Variety (May 1933)

Tuesaar, May 30« 1933 C V ■ E W $ VARIETY IS Tdiking Shorts BOBBY JONES SERIES *Hip Action' (No. 3) 9 Mins. Stmnd^ N. Y. itaphone No. 7303 One b£ the subtlest points of the Bolf swing is here demonstrated in remarkahly lucid style by the for- mer champion. A high , point In the Jones series for straight golf fans, but surrounded with blah comedy frilling. Opens with a gag seciuence of ancient English cou.:t golfers, ac- icompanied by Jones' lecture on the old 'feathery' and 'guttle' golf ball, and then into an ofE-scre^n gag rou- tine by an unidentified gagster. /Then into Bobby's demonstration. Point to be made is that a forward hip sway starts the downswing be- fore the club head has stopped go- ing back, and there's nothing in the pastime more difficult. to make clear.. Jones' device is an InsjEflra- tion.. He stands In dark clothes be- fore a-'Blank'background w^^^tih has a.horlzbntal line shoulder high. Two spots on the backdrop are just^ in line with Jones' hips. The moving figure is stopped and frozen jiist short- of the top of • the backswing,. and then in slow motion it ia clearly demonstrated by means of the markers that the hips move to the left whlle the club head drops below the horizontal liiie. Straight . Instruction is all too brief, and the, incidental comedy badfy overdone. .. Subject was misspotted on this program to follow the feature (Rpb- Inson's 'Little Giant'), and the Jones short wais ruined for those- who came to see it, by the walkouts Who • were interested only in the feature Bush, 'PIE A LA MODE' Comedy 19 Mins. Strand, N» Y. _ Vitaphone No. 1529 A. two-reel slapstick built on a feeble idea to introduce wholesale custard-pie throwing. Russ Brown is press agent for a pie bakery. He goes to the picture studio to tie. tip with , screen stars on the 'tie-up- with-ple' slogan. Producer, Heeb tyr>6, takes him around to the sets, each set going thrpUgh ai serious sectuence, opera on one, historical drama on another, * etc. -*. ■* •What you heed is comedy,' Brown diagnoses. Thereupon they wheel in a vast rack of pies and begin throwing them at the actors While they repeat each, serious sequence, ending up, of course, with, the pro- ducer getting ills.' Twelve minutes of pie throwing without any situation to make It funny. ' Twelve minutes for 12- yekr-olds. Bush.. ROBERT BENCrtLEY *My Technocracy and Yours' Comedy -miWlins, . - Criterion, "N. Y. ^ Universal Greatest trouble With this item is that it's a bit too late. Most people have already forgotten there ever was silch a' thing as technocracy. Beyond that basic fault it's a very funny item for houses where the audience is not too dumb. It won't mean a thing to kids, which, is an other fault. Benchley has a really delicious sense of humor. It's dry; slow but sure .fun. He's shown a.t a dinner party and called on to explain tech nocracy. He does, using charts, movie stils and other Items, but ..talks about practically everything except technocracy. < Swell .kid .in the film Of travel lecturers and other spielers, but It's all just •TOlte^tOQ highbrdw.. Kduj' 'A buiEt NlGhT' Cbnriedy 19 Mi May fair, , , . iversal Blot and slipstick., of .a; familiar cut,: but spilling .enough laughs .to . satisfy t^ie. average audience. Bet- ter for 'B' houses, but will get by okay' in some of the Broadways of •• the U; ■ S.'that aren't too exacting about product. Bert Roach and Tom Dugan are /paired for majority of comedy in- terest' witli Esther Howard and •Qlive Cooper supporting. Roach's pan and comoGy registering gets the short more than its. plot and slap- stick do. He's a local politician who^s first mixed up in a crap game and later goes panicky over reports an escaped convict is out to get him. In between a brother-in-law who'd get anyone's goat provides several amusing situations. Char, WALTE R WI NOH Ei.L 'Beauty oh Broad.way' With Nrck Stuart, Sally O'Neill, N.T.G., Abe Lyman's Band 22 Mins. - Criterion, Y. Universal.. . Not so good. Story that the: two- reeler Is wound around is too pb- ylous," the entertainment in it isri't as: good as it might he, there's too much advertising in it for a nlte club, and the whole thihg just doesn't come ofC. Beat thing in it is Winchell's acting. He not only looks but sounds like a moving pic- ture Idea of a newspaperman. Most of the action .is laid in the Paradise. Broadway restaurant, with N.T.G. hogging the spot and spreading his salve on pretty thick. The girls in his floor shoW do their stuff (with clothes on, for a qhange) and .-Lyman's, band in the . back- ground plays. Lyman wasn't even introduced, which was a mistake; Wlnchell is first seen in his. office bawling out an agent who wants help for a gal. Then he gofes to the nite club to be a judge in a beauty contest with James Montgomery Flagg, Frank Godwin and a .few others. The girls 'oegln parading. The ; cigaret'3 girl blimps into Winchell and lie. notices, how good slie is, so he sticks her Into the conr teat .and she wins. He's also kidded into getting h - a ^lovie brealt;. Then it turns out that the agent had planted her in his path through- out. Which thei audience knew, all the time. ^ ^ .. Just a filler at best. Kauf. 'GIANTS OF THE JUNGLE' Magib. Carpet Serie^ 7 "Mm8.'7 Embassy, Fox Slipshod coverage of elephant slavery activities in India, the kind that have been on vieW since the screen'9 Inception, make up this Carpet reel. . It riates among th© lowest in the series',- even • stooping to that bro- mide about the big fellows uproot- ing saplings. Waly. LitTLE GIANT First National production and telease atarrlns Edward G. Robinson, Directed, by Roy .I>el Ruth, Mary AStor and Helen Vinson featured. Story*'by Robert Lord, adaptation by the late Wilson Mlzner and Robert Lord. Cameraman, Sid - Hlckox; film editor, Robert Haas. At .Strand, New York, May 26. Running tlipe, 70 mins. Bugs Ahearn Edward G. Robinson Ruth Wayburn Mixry _Astor Polly Cass. . ,..Helen Vinson John Stanley* ertneth Thomson Edith; •. Shirley Grey Al Danieie , ^H^^'l,J^^Pj*?!! Pohald Madley Cas3......Berton Churchill. Gordon Cass; DonaldDlliaway Mrs. Cass. ......... .Louise Mackintosh Franklb Helen Mann "^PiJ FFS ^AN D-B USTLES*^"^^—- *Do You Remember' Seri Johnny Walker 5 Mi n^ Plaza, N. Y. Educational . . A. poor subLtituto for ..'Screen Souvenirs,' this Walker novelty also delves into film archives for old newsreel clips and bits of features. Spanish-Amerlcah war troops, paper headlines about the 'Maine anr some comedy about the fashions of those timo-s are pieced togethier ' Waly, Miniature Reviews 'Little GianV (F. N.). Edward G. Robinson has been built up by straight dramatic gang pic- tures and types. This makes him a comedy character sur- rounded by semi-travesty and the Robinson, fains are likely to resent it. Broadway found it. very amusing;, but the siibse- qiiehts probably won't. 'When Strangers Marry* (Cot). Good 'B- :action ptory with Jaclc HoltV 'International House'' (Par), comedy that doesn't succeed as entertainment,, but 'its lineup of names, many :frpm radio, should ward off b. o. trouble most of the way. ' Imer the Great' (WB). En- tertaining comedy with Joe B.- rown a.s a Isall player. Should , grab coin, notably in;the pror, vinces. fScarlet River' (Radio). Tom Keene release With a produc? tion^ slant which may Interest ptheir than western fans; And' still a pretty good western; 'the Nuisance' (MG).. Lfeef Tra:y starred in amb'iilance.- chaser role. Action and .more love interest than, iisual In a 'Tracy pic, ' should more ..than please" once -they're In.- .Will require." b^ 6.'selling, -but has many bally possibilities.- 'Night and Day' (Bfitish-Gau- m6nt)v Odd mixture of farcei and musical cpmedy. .Done too much in the. stage manner to . please where !the - play ers are. "npt'knoWrir^^^ lower brackets over hiere. INTERNAT'L HOUSE Paramount production and release. Di- rected by Edward Sutherland. Adapted by Francis Mattih and Walter DeLeon from story by Ijou Heifetz and Neil Brant. Music and lyrics. Ralph Raiiiger and Leo Roblii; Ernest Haller, photon. At Para- mount; N. T., week May 20, Rtinnlne time. 71 mins; Peggy Hopkins Joyce. .Peggy Hopkins J.oycc Prof. Quail....,.,,,.W. C; Fields Tommy Nash..........Stuart Brwin Carol Fortescue;.. Doctor Burnsi...... Nurse Alien,....'.. Gen. PetronoVich.. Dr. Wo.ng.. ,. .. Sir' Mortimer. Hotel Manager Rudy Vallee, Col. .Sari Mnritza ........\,George Burns Grade Allen. ............Bela Lugosl '.'Edmund Breese .....; ...Lumsden .Hare ...IFranklin Pangborn Stoopnagle and Budd. Cab CaUoway bond, Baby .Rose M.-irle ELMER THE GREAT Warner. Bros, production and release. Stftra Joe. E, Brown. Directed by Mervy« LeRoy. Based on play by Ring Lardner and George M. Cohan. Adaptation by Tom Oeraghty. Film editor. ' Thomas Pratt; photography. Arthur Todd. At R. C. Muslo Hall, N. Y., week May 26. Running time, (14 mins. Elmer.. Joe E. Brown Nellie ; .,...... .........Patricia, Ellis. iHlgh-Hips. Healy............ Frank MbHugh Evelyn^...., Claire Dodd Walker..........Preston S. Foster Whltey.. . w, Russell Hopton •Nick.., Sterling Holldwar Mrs, ,^.4',i Emma Dunn Hollywood in a smart-alec In- sted,d of a smairt comedy mood re- sults in a picture not funny enough to -enter-tain intelligent-fanaji,nd tqo_ knockabout to satisfy the enormous Rofcinson followers who want him straight. Pans out at considerably less than fair product, depending upon the Main street draw of 'Little Caesar' for the intiar play and hop- ing against hope for the rest of the week. Proba;bly a one-dayer or half week at best. ■ Story starts out as a straight gangster idea, but quite promptly switches into low . comedy slapstick calling into use all the stale hoke devices in the book for roughhouse laughs. From that it goes from bad to worse and ends up With sequence that would. d6 credit, for violence and strained fun, to the Keystone cops of hallowed memory. Picture hasn't the . brisk tension to carry an underworld tale, Mid- way it it TSlain dull clowning and dramatic situation never tightens up to the point that comedy gives it the essential change of pace. In other words^ it is a gangland tale that depends first upon its gagging and doesn't bother about a back ground of dramatic force. It's com edy reliefs with nothing to relieve except more comedy relief. And the' comedy ..devices are painful; There are such, episodes as the tough mug^ going through a re ..iicarsal with the.heroine of a pro- posal of riiarriage to help him with another girl; tough mugg .doing pansy gestures in acknowledging the gift of a bbuquet from an ador- ing thug follower. Pantbmime . of seasick guests on a. yachting party, is among the collection of bromides, of course. Bugs Ahearn (Robinson), is the terror of Chicago gangland, when he decides to quit the racket and mingle with society. He falls into the clutches of a California, family of polite crooks whb take him for ail^Ke'sr^^tr'BBll'^himT-a^^totterirtg brokerage business and are about to walk out leaving him holdinef the bag. During all these incidents hft.'s a pitiful sap,, and the.se incidents take up all but the tag end bf the footage. By that time you don't especially cai-e what happens to him, and by the time he turns the tables on his cheaters, interest in and sympathy with the character is at, pretty low ebb. The table turning provides a hHsk'enough- bif of turcc for the flnale. Bag.q brings on hia wliole Chicago gang of thugs to put the cheatei*3 on the spot and .recover the loot they have filched from him Which accomplished, the muggs take possession of the polo' field arid'play^a travesty game involving much beanlrig with mallets and ,a good deal of gun play.. Technique throughout is two-reel comedy with momenta of polite clowning that spoil the slapstick Picture represents First National sheepishly disavowing gat\g dramas and making a muddle of a false gesture toward sophistication. It doesn't seem to have-• occurred tp anybody in the producing end that the Robinson 'Little Caesar ■ follow- ing hasn't progressed a step toward sophistication and probably never will. Technical production Is of the first order. Acting geheirally Is as good as it could be under the cir- cunistances, except that ftobinsoh is distinctly out of his element as a serio-comic menace-hero. ' Dia- log, as might be expected of the late ■Wilson Mizner, has a lot of amus- ing twists (Bugs' idiom for invit- lhg_a_sedate .dQwagei:_.tft-.bj? jeated. is to point to a chair and suggest, 'put it there'). Mary Aator, as an aristocratic but impoverished hero-, ine, accomplishes her wonted poise and grace under trying circuna- stancies. Bush. When Strangers Marry Columbia' production and release. Stars- Jack H&lt. Directed by Clarence Badi^er. From story by Maximallan Foster: adapta.' tlon by James Kevin McGuiness. Photog- raphy, Benjamin Kline; recording, Edward Bernds. At Mayfair. N. T., week May 28. Running time, G5 mine. Steve Rand Jack Holt Marian-Drake Lilian Bond Hinkle .>.»..Arthur Vinton Antonla. Barbara Barondess Billy McGu'Ire. *, .Ward Bond Van Wyck. Gustav Von Seyflertitz Philllpe. Paul Porcasi Major Oliver ...Harry Stubba Von Arhheim. i..,.;.Rudolph Amendt Chattermahl .'v., .Charles Stevens A jack Holt acti-on sto.ry .oflEerlng .about what's expected. .Love Inter- est, melodraniatlcB, outdoors- and he-man stuff enough in thise one. to Classify it as a strong 'B' attraction. Title figures to help. At the outset, with opening scenes of Paris night life, it looks as though the thought of jungles arid railroad building, couldn't come up; but the action shifts to the Malay straits, where Holt's building a rail- road. It!s the opening -which gives picture ■ its title and exploiteers the chahciS" to suggest what happens when two people wake up in the morning and wonder it they're mar- ried or not. E^rom there, on, in the jungle, it's a case of efltorts to break up the railroad project, and take over the wife at the same tiriie. The villlan ftopH in both directions. Final two reels provide con.sider able suspense and fighting. .Jungle scenes are impressive, but much of ^-the=^g^oup=fighUng-^i3i.tcUa=^to.^fllht type with too many odds on the side of the heavy. Lilian Bond contributes nicely as Holt's wife, a spoiled daughter of wealth who's bored and uncomfort able, in the tropics. In performance, her only .shortcomings .seem to be a tendency to overplay. Menace Is .smooth and sinuous in the hands of Arthur Vinton, with Ie.q.ser as.s'igninents capably dis chJirged by Barbara Barondess, Ward 'Bopd. Gustav v.on Seyffertif.fi and Paul Porcasi, Char, '• Cast includes enough namest radio, especially, to-offset the effects of an Otherwise second-rate picture. On the , names alone, it should do better in small tow-ns arid nabes thari the keys, and in: the final count-up should ease in on the black sidie. The value .of the marquee strength is accentuated by the picture's lack of entertainment. Thei dependence is entirely on gags by Butns and Alien and.W. C, Fields, and oc'casional pushed-ln specialties by four radio turns^ Rudy "VaUee,-' Stodphagle arid Budd, Cab Calloway,; arid Baby Rose Marie; each for one number, . The. specialties ' are incldienfal to the Story, but if the Intrusions seeriti unreasonable, they-aren't any more, lacking'in sense than the story it^ selL ' •- Plot Is'nutty and Intentionally so. It had to. be to allow for Burns and Alien arid Fields, but it didn't have to go absolutely batty. It's- no more than another ,: instance of iSolly- wobdian 'trtisharidllng broad satire, a branch with which few picture makers have been able ", to cope. tTsually it Is bvecdbne so that it cieases to be satire arid, iri' losing the flavor, beconjes just dull hbke as in this.instance,. L ■ Most everybody has: be^ri ordered to be furi'riy, even ffela ^ugOsT, whb" does, a comedy heavy-; Peggy Hop- kins Joyce, -who wears a whole fox farrii, and gives.'em a one-gal fash- ion show from panties up, and Sari Maritza are about the only prlncl-: pals playing straight. The setting being a la 'Grand iHotel,' with the action confined" to the hostelry, there's further resemblance iri the kaleidescoplc character develop- ments. As in 'Hotel,' and the many others like it,. there's a mad rush for recognition by everybody, and ripbody has riiuch of an edge. Burns and Allen, Fields and Stu- art Erwin stand out because this is supposed to be a.Qomedy -arid-they are the principal .comedians. For B. and A. ifs a walk, their iasslgn- ment being plain and fancy cross- , fire With theii* regular stage routine split Into four .or five brief sections. Fields is permitted,to' stick mbstly to pantomime, and he has a field day. A, Chinese iriventor has created a television device, for which there Is a demand,, and he dcmbnstrates and receives bids for the rights at a big hotel in a Chinese city. The Villain, Lugbsi, tries to beat the herb, Irwin, to the paterit by treachery. That's the stor y. Althoug h Fields e ventu- ally has something to do wTth the yarnj as the comedy vls-a-vis^ for Miss Joyce's classy sfraighting, he is dragged Iri with even legs plaus- ibility than the radio acts. Th.e lat- ter, at least, appear when the Chi- nese television la turned ori. There's a - chase at the finish. In which Fields bowls over the decora- tions with an Austin car and finally escapes In an-autogyro. The small auto business Includes a scene with Miss .Joyce Which Is blue. In line with much of the rest of the chatter. More dragging. in of superfluous material Is for bolstering purposes in a hotel roof-garden scene. There is ,a line oif girls in - celophane and other .transparent costumes, show- ing plenty of lily white, who gb through a novelty dance routine. It's not very impressive. Big cast contains a few gem per- formanc''es by riilnor menibers, notr ably Franklin Pangborri arid Ed- mund. Breese. Pangborn is particu- larly good. Big^. Good coriiedy picture With Joe B; Brown,: More than any fllrii .Brown, has iprevipusly made, this one de- pends; on the corinedlan alprie. Sub- ject mattisr is rione tb6 ::hea-vy and has.,been done before .on the screen. The provinces should, particularly support 'Elriier' and riiake up for any weakness it niay uncover in the larger keys. Baseball fans, which mearis mostly the men and kids,' but not so much the women, will react to the exploitation. It. has plerity for the diambnd fanis,, whipping up a World's, Series between the Cubs arid ,Tariks.' MerVin LeBoy, in di- recting,-has successfully irijected' baseball glamor' into the action aside from the comedy and Brown's pan, which often gets into clpseup for those beady eyes a,nd the hig mbuth. What .may be considered poor judgment, however: Is the faking by. the Yanks In the climax series, con- test. Picture has. the Yanks' pitch-. er trylrig to cheat by making? It apr pear he Is pitching a ball .when he isn't, rain riiaking it difncult tor Brown, the batter,' to even see.the hurier. However, It'ii a funny piece of business as worked out despite the ilcense taken. 'Elmer' has been in pictures be- fore. It was mtide by Paramount in 1929 as a talker, with Jack Oakie ap the _ small tow n, Belf-iceritered. bbbb"'"wTi6 in " one season oecomes a Wg league star. Probably the first pleture to be remade as a-talker In that , short spacfi^^of tlmie', but riot expected that this will, be a draw- back for the Brown version. Par released 'Elmer' under the title of. •Fast Coriipany,' ; In pome respects Brown over- stresses the stupidity and. stubborn- ness of 'Elmer,' particularly ais t<> the rube accent he simulates. He also lays- too. much^ serlousrielss across what's probably the most^ cbriilcail'physiognomy on the screen and Brown's major asset for ' pic- tures. He's -also questionable-.love Patf Icia Ellis does the sweet~G^erii^ tryville girl who's Brown's weak- ness. She is in and out of the ac- tion more th£ n others, but that's not much. Frank McHugh is piped down-fpr . comedy as a Brown com- rade bri the ball team. Brown does his- own ball playing, and knows how, too. Main trouble, will probably be that there's top much baseball for. the girls. Chat, Seeley Seeks Megi^eirs; Hollywood, iklay '291;.: C. R. Seeley, forriierly important factor in American film circles, is here-frorii Laridon.- He, Is riegbtiatirig to; take a couple of directors back with him for in- deperi^ent production. FOIL DE CAROTTE ( ^Red-Head') -TFRENCH-TWADE) Vc^ndel and Delao productibh for Patbe Consortium world release.. tJ. S. rlKhts, Harold Auteh. Direction and sceMaclo. by Jullen Duvlvlef. Based on novel by Jules; Renard. Stars Harry. Baur and featurea Robert Lynen and Catherine Fontenoy.. At the Eiirdpa. N. Y.,.Ior grltid run. May 25, Running time, do inlns. Monsieur Leplc.,,. .Tfarty saur His Wife......;... Catherine Fonteney Poll de.Carotte... i......Robert Lynen. Parraln. .LoulB Oouthler Ernestine Lepio ..Simon Aubry Felix' L«pie........ k... il.. Maxime Fromlot Annette, the Mald..........Cbristlane Dot An exceptional picture deservlns; of a much better reception that it will get in the U. S, Badly mis-sold in New York, it will probably just barely skate through a couple or three weeks, Witli.a bit more effort and handling It might even have taken a fling at aitwb-a-day run. on BrbadWay. As is, It should build *n spite of the current exhibitors. . Pi<iture is an extremely sensitive and intelligent story of a 10-year- old kid. Possibly just a bit too weepy, but It has a happy ehding. Jules Renard'e book, frbm which the filritv Was made,, is Avell known, and a. iailerit version of the picture was also miade. Neither stands up to Jullen Duvivier's current . talker version, iDuviyier, one of France's best directors; has borrowed liber- ally for his directorial -tactics from Rene Clair, Rouben Mambylian and (Continued on page 16)r The Woman 's Angle Nuisance' (M-Ci), Flaps will find entertainment in the hard- boiled speed of its epLsbdes and it.V romantic conflict. But matrons will balk at the title and the attempt to make a crooked ambulance-^chaiser- a. ,3ympatheitlCL-hero.^, ^ l, ' , , „ . • ■ , Imer the Great' (FN). Homespun comedy wUh sympathetic sua- pf>nso.. liuilt for the provinces' family trade, including mother. ere/ jant* (FN); Gangster goe.s society wUh gags, nd romance, necessary for fcmnrie appetil. Neglects Mnternationa.l House' clothes and expioitatl') .(^Par). Comic jig-.mw with enough names, o.ssibilitles to arou.se the gals' interest* 'VVhen Strangers arry' irol). Willi the cowboys and Indians in the jungle. For. hinterland ladies aweet, on westorna. '