Exhibitors Herald World (Oct-Dec 1930)

December 6, 1930 EXHIBITORS HERALD -WORLD 27 W NEW PRODUCT This department does not attempt to predict the public's reactions to pictures. It does, instead, present detailed and accurate information on product, together with the frank and honest opinion of the reporter. THE THIRD ALARM FIRE-EATERS! Produced and distributed by Tiffany Productions. Directed by Emory Johnson. From the story by Emilie Johnson. Continuity by Frances Hyland and Jack Natteford. Cinematographer, Max Dupont. Art director, George Sawley. Sets by Ralph DeLacey. Cast: Anita Louise, James Hall, Paul Hurst, Jean Hersholt, Hobart Bosworth, Mary Doran, Dot Farley, Nita Mortan, George Billings, Walter Perry, Aileen Manning. Released, December 28, 1930. Footage, 5,328. Ti HIS thriller from even the earlier days of the "silent drama" has lived to achieve a greater realism through sound. Exploiting the curious fascination of flaming building-, the rousing dash of screaming apparatus down the streets, and the courage and affections of strong, simple folk, the story is perennial in its appeal and therefore deserves this modern retelling. Some may remember the main points of the story — how Milly Morton and the little brother whom she has mothered, lose their father to the flames, and how Dan and Beauty, young members of Morton's fire company, strive to keep the orphans out of an asylum, even going so far as to set about getting married, so that the youngsters can be adopted. It would be simple if Dan would realize that Milly is of marriageable age. But he doesn't until the girl he has intended to marry points out Milly's love for him. Suspended for his suspected help in Milly's unsuccessful escape from the orphanage, he is sitting home while his company is fighting a fire — at the orphanage — but despite his suspension, at the third alarm he decides to go. Arriving to find Milly, little Jimmie and some other children trapped, he is instrumental in rescuing them, and carries Milly to safety, which means also the security of his love. But poor Beauty! From among his innumerable "dames" he has found one to wed for the kids' sake, and by the time Dan and Milly reach home, the knot has been tied! The comic element thus indicated by Beauty's situation, flows through the entire story, supplying comedy relief that is refreshingly part and parcel of the story. Milly, though very young, has been matured by the circumstances of her life. The result is a rather womanly role for the youthful Anita Louise, and with it she reveals a fine sense of the pathetic. James Hall, however, never gives more than an outline of the possibilities in Dan, so the laurels among the male players must go to Paul Hurst as the likeable, comical Beauty. Almost always the treatment is meritorious, but it may be questioned if its endeavor to follow many phases of the action at practically the same time represents the most desirable technique. Such an observation, of course, may involve a general criticism of certain uses of the flash-back with sound, as exemplified by instantaneous shifts from a scene of great excitement to one of quietude in a home. However, EVELYN BRENT gives a masterful performance with Robert Ames in Columbia's drama, "Madonna of the Streets." the spectacular sequences themselves in "The Third Alarm" seemed to lose some of their effectiveness through an effort to follow the event continually from points varied in character. Pictorially, this method might be merely a bit confusing. But with sound, it proved to some degree in this case a disturbance to the illusion. Be that as it may, here is a good old story, competently acted and given new life by the sounds of life. And since everybody, it seems, is fascinated by fires and their fighters, the production is full of good exploitation material — George Schutz, Chicago. A THE GREAT MEADOW Produced by MGM. Directed by Charles Brabin. Original story by Elizabeth Maddox Ellis. Dialog by Edith Ellis. Photography, William Daniels and Clyde DeVinna. Film editor, George Hively. Cast: Eleanor Boardman, Lucille LaVerne, John Mack Brown, Gavin Gordon, Anita Louise, Russell Simpson, Helen Jerome Eddy, Sarah Padden, William Bakewell, Guinn Williams. IT is surprising that producers have never given more attention to the pioneer era of American history as a source of story material. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer appears to have been highly successful with "The Great Meadow," using as a background that period that embodied great hardship and adventure. Emphasizing the already dramatic situations of the story MGM has placed this on the screen in Realife. So much of the picture is outdoors the wide film proves highly suitable. The snow storms and rain storms attain realism that is new to motion pictures. "The Great Meadow" is a story of the settling of Kentucky. It begins in Virginia Colony with the call from Daniel Boone to the young people to make the long and dangerous trek through the mountains to the fertile valley "out West." There is an epic-like story of privation that ends in death for many of the less hardy. Prior to the departure the girl and boy (enacted by Eleanor Boardman and John Mack Brown) have been married. The birth of their child in the Kentucky garrison and the death of the hero's mother mark a turning point in the narrative. The authors have suddenly found themselves with a new story, that has a new objective and a different theme. Where for the first half of the picture the menace iu the natural hazards of the life, the menace i» the last half is the third person who falls in love with the heroine. The scenery in the picture has been obtaine« upon locations that have been chosen with a rare eye to beauty. The dialog runs smoothly throughout and has been obviously done by one who knows his pioneers and their litany. — Douglas Hodges, Hollywood. MADONNA OF THE STREETS MILLION DOLLAR MISSION! Produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Directed by John Robertson. From the story, "Ragged Messenger," by W. B. Maxwell. Continuity, adaptation and dialog by Joe Sweiling. Editor, Gene Havelick. Cameraman, Sol Bolito. With Evelyn Brent, Robert Ames, Ivan Linow, Josephine Dunn, J. Edward Davis, Zack Williams, Ed Brady, Richard Tucker. Release date, November 25, 1930. Footage, 6,932. T HOUGH this screen adaptation of the W. B. Maxwell story is not new in theme, the cast is good, particularly in the persons of Evelyn Brent, who is very appealing as the girl of the San Francisco mission house, and Robert Ames, who plays opposite. It is drama, with little to relieve the situation in the way of comedy. The adaptation of Sweiling shows care and intelligence, with apparently a good deal of attention having been paid to the original story, since the audience might well imagine a novel being portrayed on the screen as the picture progresses. Direction by John Robertson is equally competent, with a careful avoiding of overplay and