The Film Daily (1937)

THE Tuesday, May 18, 1937 ■%tl DAILY t * Rewews* gf ti*e> hew films ft ft "Venus Makes Trouble" with James Dunn, Patricia Ellis Columbia 58 Mins. RATES LOW WITH HACKNEYED STORY OF PRESS AGENT THAT LACKS PUNCH AND SUSPENSE. This one will serve as the second half of a double feature bill in houses where the audiences are not very discriminating. For the story it tells has been told many times before, and much better. In other words, it is just a rehash. James Dunn is the pressagent who comes to the big city where his genius can find expression. He is followed by Patricia Ellis, the girl from the home town who believes in him. From poverty to riches they go overnight, when they show a big dealer how to increase his sales of peanuts. How the sales were increased is kept a secret from the audience. And so on from one success to another, till along comes a slick pair who frame the publicity king to buy a lot of land on Long Islnad for the development of a site to be known as Dream City. It proves to be land under water. The district attorney hauls him before the grand jury. Then comes the inspiration to make it a new Venice, and sell this land under water as a novel place to live and get fancy prices for the lots. It is all very airy-fairy and naive, and if you will believe the author, the publicity king puts it over. Patricia Ellis looks beautiful. James Dunn manages to maintain his pep and enthusiasm through it all. Director Gordon Wiles did wonders with the material he had to work on. Cast: James Dunn, Patricia Ellis, Gene Morgan, Thurston Hall, Beatrice Curtis, Donald Kirk, Astrid Allwyn, Spencer Charters. Director, Gordon Wiles; Author, Michael Simmons; Screenplay, Same; Editor, James Sweeney; Cameraman, Lucien Ballard. Direction, Handicapped by Material. Photography, Good. Paramount Pictorial (No. P6-10) Paramount 10 Mins. Crackerjack One of the best of the series to date, this one has a trio of crackerjack topics which are timely, novel and presented with directness and sustained pace. Initial sequences show the reconditioning of sail and power craft in Springtime, prior to their taking to the water. Scenes of them afloat are splendidly photographed. The pop song "Twilight on the Trail" is then illustrated by lovely Technicolor shots, and the composition itself sung by a male I'-^Mrus. Finally there are views of , ./hew magnetic organ which operants without pipes and reeds. Two selections, Handel's "Largo" and Rudolph Friml's inspiring "Song of the Vagabonds," are played to demonstrate the versatility and tonal perfection of the instrument. It's solid entertainment. FOREIGN "AMORE E DOLORE" ("Love And Sorrow"), Italian dialogue film; a Cines production; written by Mario Blasetti; directed by Guido Brignone, with Elio Steiner, Dria Paola, Carlo Lombardi, et al, in the cast. Presented at the Cine-Roma Theater. Running time: 79 Mins. Foreign film followers will have an emotional and pleasant experience viewing this biographical screen story of Italy's composer, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, whose better known musical compositions pervade the footage. Rarely has a picture come out of Italian studios which is more appealing than "Love and Sorrow." As its title indicates the footage presents the glories of his attainment during his life, and conversely his despair when parted from the woman he loves through the arrogance and class-consciousness of her titled brother. Technically solid and intensely dramatic, but well balanced by bright and frothy incidents, the production is certain to win the plaudits of discriminating picture-goers. "KIRSCHEN IN DEN NACHBAR'S GARTEN" ("Fruit in the Neighbor's Garden"), German dialogue film; a Terra production; directed by Erich Engels, with Adele Sandrock, Theo Schall, Leisl Karlstadt, et al, in the cast. Presented at the 86th Street Casino Theater. Running Time: 89 Mins. Keyed in a happy, frothy mood, this romantic comedy is bound to please patrons, equipped either with a wide knowledge of German or with even a modest familiarity with the language. Adele Sandrock is excellent as the aunt of caustic disposition who tries to break up the rapidly developing love between her nephew and the "girl next door." Progress of the romance is temporarily arrested when the aunt goes to court in an action against the neighbors for cooking and eating the egg which her pet hen laid on their premises. But Cupid conquers after the judge rules the hen "fruit" legally belonged to the alleged trangressors. Photography is adept. "DIE GROBE ADELE" ("The Outspoken Adele"), German dialogue film; an ArnoldMuenchcn production; directed by Franz Seitz, with M. Kompel-Pilot, Adolf Gondrell, Joe Stoeckel, et al, in the cast. Presented at the 86th Street Garden Theater. Running Time: 74 Mins. Fairly entertaining yarn which deals with the inheritance of a house and medical practice by the physician-nephew of a Bavarian doctor, and how the young heir, with the assistance of a local druggist's daughter, promotes the mountain village, via a mineral spring, into a health resort. There are two contributing love themes and some amusing episodes, plus flashes of capable acting. Film, however, falls short of the ruggedness which characterizes most of the recent efforts by German studios. Audio Productions Holds Annual Meeting on Friday Annual meeting of Audio Productions, Erpi subsidiary, has been postponed until Friday when the reelection of Frank K. Speidell as president and all the other officers of the company is expected. Audio had the best year of its existence to date in 1936 and has a good backlog of production orders for summer and early fall, Speidell said yesterday. RKO Takes Two Yonkers Theaters From Cocalis RKO will take title to the Parkhill and Broadway theaters, Yonkers, today and probably begin operation tomorrow, The Film Daily was informed yesterday at the offices of S. Cocalis, who new controls the houses. "EPISODE" Viennese film comedy, produced by Gregor Rabinowicz; written and directed by Walter Reisch; music score by Willi Schmidt-Gentner; released by Metropolis Pictures Corp.; presented at the 55th Street Playhouse, with Paula Wesseley, Karl Ludwig Diehl, Otto Tressler, et al, in the cast. Running Time: 96 Mins. Though for the most part a slow-moving feature, the performance of Paula Wesseley and the uniformly good acting by the cast in general give the sequences considerable solidity. Reisch's story tells of the misinterpreted companionship between a wealthy art collector and the stocky, attractive Miss Wesseley, whose mother has lost a fortune through speculation and inflation during Austria's post-war financial crisis. The "affair" is finally broken up by the tutor of the art collector's sons. There is little to excite foreign film fans, for the main merit is the actress herself. Rarely does the technical end of the footage rise above passable standards. Does this sign belong on your theatre? J— ,-s ■ ■ -a III YE WHO ENTER i s/> H*RE LEAVE EL HOPE I : f\ ro nm***^ ^*<***MtKm S*" or can you use this one: "Our American Seating Company Chairs Will Fulfill Your Every Hope for Luxurious Comfort" ABOUT RESEATING YOUR THEATRE American Seating Company Public Seating for Every School, Theatre, Church, Auditorium and Bus Requirement GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. Branch Offices and Distributors in All Trade Areas THE GREATEST STAR OF THEM ALL