ pretty good cast lineup fot names. WhJle more distinctly a 'B' rather than an 'A''booking, less" Chance of audience disappointnient in. 'A's' than with many secondary releases of the majors. Picture deals in novel subject matter and is giordid to some extent. But it has the vir- tue of building up suspense. Love Interest is negated by mur- der, cauised in the initial 600 feet When a. jealous husband shoots his wife's lover, and a second appears Immiment up to the final reel when the lawyer defending his friend- murderer starts to suspect his oWn "wife"7)^r"illfidielity.=~Mueh=of-the-aC"^ tion is concerned with argument in and out of court supporting the theory that a woman who cheats ought to be shot. Picture is based on a play of for- eign origin and Is localed in Vienna. When the lawyer notices that his wife goes through the same motions his friend's gypping frau did be- fore keeping a Sec.ret tryst with her lover, his suspicions are confirmed. Effort to create a "isimilar situation for purpoaes of suspicion has re- sultc'fl in overemphasis, with result ■ Warner .Bros, jiroductlon and release. Features- Bctte DaVls, Gene Raymond un- derlined. Directed l>y Robert Florey. Screen play- by David Boebm from original story by Fdlth Fitzgerald and Robert Rls> kin; dialog director, Stanley. I<6gan; cam- era, Tony Gaudlo. At Strand; N. T., week April 11. Running time, 60 ^iQS. Helen Bauer........; ....Bette Davis Don Peterson....... .;Gene Raymond Hugo Van Hugh...., Frank McHugh Nick Maivyn. .'. Monroe Owsley Irls Van Hugh:.... ....Claire Dodd Peggy Smith..; ...Kay Strozzl Mr. Smith " Inand Gott!<chalk The Father..»....;...y.;..Alphonse Ethler The Mother. Bodil Rosing 'Ex-Lady' is a weak sister. Prob- ably the best campaign angle Is the trite sensationalism which the Strand Is currently ballying. It's one of those pseudo ultra-modern things which only draws laughs In the wrong, places. Bette Davis is the talented com- mercial'artist who is content ,tp continue, without benefit,of cleirgy, with Gene Raymond, advertising man. Latter" finalliy forces the legal banns, from, which; point ,a breach epsues,: bringing ih Monroe Owsley a.3 the light vlllaih who is frankly oh tlie make. Everything, about 'Ex-Lady' Is. stupidly frank,: dating from the In- itial premise of the. meretricious re- lationship, . so that there's no suis- pense tor the fan who; If he or she has ever before paid an-admission- fee at a wicket, miist sense Just how It will .all iris-out. In between there are any number of banalities, from casting to dia-. log;. An example is tlie situation where our shero and the 'villain are playing around; hubby ^vants to know, 'You didn't!' as a checker- upper on her virtue. That's al- most on a par with the burleisk mellerdrammer which had . previ-_ ously been' screened in Ruth Et"- ting'a short oh this same bill. ■ i^Jiliss JJaxl^L coat^imje _cho all awry for her personality, fn.cTuH^ ing one hlgh-nccked affair, that's dangerously reminiscent of the giraffe women in the RirigHng-B&B circus. As for Kay Strozzi as a vamp, a. couple of those camera shots almost couldn't be oil the level. Seemingly this was recog- nized, as evidenced .by the choppy film editing, but 56 minutes is short enough," so there's no. latitude for much furthei: shearing'. This 'un will set back Miss Davis. And Just as she was coming along. Abel, Stirictly a. formula story of the Royal Flying Corps by . the man who wrote 'Wings' with a labori- ously dragged in romantic bit to get •a feminine star's name oh the pro- gram. Rut it takes more -than 60 or 60 feet'of sex stuff to make love : interest. It might better have been left. out.. Nothing much new In the.matter of plot, the same old yarn of the man< -who gets fed up on the use- lesshess. of war. Story owes more to the deftness with which It has been developed than'to any basic interest. Not. overloaded with air footage, and that used has a direct, bearing on the yarn and is not pad- ding. Men probably will go for the story/., and-'many Women will -appreciate the piaychology. No. war, story is calculated td be a knock- out jiist now,, po this probably Will not -prove a strong grosser! How- ever, it will make good' With those attracted; mbre than may be said of some studies^ Basic idea i^ the hero wild is broken by the strain. .-He has-lost observer after- "observer without serious injury to iiimseif, and It breaks Iiis morale. His last ob- server is' a rather tough-flbered chap, wljiji has been uhalile to get hl» Wings,, but must 'wear the sin- gle pinion of ah observer. It 'was on March's" recommendation he was left behind, and there is bad blood between them. March is sent back liome ■ to regaiiii^hts' poise, :.there.::Ig a. brief two-scene, interlude with Carole. Lombard^ and he comes back' to the lines still shaken. He Is dis- gusted with it all; and when he is acclaimed a hero he indulges in much the same tirade as has beep written into other similar stories. He is regarded with tolerance in the belief; that he is drunk, but he jgoes to his room and shoots him- self. It Is not until this point is reached that the element of novelty enters the story. His quondam enemy conceals the fact of his deatH, loads him '^nto a plane In early morning, takes him up and riddl'eis. the plane and body with 'machine gun fire. Then he crashes to Kis own death, but he has given the man he hated—but understood -^a hero's finish instead of. the stigma of a quitter. It Is neatly turned. Is unexpected and comes at a point wher6 It gives impetus tc an Idea which seems to' be closing in with a 'Just another' tag. ITarn is. adroitly told in both dia log and action, jack Oakie contrib uting some sorely-needed comedy touches here and there. It is the only relief save for a delightfully played ' bit between Oakie and Adrienne D'Ambicourt, who makes tlie mpst of her single scene. Carole Lombard contributes little In spite of sincere playing. March offers a finely sensitive study, acting with force, but entirely without bom- bast. .Cary Grant Is more along usual iiiiies, but he. Supplies the complementary action effectively, and Sir Guy Standing as the com- mander gets a brief chance rtow and then. Chic, OKRAINA ('Outskirts') (RUSSIAN^MADE) Moscow, May 2. Another first-rate war picture may be chalked, up to Russia's credit with 'Outskirts' C'OJcralna')V cently released by. Mezhrapomfllm. "The director and co-scenarist, B. Barnet, has obviously tiaken a hint ot two from the American produc- tion of 'Ail Quiet.* At any rate, a few incidents are reminiscent of the Remarque film. But for' the rest the picture Is of Russia Russian, with a flavor inimitable anjrwhere else. The picture has ho plot in the or- dinary sense. In terms of iEi few "cl52trly delineated-—-characters—It- gi'ves a cross-sectipn of a prbvihcial district close to the RussianrGer- maii frbnt in the Great. War. The war scenes, trench fighting, bayonet attacks and all, are^. among, the most effecti've this wrltei: has ev6r seen; a good deal on the realistic, grue^ some side. But. the strength of the film restis more in tlie behind-the-line life of a '^eepy. hamlet sunk in mud and ig- norance. The ' war "comes' iahd; wriehches simple working lads from -their. work-bejiches and hurls them into the thldli oriKe wan" Th€=fever of patriotism seizes poor no less than rich. An. old German shoe- maker, for years the crony of a Russian shoemaker, must depart; their national hatreds and personal affections clash. A few small busi- ness men wax wealthy on war or- .ders. German prisoners are quar- tered on the town. A crude and tender love spHngs up between a young girl and a gangling Ge^an boy". Local patriotic fervor^ height- ened by vodka, vents itself on this German, who is, nearly beaten to death. it is .of such homely incidents that the film is compounded, with a su- perb ..musical background drawn chiefly from folk-songs. The life, of old Russia,, sleepy, dirty, pathetic, and peculiarly sentimental even in its brutality, is beautifully rendered. The individual characters are carer- fully. portrayed, with a "minute at- tentiph to . detail. 'Outskirts' in pne way., marks a milestone in S6viet film art. There has been much general talk about restoring- human beings to. the So- viet screen. This film at last .does It and does it briliahtly. Instead of g'eneralized symbols such as domir nated in the last few years, we have here li'ving, feeling, individuals,.: The loce story of the little Russian girl and her German prisoner has genu- ine heart-appeal in it. The Rus- sian-German games of checkersi in- terrui)ted "by a strange and incom- prehensible war, are poignantly emotional: And .above. It all is the deep feeling with which the suffer- ing of individual soldiers in the great slaughter is conveyed through human touches. Tlie picture , ends, inevitably, with the advent of the re-volution. First comes the Kerensky period, when the wa^tfl^alf^heartemy biit none-. the-leSsNSloodlly carried on. Then comes the victorious . Bolshevik, rev- olution,, when Russian and German in this dutskirt hamlet march should der to {Shoulder to the strains of the Internatiphal. Lyons.. DIGGERS IN BLIGHTY (AOSTRALIAN MADE) Sydney, April 12. Produced by Pnt Hanna at EfCtee, Mel» bourne. Story by Pat Har.na 4»nd others. Directed by Pat Hahna and Raymond Longford., Photography by Arthur - Hig- plns. I'eaturos Pnt.- Hanna, George 'Moon, Joe VaIU and Thelm.l Scott- RCA sound.: At Capitol.. Sydney. Running time, 78 mins. JUNGLE BRIDE .Monogram production and release. Pro- duced by Arthur' F, Beck. Directed by Harry O. Hoyt and Albert Kelly.. Stars Anita Page and features Charles, Starrett. Story by Leah Balrd. Photographer. Harry Jackson. Music by Harry Stoddard and* Marcy Klnuber. At the Ro^fy, N. .Y.. week May 11!. Running time, C3 mins. Doris Evans....', .Anita Page Gordon Wayne;............Charles Starrett John Franklin... Kenneth Thomson Eddt«" Stevens....... .EddVo. Burden. Capt. Andersen. ....^.Clafenc^ Geldert 'Jungle Bride' looks a :tough -b.o. proposition. Headed for. double^ feature spots, as it has an Uncon- vlnpirig plot inexpertly filmed. Ac- tion may impel laughs when not. In^. tended. PJot has Charles Starrett on the land after being implicated in a mur- der. A newspaper reporter is depu- tized to bring .Aim back to answer for the crime for • which the girl's brother is In jail. News lad and the; girl are engaged. Opening shot has Starrett, the flanced pair and a third male companion on shipboard bound for Africa. This is one of the spots wliere the music comes in, Starrett strums a guitar unentertainlngly for the passengers aboard. There's a shipwreck and In th^ resulting jun- gle melee, after a lion fight, etc., the girl" and Starrett marry and the newspaper lad is left 4h the cold. Her brother has confessed arid died, exonerating Starrett. Plot is all dialog, outside of the lion fight and the shipwreck, and neither of these two action points are convincingly photographed or maneuvered. And after it's all over, customers are. still mystified as to why Starrett was suspected of. the murder. Miss Page exaggerates the dra- matics of her role, and her makeup is faulty. Kenneth Thomson de- serves something better than the inane dialog handed him here. $han. Footsteps in the Night (BRITISH. MADE) Basil Deane production and Associated Talking Pictures release. Features Benlta Hiime. No credits given. Cast: Peter Hannen, Harold Huth, Walter Armitage. Jack Lambert; Polly Emerie, Bobt. Eng- lish, Margert Blnner, Frances Ross Camp- bell. At Loew's New York. N. T., one day. May 9. on double bill. Running time, .60 mins. Poor interior photography, whicli. a few ye.ars ago was the hallmark of Brilleh productions, is here again. Only one interior has enough julCe to give a brililant picture. The scenario goes back another 10 years, Jiist a piece of film for third ra;ters in a product Jam. > . ' Bridegroom whwtakes the jpaperS, In this case the ^nawlng of his in-^ ventibn, with hl||i on his honeymoon Is decoyed frop the. love hest by a bogus teleg;rd{n. A pet spaniel re- moves the.^l$ian's from his suitcase, so when he's captured "and can't der liver the chief villain goes to his home to wrangle the plans from the wife. Then it's half an hour of Benlta Hume and Harold ' Huth making facf'<« at each other as they seek to cover their real. emotions, ■Then there's a chase and finally a fist fight that might have been lifted from any one of 75 of the last hun- dred westerns, though in the Amer- ican "westerns the sock • is not heard- In this version every punch carries its sound. Some-Pf=the «bits=bu fcln^-theiopen^ are picturesque, and they tpss in a lot of montage.in .spots, .machinery shots; reniote control camera, and other fillers not.; particularly help- ful In the absence of any real s.us- pen.se or freshness of idea. Mlisjs Hiime suggests .she could do good work under modern direc- tion and Peter Hannen might be all right if he had something to. do. Harold" Huth is conventional here. Picture not at all repres<'htfitive of new I.Jriti.Hh product. Chic. Useless for anywiiere else but. Australia. This about sums up. the valuation of. 'Piggors in. Blighty.' Mostly suited to. th nabe theatres on a split-week boPkirig. Picture is war vlntaige and old at that. ,Comr mences alo'ng .splendid dramatic lines, biit finally becomes p66r slap- stick. Hanna,. Moon, and AMIH are. not comedianis in picture sense. Acting in the . early scenes is: very good, but with the introduction of. the com- edy element picture fades.- DIreptioh is not sP good, and the. continuity has been Very poof ly developed. "The photography- is a- bright .spot in:l otherwise drab production. Rick. HORIZON (RUSSIAN^MADE) eral»>ortiflim production and Aniklno r lease In JJ-.S. Directed by Lev Kuleshov:^ scenario, Victor Shklovskl: music.: David Block; English titles; Nathan. Adler. A^ £uropa, N. T., for grind run May 12. Run- ning .time, 02 mins. Leo 'Horizon.'.......'....... Nikolai .Bata.lov The Watchmaker;....;. .B. Kiara-Dmlttriey- A; Girl...................Elena Sheremetleva -Isaak Horizon,-Leo's Uncle. ikhall Dorohin His Dtiughter, ....*...; lena Kuz'mina Smith.: Ikhall Doler Usual. Communistic ifbdder With nothing-whatever to save, it for the box office on this side. Just a dis- jointed film. Young Jew by; the name of Hori- zon is bitteir on . the subject of mi's- treatment Pf Jews. It's the old Rus- sia. War.. bre^aks but and he.. drafted into .the. .army. He eacapes,^ reaches "America' and suffers some: - more. He goes to war and ~is sent to Russia. There he sees a new! lijght. Russia has changed. .The' peasant Is facing' a bright future. All handled naively, almost in- anely. Continuity Is bad and pho- tography surprisingly oft. Maybe the result of duping the negative on this side. Sound bothers everybody, with the dialog stilted and unnat- ural. Scenes. in America are the best part of the film from.an Ameri- can standpoint. They're so far away from" fact they're' good for a few laughs. Kauf. THEQDOR KOERNER (GERMAN MADE) (With Songs) Aafa production, -General. Film, releasa.- for U. S. Directed by Carl. Boese; music. Schmidt-BQelcke; scenario. Franz Rauch. At 70th St. Playhouse, N. T., week May 5. Running titne, 80 mins. ^ Theodor Koerner.'Willi Domgraf-Faasbaende Tonl Adamberger.' ...Dorothea Wleck Eieonore vi Prohaska Lissl Arna Major' yon Luetzow.... ^.-....Sigurd Lobde Frau von Liietzow.........Maria Meissner Koerner'B father ...Ludwig Trautmann Koerner's mother......Marta-Maria Newea U'nder normal conditions this pic- ture would be a fair box office pos- sibility in Teuton nabes. With things as they are there's hardly a chance aS it's a highly nationalis- tic, patriotic effort alPng historic lines. Story Is laid In. the Napoleonic era when the little Frenchman was' pressing Prussia under his heels. Koerner was a poet, a writer of Songs^ who had a particular gift for patriotic ditties which kindled the masses. At the end he's killed, giv- ing the picture a weepy. ending, Carl Boese, one of Germany's best comedy directors, megged this one and seems to have been lost. Pic- ture Is very theatrical, overacted throughout, doesn't convince, and the tempo is all off. . Dorothea Wieck the only one in the cast of Interest'In the'U. S. Siie does a •thoroughly • bad job of acting,., too, , indicating' that In her apprdaching Hollywood Paramount career she will either be made oir lost by tlie director pn her first picture. Kauf, — —i>... Berlin Alexanderplatz (GERMAN MADEV Allianz production. . Capital Film release in Ul. S, Features Heinrlch George and Maria Bard, Directed by Phir Jutzl; scenario, ;Alfred;DoebUh.-.and Hans .W11-. helm. Biased on novel, by Alfred Doeblln; camera, Erich Glese, At ttie Vanderbllt, N, T., on grind run, May 10. -Runnlnff tinie, 00. mins.. Franz Bleberkopf ....Heinrlch George Hetnhold...' ; .Bernhard Mlnettl Mieze...;........ ..... Margaret Sbhlepej Cllly... i,......i.V... aria Bard Pums....: '...... i. .;Albert Florath Henscliko,......... .Paul Westermels Berlin's contribution to the gang- ster cycle. "Not much bhance to get anywhere over here; Got off to a . good start at the Vanderbllt. be- oause adve rtised as ba.<?ed on a lioVeT^'ui^d=by°th0-Germans=on=th^ day the film opened. Intrinsically, the film lt.self has very little. Important i« that there's a girl In a small part who looks like a nn<?' She'.s Margaret Schlegel, beautiful and with' acting ability. Picture has .sorhe good points but- i.s too slow, long win<led and lacks .sufTicient fiction. Treated with Eng- lish titles imporperly spotted. fitory ii.'is to <\o ivith l<'rari2 Bi (Continued on p.'ige 25).