The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

February, 19}i Page 55 Ihf ttlm Eitimatc\, in nhote or in part, may be reprinted only by special arrangement uHb The Educational Screen) Afraid to Talk (Eric Linden. Sidney Kux» • UniveritAl) Politics «t iu rottenest. with iraniE murders, brutal third dtfcree Htuff. fram- ing of the innucent, cunHciencelesB double- crosainK- tV»ntenu>tible i-haracters ma<le ulnm- oroua. Uirly. depre^rtinir. proves nuthinK, t»f- frra nothinK- Pure .tenitationalijim runninv amuck. \ -De|>end* on taste Y--Probably bad C -Very bad Billion Dollar Scandal, The (Robert Arm- «tn>niE. Cunittance CumminK^) \ l*ara.t Tuuffh jail-bird hero and poitt, talkintc KUtter-Kntrlish —wealthy, cruok-polilician and his rinir doinK a ffuvernment oil swindle. The btmn ruint* her > to end luve-aflfair with his heavy-drinkin; daaifhter. Hardly a reputable character or action throufrhout. A—Hardly Y—Better not C—No Bitter Tea of (General Yen i Barbara Stan- wyrk. Niln Anther 1 t('4»lumbin I East vs. Weat romance laid in Shanghai durini; recent war* fare. Beautiful missionary (tirl falls into ih>w- er of philosophical Chineae General. Each learnji how dilTerent are their viewpoints and he ctimmibi suicide as only solution. Excellent work by Aiither. A—Rather jtwd Y—Doubtful C—No Central Park iJoan Blondell. Wallace Ford» I'irst Nal'h Lively romantic mebMlrania about inty and itirl from the country. meelinR by chance in Central Park, drawn into a series of excitinir adventures thai finally turn out happily. Hilarious, improbable hokum but human rnouKh to be really amusfnir. A -GfMid of kind Y -Amusing - C—Amualnr Death Kiss. The (Belu LuROsi. David Man- ners M World Wide I Kasy-KoinfT detective story, wholesomely thrilling and romantic, with no vultcarismtt luKKCfl in. Star is murdered in midst of a Hollywood production. Rather en- (tairinK hero smoothly solves mystery which baffles The dumb Inspector. Good Ught enter- tainment. A Good Y—Verygood C—Good Frisco Jenny (Ruth Chatterton H First Nat'U Fine w<irk by Chatterton as cabaret-courtesan in old Frisi-o. ctwtumes of the 'nO*s. Climaxei by disreputable mother heroically keepinic her identity secret from her illegitimate son, who becomes unknowinxly her prosecuting attor- ney. Seamy, trajric. dcpressinK. A--G(K)d of kind Y— Unwholesome C^No Hello Everybody i,Kate Smith) (Paramount) Wholesome, simplf. realistic little picture ex- ptoitJnK Kate Smith and her radio sonpfi. As leading spirit in her native farm community Kate wins fiffht aKainst water company throuKh her tiucceiw on the radio. Interestinic hiefty for her particular radio public. \ -Hardly Y Good C Good Hot pepper (Lupe Velez. Edmund Lowe> Kox I Lupe if<HH] as impetuous, very uncon- tntionnt little Spanish cabaret-dancer. Usual wrantrlinic roles by Lowe & McLaizlen with b«K>ze-racketeerinK and niKht club life as hack* trround. Moctly same old stuff with risque •linlo^ nnil cheap Knirlish. \ Mcdifure Y- HetUr not C—No Kid from Spain. The (Eddie Cantor) <U. A.) Semi-musical, nonsense comedy made expressly for the Cantor public. Hilariously ridiculous bull-fiftht. usual bathins beauty chorus, and u-essant wisecracks sometimes risque but iciv- M in brisk, burlesque manner probably harm* less. StriktnR dance ensembles. Very funny for those who thtnk so. A—Depends (m taste Y—Amuaiiiff C—Exciting Kind's Vacation. The (Geonre Arlisa) VVBrner)A very modern king, hating royal i">mp. approving revolution, abdicates throne and queen to resume life and love as he kn€W them twenty years before, Poisrnant dlsll- Inaion. and the queen proves his true love after all. Subtle, restrained, rharmin?. A Excellent Y—Very rood C—Beyond them ' I.4iuthler in Hell i Pat O'Brien) (Universal) Sensational concoction of low-life family feud, iilsar sex stuff, and revoltinR chain-iranic tor- tures. Crude hero unknowintrly marries cheap wanton kills her and her lover. Finally, aft- er murderintr three pe«>plp, herx» finds new love and happiness. A -Trash Y—Unwholaaome C—No Estimates are given for 3 groups A—Intelligent Adult Y—Youth (15-20 years) C -Child (under 15 years) Bold faced type means "recommended" Man Asainst Woman (Jack Holt) (Colum- bia) Underworld drama with Holt as topnotrh detective who carries no Kun but an incredi- bly potent fist. In rather nriicinal climax he winK out with the heroine over villain and handsome youuK cro»>k-rival. Villain well played by Walter Connolly. A Hardly Y Perhaps C—Hardly Men and Jobs (Russian cast) (Amkino) More propaKHnda slow, ponderous, but very earnestly acted. Supposedly shows Russian progress under Soviet rule in learning to use modern machinery. Glorifies the steam shovel and Russian efficiency in its use. Mildly in- terestinic as usual. A- I'erhaps Y—Hardly C—No Men cf America (Chic Sale, William Boyd) (RKO) Over-violent picture of Kanir*methods. machine-Kun murders, and activities of vIki- lanles in peaceful little California valle- Suppo.^ed to show how sound citizenry will crush tcansrsterism when it Kets too rouirh. A~Hardly Y- No C—No Monkey's Paw. The (l^iuise Carter) (RKO) Horror picture about the superstition that a monkey paw will K^ant wishes but the wisher will inevitably reirret the wish. Resultant urucaome tratrcdies are the main feature of the hodire-podKe. A—Worthless Y—By no means C—No Nairana (Melvyn Douicles. Tale Birell) {Uni- versal) Conquest of aleepintr sickness is the supposed theme. Sensational and hivhly im- probable hash of medical heroism, pseudo- science. Kory battles of wild animals, weird junsle superstitions and ceremonies, labored romance—all laid in darkest Africa. A- Hardly Y—No value C—No No Livinc Witnesa (Gilbert Rolandi (May- fair) Villftin swindles simple-minded racetrack gambler, but is killed by husband he has out- raKcd. and so the youoK people can get mar- ried after all. A dictaphone does the most praiseworthy work done by the cast. Just an- other movie. A--Mediocre Y—Hardly C—No No More Orchids (Carole Lombard, Lyle Talbf^ti (Columbia) Well-actetl society drama showinir close family ties quite laudably. Much casual drinking, unconventional conduct bv heroine, and dialoK heavily smart and wise- crackinR. Heiress-pauper-princ-e trianfrle. Lou- ise Cloaser Hale excellent $t» ultra "modem" grandmother. A—Perhaps Y—Unwholesome C—No No Other Woman (Irene Dunne. Charles Bickford) (RKO I Irene Dunne only redoem- inir feature in sordid story of rise of hard- boiled steel-worker from mill-t'»wn to wealth and back atrain. Hero too crude for heroine's devotion to be credible. Wholesale perjury at divorce trial bis feature. A- -Mediocre Y—Better not C—No Past of Mary Holmes, The (Helen MacKcl- lar) (Radio) Dramatic story of former opera star who lost her voice, now livinir in drunk- enness and snualor. known as the "Goose Woman." Seektnir publicity ^he unwittintrly involves her illeKttimate son in a murder. Star frives fine performance. A—Intercstinff Y—DoubUul C—Vo Red Haired Alibi (Myrna Kennedy) (Tower) Small town Kirl is involved with tcantc-Ieader- rackcte?r, is innocently forced to pose as his wife, then marries the hero without lellimr him the past. Hence blackmail by racktrteer. murder, and happy ending achieved with jrrvat difficulty. A Mediocre Y—No C—No Second Hand Wife (Ralph Bellamy. Sally Kilersi (Fox) Trianxle drama, with audience sympathy with the Secretary, for whom hus- band divorces his selfish, dissatisfied wife, thereby losinir custody of his prodltry daush- ter—until problem is happily solved. Only mildly interestins. A Perhaps Y UnsuiUble C—No She Done Him Wronc (Mae West) (Para- mount) Mae West struttinic. sinsrinK and slink- ins as the luxurious, vulgarian night-club queen, with maximum wealth and no morals. Sex stuff in its most brazen and offensive form made as alluring as possible for the pub- lic that likes it. A Depends on taste Y--Pernicious C—No Sign of the Cross. The (All SUr castOPara- mount) Costly, colossal super-spectacle with gorgeous sets and notable acting. Sufferings and heroism of early Christians finely shown but reliffious value submergeil in glorified ex- pose of luxury, licentiousness, cruelty and l>estiality of degenerate Rome under Nero. -Sensational and harrowing. A Fine of kind Y~Decidedly not C—By no means Son Daughter. The (Helen Hayes. Rimon Novarrot (MOM) Sensational, romantic, tragic melodrama of FVisco's Chinatown during Chi- nese war. Helen Hayes fine as Chinese fiancee of republican prince but forcetl to marry royalist arch-villain. Plots, murders. Oriental rites, novel and charming love scenes. Oland good as villain. A—Good of kind Y Pn)bably good C—No Strange Justice (Marian Marsh. Reginald Denny) tRKO) Good cast wasted on h*>dge- podge story of romance of hat-check gir) and a young chaulTeur of bank president, who also loves the girl and frames hero for murder. After the usual amount of suspen-^e. the hero is rescued from the electric chair. A Hardly Y- No C--No Thfy Had to Get Married (Zusu Pitts. Slim Summerville) (Universal) Two servants fall heir to master's fortune, marry, and their e^orts to adjust to new position make some excellent farce-comedy. Vulgarired by king drawn out scenes of sex and drunkenness which detract greatly from the real comedy. A- Perhaps Y— Unwholesome C—No Thirteenth Guest, The (Ginger Rogers. Lyle Tnlbot) ( Monogram ) Undistinguished, though at times fairly engrossing mysUry with old house again the scene of murders, victim being electrocuted. Usual scare devices absent, but one or two gruesome shots. Tangled plot with many loose ends. A—Fair of kind Y- Fair C- Excitmg Tonight Is Ours (Claudette Colbert, Fredric March) (Paramount) Deft, sophisticated com- edy on "queen and commoner" love affair, finely acted by whole cast and beautifully s*t. Engaged to marry a broad-minded prince for state purposes, the i|ueen gives her weddinn eve to her lover. Intelligently amusing. A—Good of kind Y—Unwholeaome C -No Trailing the Killer (i*bo. the dog) (World Wide) Fine scenery, interesting animals, and many engaging bits of action -but crude -^tory. mediocre acting, endless faking, and much gratuitous cruelty to animals make potentially interesting nature-study more harrowing than entertaining or instructive. A- Hardly Y—Hardly C—No Vanity Street (Charles Bickford) (Columbia) Tells the romance of gruff but big-hearted policeman who befriends desperate little chor- us-girl. "Punch" is sought by adding some detective work and a stage sUr so mistrea'eii by her lover that she has to kill him. A—Mediocre Y -Belter not C—No Virtue (Carole lA.mbard i (Columbia) Sordid doings of cheap people with illiterate minds, di>llar8 and sex their only thoughts. (Jlorifles supposed lofty love affair of wise-cracking, crude taxi-<lriver hero and blonde street-walk- er. All other girU in cast in the same busi- ness. Gutter English. A—Trash Y—Pernicioua C—No