Exhibitors Herald World (Jan-Mar 1930)

36 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD March I, 1930 pealing monotone and her action in this picture is confined to limitless yawns at being bored with life, with men, with women, with children, etc. Whoever cut this picture operated with a fork for a more jumbled and meaningless story has seldom been seen hereabouts. Dialog halts almost in mid-sentence to pick up again at another tangent totally irrelevant to the action and then back again. This may be due to censorial omissions but fromi the run of the story it doesn't seem as though this is the answer. The picture depicts Corinne Griffith as a divorcee, working in a chorus of a night club and repulsing some nice gentleman until about the sixth reel, when she submits, is sorry, changes her mind, is glad again, and so on. There is much action involving a baby in a hospital but this is dropped in mid-reel. — N. K. WHITE CARGO THE BEST FOREIGN TALKIE. Produced and distributed by W. P. Film Company, Ltd., London. Directed by J. B. Williams and A. W. Barnes from the stage play. Released February 21. RCA recording. With Leslie Faber, John Hamilton, Maurice Evans, Sebastian Smith, Humberston Wright, Henri De Vrica, George Turner, Tom Hermore and Gypsy Rhouma. vJTOD bless the king, and all his subjects, too; especially the ones responsible for "White Cargo," the best foreign talkie I've seen and as intelligent a picture as anything made on native shores. If this is a sample of what the foreign countries are going to produce as competition for home products exhibitors can cheer long and loudly at the best stroke of fortune since "The Birth of a Nation." The name "White Cargo" is a tremendous drawing card for its stage productions have been touring the country in stock and repertory for years with never-failing popularity. For those who don't exactly recall this forerunner of all the South Seas — "Me Nooky, good girl" plots the outline is offered: Two hardened, service-worn Englishmen in the service of the West African Rubber Company are pictured taking leave of a broken young man who was sent to the trying country a few months before. He exits on a stretcher, mumbling "Good Lord, it's hot." On the steamer that takes him back to England a new man arrives to take his place. His linen is clean and pressed, he wears a necktie, and he is revolted at the sight of the run-down establishment. In a month he has placed curtains on the windows and a shaving mirror in the living room, an unprecedented thing. Also, he doesn't drink. Throughout his stay the two older men sadly shake their heads at the thought of anyone fighting Africa. "Compromise," they advise him, but the young man will hear nothing of it. Of course he breaks down, he goes almost mad and all-native, finally marrying a half breed, and substituting a repetitious "I'll be all right when I'm acclimatized" in place of his predecessor's "Good Lord, it's hot." He, too, is shipped back to England on a stretcher. His successor arrives. He, too, is dressed in clean and pressed linen. He is revolted at the sight of the establishment. He decides he wUl change everything. "Good Lord," he says, "It's hot. I guess I'll be all right when I'm acclimatized." The two older men say nothing. Fadeout. Throughout the picture you get the feeling of the awful futility of living in this horrible oven, the cycle of new men that will come with chUdish hope and leave broken and exhausted on stretchers, an engrossing and original theme. The direction has been handled with a restraint and care worthy of reverence and exalted praise. The dialog, especially of Leslie Faber, is more intelligently written and spoken then of any character I've ever seen or heard. — N. K. CHASING RAINBOWS NO POT OF GOLD! Produced and distributed by M G M. Directed by Charles F. Reisner. Adaptation, dialog and photography not listed. Cast: Bessie Love, Charles King, Jack Benny, George K. Arthur, Polly Moran, Gv)en Lee, Nita Martan, Eddie Phillips, Marie Dressier, Youcca Troubertzkoy. Footage, 8,813. Release date, January 10. Jf "Chasing Rainbows" had been the first of the backstage productions it would have been a good picture. It isn't the first by goodness knows how many and that just about describes it. Charles King and Bessie Love supply the allegedly emotional interest. After the good pictures that have been on Broadway recently and are still here this one seems to have been run off on a stencil. — D. F. THE GREAT DIVIDE MY DOROTHY MACKAILL. Produced and distributed by First National. Directed by Reginald Barker from the play by William Vaughn Moody. Adaptation by Fred Myton. Dialog by Fred Myton and Paul Peres. Photography by Lee Garmes, Edited by Ray Curtis. Music by Herman Ruby and Ray Perkins. Released, September 15. Length, 6,722 feet. With Dorothy Mackaill, Ian Keith, Myrna Loy, Lucien Littlefield, Ben Hendricks, Frank Tang, Creighton Hale, George Fawcett, Claude Cillingicater, Roy Stewart, James Ford, Jean Lnvety, Jean Lorraine and Gordon Elliott. If your patrons care for Westerns you must book "The Great Divide"; if they don't, there is no reason to believe this will keep them away. This is a very different Western. Dorothy Mackaill, to this prejudiced mind, far and away the best comedienne in the whole, wide world — so far away, in fact, that for all comparative purposes there aren't any others — has a reasonable starring role, at last, and makes a more enjoyable character of it than the author could have possibly intended. The story is simple; a ranch owner, waiting for the daughter of his old partner to arrive from New York spends a few days at a fiesta where, traditionally enough, he meets the girl as she visits the celebration. Not knowing her connection with the story he makes love to her as a Mexican bandit, with success, until she discovers his identity. He kidnaps her and by the time the posse arrives to hang him Dorothy is too much in love to permit it. There's singing, too. You've seen better stuff than this, but not done better. — N. K. At the New York Theatres NEW FILMS PARAMOUNT — "Roadhouse Nights" — Paramount talker with Helen Morgan and Fred Kohler. Directed by Hobart Henley. Opened February 21. CAPITOi:^"Chasing Rainbows"— M G M talker with Bessie Love and Charles King. Directed by Charles F. Reisner. Opened February 21. STRAND—'Xilies of the Field"— First National talker with Corinne Griffith and John Loder. Directed by Alexander Korda. Opened February 21. HIPPODROME — "Officer O'Brien"— Pathe talker with William Boyd and Ernest Torrence. Opened February 22. WARNER— "Song of the West"— Warner Bros, talker with John IJoles and Vivienne Segal. Opened February 27. GEO. M. COHEN— "White Cargo"— W. P. Film talker with Leslie Faber and John Hamilton. Opened February 21. HELD OVER AND REVIVED CENTRAL — "Disraeli" — Warner talker. Opened October 2. ASTOR— "The Rogue Song"— M G M talker. Opened January 28. RIALTO — "Street of Chance" — Paramount talker. Opened February 1. ROXy — "Happy Days" — Fox talker with all star cast. Directed by Benjamin Stoloff. Opened February 13. WINTER GARDEN— "The Green Goddess"— Warner talker. Opened February 13. EARL CARROLL — "Puttin' on the Ritz" — United Artists talker. Opened February 14. GAIETY — "Troopers Three"— Tiffany talker. Opened February 15. CRITERION— "The Vagabond King."— Paramount talker. Opened February 19. LITTLE CARNEGIE— "Hot for Paris"— Fox talker. First time p.p. COLONY— "Party Girl"— Tiffany talker— First time p.p. LITTLE PICTURE HOUSE— "Frozen Justice"— Fox talker. First time p.p. GLOBE — "Hit the Deck"— Radio talker. First time p.p. News Notes (Special to the Herald-World) HOLLYWOOD, Feb. 25.— HARRY LANGDON completed "The King" this week at Roach. He will take a short vacation before starting his next film. HERMAN MANKIEWICZ has signed to write for Paramount. His contract has been renewed for a long term. BARRY NORTON has signed a long term acting contract at Paramount. MERVYN LEROY has left for Broadway to gather new material for his next film for First National. JOE FARNHAM, M G M dialog and title writer, has renewed his contract. EDWIN CAREWE is back from Havana and has began preparation on "The Spoilers." He will direct and George Bancroft is starred. DOROTHY YOST is writing the continuity on "Sincerity" a novel by John Erskine. Universal will make the film. GEORGE O'BRIEN has organized a basket ball "five" on the Fox lot. The membership includes all athletes on the Fox payroll. HELEN TWELVETREES has changed her mind about returning to the New York stage. Pathe has given her a new contract. ALICE JOYCE will return from San Francisco this week. She has been playing the leading role in a Henry Duffy stage show there.