The Bioscope (Jul-Sep 1931)

32 THE BIOSCOPE September 9, 1931 arrival at the port a storm forces her into his society. She joins her fiance, a doctor, and the marriage takes place. Dawltry, who proves to be a neighbour, has an unsavoury reputation, and clubmen avoid him, for he is considered a cad. The doctor is more interested in his cases than in his wife, and she feels neglected. A birthday party for his young sister is arranged, and Dawltry unexpectedly receives an invitation. The doctor is indignant and believes the profligate is pursuing the young girl. But the wife has sent the card. Soon ardent love arises between the couple. After a time the doctor’s eyes are opened and he flourishes a pistol, but is far from heroic. The woman decides to leave him. The lovers start for Singapore. Comment : This can hardly be described as a pleasing picture, although tense situations make it deeply interesting. Neither of the characters arouse sympathy. Though Dawltrv attempts to clear himself anent past misdemeanours, he plays an evil part. Philippa is, from the first, obviously fascinated and soon seeks, rather than avoids, temptation. The doctor’s loss of his wife’s affection does not awaken commiseration, for he brings it about by absurd devotion to his professional duties. Lastly, there is the little sister whose amorous maidenhood antics amuse rather than attract the profligate. Much of the picture’s success is due to the excellent and realistic staging, and in every case the acting is of a high standard. Acting : William Powell has a part of the type in which he always excels. Needless to say, the impersonation is one of polished ease, cynicism and self confidence. Doris Kenyon does well in the difficult part of Philippa. The energetic, dogmatic and loquacious doctor is finely played by Louis Calhern, and the young sister by Marian Marsh. It is a kittenish and somewhat suggestive performance. Production : This is wonderfully effective, tropical settings enhancing the realism. A semi-religious festival takes place in the vicinity of the bungalow, with crowds of natives dancing and chanting. Sound : All voices are distinct. “The Secret Call” (Western Electric Sound on Film) Offered by : Paramount. Directed by : Stuart Walker. Length : 6,557 feet. Release Date ' March 14, 1932. Certificate: A. Type: Drama of American politics based on a play “ The Woman,” by William C. de Mille. Cast : Peggy Shannon, Richard Arlen, William B. Davidson, Charles T rowb ridge. IN BRIEF : Long drawn out but powerful story of girl telephone operator and corrupt politician who has caused her father’s suicide. Fever heat interest. Brilliant acting. Smart dialogue. Much subtle humour. Satisfactory conclusion. Suitability : Good popular appeal if abbreviated. ■ Selling Angles : The ingenious direction resulting in a chain of exciting episodes. Plot : When Kelly commits suicide his daughter Wanda implores unscrupulous and powerful Blake to clear her father’s memory from the imputation of being a grafter. He brutally refuses, and she vows revenge. To earn her living she becomes a telephone operator and is employed at a palatial hotel where politicians and financiers stop. A struggle is in progress between Blake and a senator who disapproves of his methods. To divert the public’s attention from the real issue, Blake endeavours to ruin his opponent’s reputation by unearthing a love scandal of the past. Wanda, as telephone operator, is aware of his plans and is heckled by pressmen hungry for copy. Her determination to checkmate Blake is influenced by her affection for his son, to whom, in prosperous days, she was engaged. The only thing required to ruin the senator is the name of the woman. She proves to be Blake’s married daughter. The unscrupulous one decides to retire from politics. Comment : The outstanding merit of this production is its extraordinary ingenuity of construction. Complicated, yet clear, it holds the spectator in a tight grip. The story is far from elevating and may appeal more strongly to American than British audiences. Much of the picture’s success is due to the excellent acting of Peggy' Shannon, who impersonates the heroine. This is announced as her first appearance, and future ones will be watched for. In the early scenes the girl’s thirst for revenge is the pivot of the story. This gives way to the struggle between Blake and the senator, to be succeeded by the question of the identity of the latter’s one time inamorata. Yet the three themes are admirably blended. The telephone switchboard is much in evidence (many may think too much), and as the principal characters are stopping at the hotel there is a considerable amount of ’phoning from room to room. Judicious cutting would in this matter be advantageous. Humour is frequently introduced by pressmen, who appear to have an office at the hotel, and, though they have no right in the operator’s room, they are frequently there prowling for news, and even attempting to bribe the girls. A splendid climax is worked up, for Wanda discovers that the mysterious woman was her girl friend, her lover’s sister, and Blake’s daughter. A dramatic scene ensues, the crestfallen politician announcing his retirement. Acting : Peggy Shannon is admirably supported by Richard Arlen, William B. Davidson, Charles Trowbridge and Ned Sparks. Production : The hotel, where most of the proceedings occur, is finely staged. Sound : The recording must be pronounced perfect. “ Forbidden Adventure ” (Western Electric Sound on Film) Offered by : Paramount. Directed by : Norman Taurog. Length : 6,900 feet. Release Date : March 17, 1932. Certificate: U. Type: Juvenile comedy drama from Sinclair Lewis’s “ Let’s Play King.” Cast : Mitzi Green, Edna May Oliver, Louise Fazenda, Jackie Searle, Bruce Lime. IN BRIEF : A rather fanciful, but nevertheless quite amusing, story of the adventures Tof two juvenile film stars and the efforts of their respective mothers to obtain recognition in the highest social circles. Developed on good comedy lines of mothers’ rivalry and with sentimental interpolations dealing with the children’s resentment to restricted hours of play. Colourful climax in youngsters’ escape from guardians and kidnapping bv foreign sailors. Excellent recording. Suitability : Good general booking. Selling Angles : Performance of juveniles, particularly Mitzi Green. Excellent comedy touches. Plot : The particularly offensive bearing of the now well-to-do Maggie Tiffany, whose little boy has become world famous on the screen, towards her erstwhile poor neighbour, Bessie Tait, prompts the latter to visit Hollywood with her daughter Daisy. Daisy is eminently satisfactory and soon overshadows the boy Tiffany. Both Bessie and Maggie, accompanied by their precocious kids, proceed to Europe to take society by storm, their special objective being the boy king of a Ruritanian State. Recognition from the royal personages is, however, denied them, and it is left to the children to bring the parents together. This they unconsciously do bv indulging in an escapade which takes them to the London docks, and which eventually sees them kidnapped by a couple of toughs. The mothers, the queen included, assist in tracing the children, and although this is the only experience of high society that falls to the lot of the two women, it suffices to satisfy their vanity. Comment : In this production Hollywood has certainly proved highly successful in guying itself both in the matter of the discovery of new talent and the attitude of parents who have successfully exploited the gifts of their children towards their less fortunate brethren. It is in this latter phase that the story has its greatest appeal, for the bickerings of the woefully ignorant mothers rendered offensive by the acquisition of undreamt-of wealth is deliciously funny, and extremely well put over by clever Edna May Oliver. The faux pas of this lady in mistaking the royal personages for members of a lower order is a delightful sequence. The story proper deals with the adventures, or misadventures, of the youngsters, and can hardly be accepted as convincing material, especially their alliance to a children’s gang, and the somewhat lurid episode in which they are manhandled in an attempt to hold them to ransom and their rescue by a horde of ragged guttersnipes. The lack of conviction applies also to the over-sentimentalised passages in which the children give way to tears when complaining of the restrictions put upon their hours of play by their dollar-hungry parents. There is in this, however, considerable popular appeal, and this, allied to the comedy element, should ensure a welcome for the film in almost any house. Acting: On the juvenile side, Mitzi Green again puts up a most remarkable performance as the child prodigy, while Jackie Searle is splendid in a role, familiar to him, of a little spoil sport. Bruce Lime, in the role of the young king, is effective, and has the added virtue of a pleasantly sounding voice. The part of Bessie Tait, a virago who permits nothing to stand in her way, is perfectly played by Edna May Oliver, and must rank as one of this artist’s best screen performances yet. Louise Fazenda with her frequent high-pitched giggle is good as the other mother. Production : All the interiors, both of humble and elaborate homes, are admirably mounted, and those of the work in the studio are bound to prove interesting. Several exteriors are pleasing, though those of London, enshrouded in fog, leave much to the imagination. Sound : Recording of dialogue and various effects is excellent. “Bad Girl” (Western Electric Sourui on Film) Offered by : Fox Film Co. Directed by : Frank Borzage. Length : 8, 128 feet. Certificate: V. Release Date : Not fixed. Type : Domestic drama. Cast : James Dunn, Sally Eilers, Minna Gombell. IN BRIEF : Delightful story of the early married life of a simple working couple, rather heavily sentimentalised, but full of human appeal. Loyalty of the young husband and his successful struggle to prepare for the arrival of their first baby make an entirely new film story, which will make a terrific appeal especially to women. Here is the real story about real people for which the picturegoing public has waited too long. Acting and direction are brilliant. Suitability : First-rate attraction for any audience, with a special feminine appeal. Selling Angles : The domestic sentiment of the story and the excellence of the acting. Plot : Eddie Collins, a young radio mechanic on a visit to Coney Island, gets into conversation with Dorothy Haley, a young working girl. Dorothy is quite ready for a mild flirtation, and though Eddie is not very responsive they become friendly and meet again frequently. Taking shelter from the rain one night in Eddie’s rooms, Dorothy is kept very late and fears to go home to her brother. Eddie advises her to explain that they are to be married. Her brother, however, is very angry and turns Dorothy out of the house. She stays the night with a girl friend and the next morning is married to Eddie. He provides a comfortable home for her out of the savings which he had intended for starting business on his own account. When Dorothy finds that she is going to have a baby she gets very nervous and fanciful, both she and her husband assuming that the other does not welcome the prospect. The young wife w'ants the services of a celebrated specialist. In order to raise the fee, Eddie, unbeknowm to his wife, accepts an engagement to appear in a boxing contest, which, unfortunately, takes place on the night that Dorothy goes into a nursing home. She thinks him heartless and both are very unhappy, till the ioyful arrival of the baby and the truth that they both have really desired it puts everything right. Comment The strength of this film lies in the simplicity of the story it tells. Although merely the record of the early married life of a young couple of the working class, it abounds in human touches and grips from beginning to end. It has fewer highly dramatic situations or surprises than many films, though the scene in w'hich the husband literally begs the famous obstetrician to attend his wife for the sake of her peace of mind is intensely impressive. The whole story — just one of everyday life — is told with such conviction and simple truth that it wall appeal to masses of young people as an echo of their personal experiences. It contains some of the humour and some of the trials of the common round, but chiefly pleases as a picture of powerful domestic devotion. The title has little bearing on the story. Acting : James Dunn, a newcomer to the screen, gives a very effective