Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World (Apr-Jun 1930)

May 3, 1930 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD 33 ing on the part of everyone that it is very hard to keep things straight. Two gangs are after the jewels in the Lewiston mansion, and two gangs masquerade as servants in an effort to get them at a big party which follows. In the final few feet both hero and heroine double cross both gangs, take the paste jewels, leave the sparklers in the safe and presumably, live happily ever afterwards. Just a nice moral picture redeemed, as I said before, by the acting of the principals, Robert Ames, Lila Lee, Montagu Love and that real actor with the poker pan, Mr. Ned Sparks. THE LIGHT OF THE WESTERN STARS LIGHT ROMANCE 1 Produced and distributed by Paramount. From the novel by Zone Grey . Direction by Otto Brower and Edwin H. Knopf. Adaptation and dialog by Grover Jones and William Slovens McNutt. Photography by Charles Lang. Cast: Richard Arlen, Mary Brian , Harry Green , Fred Kohler , Regis Toomey , William LeMaire , George Chandler, Sid Saylor, Guy Oliver and Gus Saville. Sound footage, 6,213; silent, 5,035. Release, April 19. Seen by DOUGLAS FOX in New York ARAMOUNT has a pleasant outdoor offering in “The Light of the Western Stars,” taken from Zane Grey’s novel of the same name. Richard Arlen is handsomely capable as the young man who, in a drunken moment, decides to marry the first woman he sees. She proves to be a new arrival in the West, sister of his best friend, recently murdered. In taking over her brother’s ranch the girl, Mary Brian, runs into a number of difficulties. The hero, (trying to redeem himself) and his cronies run the ranch for her and help her out of most of her troubles which are engendered by the villain, the man who shot her brother. In the end after a thrilling fight with a crooked sheriff’s posse, everything turns out nicely, the hero gets the girl and the villain gets it in the neck; a very satisfactory picture from a juvenile standpoint. The comedy of Harry Green, Yiddish peddler among the cowboys is grand and Fred Kohler, as usual, is a fine villain. Mary Brian is as appealing as ever. THE SHIP FROM SHANGHAI WITH A MOTLEY MUTINOUS CREW I Pro duced and distributed by M G M. Directed by Charles Brabin. Story by Dale Collins. Adapted by John Howard Lawson. Photographed by Ira Morgan. With Louis Wolheim , Conrad Nagel, Kay Johnson, Carmel Myers and others. Seen by HARRY TUGEND in New York H ERE we have Louis Wolheim again in the role of the underdog who has his day, with ample opportunity to vent his spleen in the vicious, brutal and maniacal manner which first brought him into prominence in “The Hairy Ape.” However that is as far as the resemblance goes. For this story is quite obvious from the time Wolheim makes his first too-long tirade against his so-called betters. They have taken him out of the stokehold and made a steward of him. On a yacht headed for California, his frustrated ego and pent up resentment against the wealthy party aboard, drive him to a crafty decision to get the whip hand. The yacht is caught in a storm which leaves it a helpless hulk. At the point of a gun he forces the party to submit to his rule and attempts to force his attentions upon one of the girls. After trying, with disastrous results, to wrest his power from him, the party finally decides to escape in the life-boat. This attempt, too, is frustrated. The girl finally goads him into a frenzy of madness at his failure to conquer them spiritually and he leaps overboard. There is action aplenty in this sea story and there are some very fine photographic shots. The supporting cast is adequate in roles which haven’t great possibilities. But on the whole, it does manage to hold your interest and is a fair program picture. THE CUCKOOS ABSOLUTELY l Produced and distributed by Radio Pictures. Directed by Paul Sloane. Story by Guy Bolton, Harry Ruby, Bert Kalmer. Adaptation and dialog, Cyrus Woods. Photography by Nicholas Musuraca. Cast: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, June Clyde, Hugh Trevor, Dorothy Lee, Ivan Lebedeff , Marguerita Padula and Jobyna Howland. Footage, 8,200. Release, May 4. Seen by DOUGLAS FOX in New York If you have a yen for musical comedy and enjoy the clowning of Robert Woolsey and Bert Wheeler, especially as it was done in “Rio Rita,” you are going to have a grand time with “The Cuckoos.” This pair are grand in their dancing, singing and gag work and, instead of being, as in the past, more or less subordinated by higher paid members of the cast, they have free rein and are before you most of the time. As with most musical comedies the story of “The Cuckoos” is an utterly impossible one lending itself to big sets and a frequent use of color. The story opens in a big casino near the border where Woolsey falls for the heroine’s mother, the juvenile falls for the heroine and Wheeler tumbles for a gypsy lass who, although she doesn’t appear to have much of a voice, is one of the cutest tricks I’ve seen in pictures. The party returns to San Diego, the two comedians being more or less adopted by the heroine’s mother. An angry baron, well done by Ivan Lebedeff, in love with the heroine, kidnaps her with the aid of the gypsies, and takes her to an old inn over the border. The Cuckoos follow for reasons! that you may readily surmise. They have interesting adventures at the border, on their arrival and during the night of their stay at the inn, and, throughout, they are consistently amusing. You’ll laugh at the Cuckoos and you’ll laugh when the gypsy chieftain roars in chase of Wheeler and you’ll like June Clyde, the heroine. Need I say more? FRAMED NO ALIBI I Produced and distributed by Radio Pictures. Screen play, Paul Schofield. Dialog, Wallace Smith. Direction, George Archainbaud. Photography, Leo Tover. Cast: Evelyn Brent, Regis Toomey, Ralph Harold, Maurice Black, William Holden, Robert 0*Con nor and Eddie Kane. Released March 16. Footage, 6,136. Seen by DOUGLAS FOX in New York OnE of the tit bits in the stew of underworld pictures that we’ve been having ever since “Alibi” is “Framed,” latest Radio production which should be good for a holdover at the Globe. The story does not differ greatly from those of most of our crook pictures; it’s the performance of the players that makes it a worthwhile attraction. Much of the action takes place in a night club and, as usual it is a dispute between leggers over territory that causes most of the trouble. Evelyn Brent is the night club entertainer and supposed mistress of the proprietor, head of the gang. For years she has nursed hatred for the local inspector of police (one of his men killed her father) and has stayed in the racket for an opportunity to get even with him. She finds her way to this through the inspector’s son who falls in love with her but, unfortunately for her purpose, she reciprocates his feeling. The picture gets a little tangled and then works out to a successful finale. Miss Brent and Ralf Harold, the chief crook, give distinguished performances. Regis Toomey was better as the cop in “Alibi,” than he is as a nice young man in “Framed.” The lovely Brent, who got her first real part in “Broadway” and has since been doing semi-smart stuff for Paramount, can always be counted upon to be good in a hard boiled role. A NOTORIOUS AFFAIR A FOOL THERE WAS. Produced and distributed by First National. Directed by Lloyd Bacon. Authors: Audrey and Waverly Carter. Adapted by J. Grubb Alexander. With Billie Dove, Basil Rathbone, Kay Francis, Montagu Love and Kenneth Thomson. Seen by HARRY TUGEND in New York In “A Notorious Affair,” the audience is given credit for more than adolescent intelligence. And starting with that premise, the picture tells a rather risque story in a subtle manner. Basil Rathbone is at his best in this drama of high English society. The smooth perfection of his performance is in complete accord with his established reputation as an actor of quality. I rather resented the slight continental dialect required of his characterization, and perhaps he did too, for he occasionally lapsed into his most perfect King’s English. Billie Dove gives a convincing performance in a role more demanding and difficult than her usual one. A daughter of English nobility marries a poor violinist, much against her father’s wishes. The violinist rises to fame and becomes the idol of the artistic world. Especially the feminine part of it. Among his admirers is a countess, a lithe, dangerously red-blooded vampire, whose democratic promiscuity includes even her servants, unto the last stable-boy. The violinist succumbs to her irresistible charms and leaves his wife. Her unquenchable demands upon him finally result in his physical collapse and sudden paralysis. The wife rushes to her husband’s aid, bringing with her a physician, in whom she has become interested. Knowing she will not leave him while he is helpless, the husband feigns complete paralysis even after his recovery. They are reconciled when he remorsefully confesses his duplicity. It seems to me that the reconciliation is much too abrupt, and should have been built up more gradually to make it convincing. The supporting cast makes the most of their polished, aristocratic parts. Worthy of special mention is the admirable performance of Kay Francis as the vamping countess. The picture will please audiences that prefer a play of smart, cultured, finished performance and dialog, rather than a story of action. THE BIG FIGHT COMBAT. Presented by James Cruse, Inc. Produced by Samuel Zieler for Sono-Art release. Directed by Walter Lang. With Lola Lane, Wheeler Oakman, Edna Bennett, Stepin Fetchit , Ralph Ince , Guinn Williams, Robert Emmett 0*Connor, Larry McGrath, James Eagles, Gene Lewis and Tony Stabenau. From the David Belasco and Sam H. Harris stage play by Max Marcin and Milton Herbert Gropper. Music and theme song by Lynn Cowan and Paul Titworth. Continuity by Walter Woods. Photographed by Jackson Rose. Length, 5,900 feet. Seen by TOM HACKER in Hollywood w ALTER LANG’S “The Big Fight” suffers in the first two reels of what might be termed “introduction to an otherwise entertaining picture.” It differs slightly from the usual stock fight yarn. It has a ga-ga fighter in the role of leading man, a girl sacrificing all to save her wayward brother and, of course, a big smart-aleck racketeer. The leading man is sadly miscast. It takes the first two spools of good celluloid explaining who’s who and what about it. After all, its only proper to give an audience credit for possessing an average amount of intelligence. Lola Lane, recently placed under a five year contract to James Cruze, steals everything. Stepin Fetchit is a big asset, getting the laughs with the least effort. The big sequence in the film is the girl’s apparent doping of her lover on the eve of his championship bout and the camera flash-backs just as we are about to learn the winner. These are cleverly presented.