The Film Daily (1934)

Tuesday, April 3, 1934 THE ■c&a DAILY » » » » REVIEWS of NEW FEATURES and SHORTS « « « « Richard Barthelmess in "A MODERN HERO" with Jean Muir Warner Bros. 71 mins. RAMBLING DRAMA OF MIXED MOTIVATIONS COVERS A LOT OF GROUND TO NO PARTICULAR PURPOSE. This shapes up as a rather ineffectual story of one man's life that ends in a helpless and hopeless frustration of practically everything he attempted to do. All his dreams and hopes are crashed, no particular purpose is served, and certainly it does not make for the type of entertainment that holds. Richard Barthelmess is seen as a circus performer with his mother assisting in his act. He has an affair with Jean Muir, a young country girl. Later he learns that a baby is about to be born, but she refuses to marry him, choosing a country boy for her husband. His boundless ambition drives him forward to great material success, and he has an affair with a titled woman, and marries the daughter of his business partner. All his affairs of the heart are disastrous. His boy, whom he persuades Jean Muir to allow him to send to college, is killed. Then in the Wall Street crash his fortune is wiped out. Shorn of everything, he returns to his mother, and they decide to start life all over again in Europe. Cast: Richard Barthelmess, Jean Muir, Dorothy Burgess, Marjorie Rambeau, Florence Eldridge, Theodore Newton, William Janney, Verree Teasdale, Maidel Turner, J. M. Kerrigan, Hobart Cavanaugh, Arthur Hohl. Director, G. W. Pabst; Author, Louis Bromfield; Adaptors, Gene Markey, Kathryn Scola; Editor, Jim Gibbons; Cameraman,W. Rees. Direction, Fair. Photography, Good. "LAZY RIVER" with Jean Parker and Robert Young M-G-M 75 mins. COMEDY MELODRAMA IN POPULAR HOKUM VEIN BEST SUITED FOR THE FAMILY HOUSES. In the locale of Louisiana's bayou district, this is one of those "turn to the right" dramas that used to be so popular in the old opera house days, and are still popular with much of the family trade. Robert Young, Ted Healy and Nat Pendleton, ex-convicts, go out to the bayou to blackmail Maude Eburne, supposed to be a rich dealer in shrimps. Instead they find her with an overhanging mortgage and a charming daughter, Jean Parker, to whom Robert immediately takes a shine. So instead of carrying out their crooked plans, the lads set to work to lift the mortgage and free Maude from the clutches of a villain, C. Henry Gordon, who also is engaged in smuggling Chinese. Then for a culmination of the romance between Robert and Jean. Action is worked up in good old pop style and there is a good bit of humor scattered around. Cast: Jean Parker, Robert Young, Ted Healy, C. Henry Gordon, Nat Pendleton, Ruth Channing, Maude Eburne, Raymond Hatton, Irene Franklin, Joseph Cawthorne, Erville Alderson, George Lewis. Director, George B. Seitz; Author, Lea David Freedman; Adaptor, Lucien Hubbard; Cameraman, Gregg Toland; Editor; William LeVanway. Direction, Good Photography, A-l. A LITTLE from "LOTS" By RALPH WILK HOLLYWOOD QEORGE STEVENS, who directed "Strictly Fresh Yeggs," costarring Tom Kennedy and Will Stanton, is directing Kennedy and Stanton in "Cracked Shots," another RKO comedy. "Strictly Fresh Yeggs" registered many laughs when previewed at the Fox Ritz. V T T Our Passing Show: Constance Bennett, Dr. Giannini, Gilbert Roland, David O. Selznick, James Flood, Sam Marx, Dore Schary, John Zanft, Frank Partos Jerome Sackheim, Bert Marx at the preview of "Viva Villa." T T T Edwin L. Marin is directing "Affairs of a Gentleman," which Edmund Grainger is supervising for Universal. Marin directed "Bombay Mail" and several other Universal pictures. T T T Simile — As hard to please a star looking for a story. T T T Ethel Merman has been signed for an important role in "Treasure Hunt," Eddie Cantor's next comedy. FOREIGN FILMS "CHALUTZIM" ("Palestine Pioneer"), in Hebrew, Arabic and Polish; produced by Zenith; directed by Alexander Ford; with A. Meskin, M. Florfeld, R. Klatzin, Bar-Adon, L. Hurwitz, et al. At the Acme Theater. Produced in Palestine, the first talker to be made there, this is an interesting record of the rebuilding of the Jewish homeland. There is a good deal of human interest in the story, while the acting and photography stand out. "DIE TOCHTER DES REGIMENTS" ("The Daughter of the Regiment"), in German; produced by Ondra-Lamac; directed by Karl Lamac; with Anny Ondra, Otto Wallburg, Adele Sandrock, Werner Fuetterer, Willy Stettner, Albert Heine. At the 79th St. Theater. Amusing military comedy with musical trimmings. Has enough laughs, mountain adventure, song-and-dance and romantic touches to make it generally satisfying for German audiences. She recently finished work in "We're Not Dressing," at Paramount. ▼ ▼ ▼ Warner Baxter and Claire Trevor will play the title roles in Fox's "Maximilian and Carlotta." John Blystone is slated to direct. T r ▼ Franchot Tone has been assigned opposite Jean Harlow in "One Hundred Per Cent Pure," which Sam Wood will direct for M-G-M. Lionel Barrymore also is in it. T T T New contracts have been given by M-G-M to Mae Clarke and Leo Carroll, players, and W. S. Van Dyke, director. CAST ASSIGNMENTS PARAMOUNT— ZaSu Pitts for "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch," with Pauline Lord. W. C. Fields and Charlotte Henry, under direction of Norman Taurog; Mary Boland fir "Here Comes the Groom," with Jack Hiley. METRO — Lewis Stone, Ed~und Breese Nig'' Bruce and Cora Sue Collins for "Treasure Island." FOX — Inez Norton and Henry O'Neill for "Now I'll Tell." WARNER — Leo White, newly placed under long-term contract, for "Madame Du Barry." COLUMBIA — Ed Gargan, Snow Flake and Gigi Parrish for "Twentieth Century"; Rosemary Glosz and Mariska1 Aldrich, operatic artistes, for "One Night of Love." SERIAL Clyde Beatty in "The Lost Jungle" (Mascot Serial) with the Hagenbeck-Wallace Animals Mascot 27 mins. Although the plot of this serial is awkwardly assembled, the frequent scenes where Beatty is in a cage with lions and tigers have a tense excitement even for adults but more especially for kids. First episode shows Beatty as a circus animal trainer. He incurs the enmity of Sharkey, another trainer, when he socks him for beating a tiger. It is decided that Beatty shall go to the jungles and bring back animals for a new act. A trans-oceanic dirigible, on which he is making the first leg of his trip, breaks in two and lands Beatty on an island with a lion springing at him as the first episode closes. Second episode, in two reels running 18 minutes, shows Beatty scaring off the lion and proceeding with a circus press agent to a stockade. Sharkey also has landed on the island, and there is a discovery of treasure unearthed by an Englishman who is dying. Final Shots on "Frankie" Two cameramen have been sent by All-Star Productions to the middle west to make some shots of the Mississippi River as the final footage for "Frankie and Johnnie," made at the Biograph Studios in the Bronx. Victor Young and his orchestra have been recording the background and interlude music for the picture. if you put your ears to the gf YOU'LL HEAR THE THUNDERING ACCLAIM HOLLYWOOD IS ACCORDING THE GREATEST COMEDY SMASH IN YEARSI J O H N BAWMORE "L 2 \W c E N T U RY CAROLE LOMBARD , From the notable New York stage success' by Ben Hecht— Charles MacArthur— Charles B. MilhollanrJ A HOWARD HAWKS PRODUCTION A COLUMBIA PICTURE