The Film Daily (1927)

unday, January 30, 1927 DAILY 7 m Jack Hoxie in The Western Whirlwind" niversal Length: 4967 ft GUN POPPIN' WESTERN. OXIE SHOOTS IT UP IN .TVELY FASHION SERVING ,CTION AND PUNCH APLENTY OR THE LEGION OF WEST RN ADMIRERS. Cast.. Hoxie has his best vehicle in ime time. Good story and role prodes fine chances. Margaret Quim.-, the girl. Others not important. Story and Production. ... Western. isn't so much the originality of the ot as the rip-roaring action, the ro ance, the sure-fire audience stuff nat Albert Rogell has packed into lat goes toward making Hoxie's test a good little entertainment. It as a grand array of heroics, plenty : fast and fancy riding, fights, gun lay and the rest of the western realia and follows through to its ulniate clinch climax at a fast gait, aving no dull moments in its wake, he actual plot has been used time rid agjain though far less effectively, lero Hoxie plays the "softy" just 3 long but when he starts his ramage things pop fast and furious un1 he tows in the culprit who killed is father and terrorized the little Id town. Hoxie improves upon past erformances by injecting more punch lto his playing. Direction Albert Rogell; ood. Author Albert Rogell Scenario Harrison Jacobs Photography . . . . Wm. Noble; good Raquel Metier in "For Her People" lapital — S. R. Length: 6700 ft MIGHT INTEREST JEWISH TLIENTELE. LIMITED APPEAL IN EUROPEAN PRODUCTION. PRESENTING SPANISH 5INGER. Cast. . .Raquel Meller photographs >oorly most of the time and her perormance consists of constant gesturing. Has much to learn about jlcting before the camera. All European players whose names are not jiven. : Story and Production Drama. Cn the hope of capitalizing on the Successful debut of Raquel Meller )n the American concert stage, "For Her People," a picture evidently nade some time ago on the other side, makes its bow and probably lopes to attract through the name if its 'star. It is somewhat of an mposition to assume that because » man or woman is an artist in one sense that he or she will meet with jqual favor in another direction. Raquel Meller may have the makngs of a screen star but she doesn't show it in "For Her People." Exhibitors catering largely to Jewish Datrons might interest them in this story of suffering in Russia and of i girl's sacrifice. The customs and atmosphere will best be understood dv them. Direction Not credited ; poor. Author . . Not credited Scenario Not credited Photography Unknown ; Buddy Roosevelt in "Between Dangers" Pathe Length: 4533 ft. LIVELY WESTERN THAT FURNISHES NICE LITTLE ENTERTAINMENT AND SPEEDS ALONG WITH FLYING COLORS. Cast.. Buddy Roosevelt a good rider and right there when it comes to tracking down a villain. A bit crude at romancing. Alma Rayford, the girl and Rennie Young, villain. Story and Production. .. .Western; adapted from the magazine story, "Ride 'Im Cowboy." Westerns, as a rule, seldom vary as to plot or source of action but in spite of constant similarity it is surprising to note the number of really good western pictures continually available. There isn't a week that passes without bringing anywhere from two to five western releases with the average for good entertainments comparatively high. "Between Dangers" strikes a happy medium. It supplies good action, romance, thrills and the plot, though familiar enough, maintains a lively pace throughout. This time it is the story of hero inheriting a ranch and double crossing lawyers stealing his rights. It is up to hero to reclaim his indentification papers and prove his identity. How he breaks jail and rounds up his enemies winds around to the happy ending for hero and the sheriff's daughter. Direction Richard Thorpe , satisfactory. Author Walter J. Coburn Scenario Richard Thorpe Photography Ray Ries; Rood "Her Sacrifice" Sandfordr—S. R. Length: 6100 ft. POOR PICTURE. STORY AN UNINTERESTING, BADLY CONSTRUCTED AFFAIR AND DIRECTION OF A MOST MEDIOCRE VARIETY. Cast. . . . Barbara Tennant a sad, sad heroine who screens poorly. Gaston Glass a loyal husband, while Wilfred Lucas and Bryant Washburn are a villainous pair bent on spoiling the woman's happiness. Gladys Brockwell, her friend. Herbert Rawlinson overacts. Story and Production. ... Drama. "Her Sacrifice" has no redeeming features. The storv is a dull, trite yarn, the acting poor and Lh'e direction is of such a poor order that it precludes any possibility of the picture being acceptable. And seldom do you find such a terrible set of subtitles. They are incorrect grammatically, in many cases, and sadly incoherent. The continuity is ragged and Director Wilfred Lucas has failed utterly to win any sympathy for his characters. Little possibility of imposing this on people accustomed to the better things in motion picture entertainment. A dull, uninteresting story, a cast of players little known — with the exception of Bryant Washburn, and his part in this might well be forgotten — and a poor production give you nothing to work on. Direction Wilfred Lucas; very poor. Author Manuel Acuna Scenario Not credited Photography Unknown ; poor. "Redheads Preferred" Tiffany Length: 5300 ft. MARITAL TANGLE FURNISHES GOOD AMUSEMENT. FAIRLY CONVENTIONAL STORY BUT IT IS NICELY DEVELOPED AND PRESENTED BY A GOOD CAST. Cast. . . . Marjorie Daw the clever little wife who puts one over, on hubby, Theodor "Von Eltz, when he thinks he is putting it over on her. Vivien Oakland a good looking blonde who adores her husband because he is a traveling man. Charles A. Post is the husband. Raymond Hitchcock good as the very brave and sporty husband of Cissy Fitzgerald. Story and Production. ... Domestic comedy. Marjorie Daw shows young wives how to handle a husband. She's smart enough not to let him know that she is well informed on hit little escapade at a mask ball when hubby's companion was none othei than friend' wife but he didn't know it. The idea serves for some amus ing incidents and the complication: are nicely developed to the ultimate clinch climax. Raymond Hitchcock as the sporty salesman who won' sign a contract with a man until In takes him out for a good time, get: over a goodly share of the coined; and some of his pantomime is cork ing. Direction -Mian Dak satisfactory. Author Douglas Bronstoi Scenario Douglas Bronstoi Photography Jos. A. Dubray, good. Jack Perrin in "The Grey Devil" Rayart—S. R. Length: 4274 ft. GOOD WESTERN. SITUATIONS ALL HAPPEN ON FORMULA SCHEDULE BUT THERE IS A LIKABLE HERO AND SOME FIRST RATE ACTION TO OFFSET THE FAMILIARITY. Cast. . . . Perrin an easy riding hero, one of those brave cowboys. Tom London the old trickster, after the old ranchman's cattle and his niece, Lorraine Eaton. Others Andy Waldron, Jerome La Grasse, Milburn Morante. Story and Production. .. .Western. The old time table western, right on schedule and carrying all the well known passengers. "The Grey Devil" is the cattle rustling formula and even though the events are all of the most familiar order it is quite likely that hero Jack Perrin and the fairly generous amount of action will suffice to get it over. There is a wild horse who is prominent in the plot and the scenes where the camera follows the animals' stampede are very interesting. Starlight is a fine horse and, of course, he is tamed under hero's kindly handling. Title imight infer that "The Grey Devil" is an auto racer. It might be well to tell them about Starlight, the real grey devil. Direction Bennett Cohn; suitable. Author '. .Henry Ziegler Scenario Henry Ziegler Photography Wm. Thornley; good. "The Smoke Eaters" Rayart — S. R. Length: 5716 ft. ENTERTAINMENT NOT VERY GOOD IN FARFETCHED MELODRAMA. HEROISM OF FIREMEN EXPLOITED TO BUT FAIR ADVANTAGE IN PICTURE THAT HAS BEEN NONE TOO CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED. Cast. . . . Cullen Landis a busy hero who suffers the rebuffs of the girl he loves (Wanda Hawley) but wins her over after he saves her life. Edward Cecil the heroic fire chief and others Aryel Darma, Broderick O'Farrell, Mae Prestelle, Kenneth Austin. Story and Production. .Melodrama. An introductory title very reverently dedicates the picture to the heroism of the fireman. "The Smoke Eaters," however, is not a very worthy memento either from a story or production standpoint. The plot is a farfetched melodrama carelessly put together and the production is ordinary. They have included a quantity of stock shots in the sequence showing the panic following the discovery of fire on the boat and later some of the shots of the cabaret fire are stock shots. Some fair thrills in the fire sequence and the rescues but, on the whole, the story lacks punch. Direction Charles Hutchinson; poor. Author Arthur Hoerl Scenario Arthur Hoerl Photography Wm. Tuers, fair. "The Lightning Reporter" Ellbee Pict.—S. R. Length: 5415 ft. GOOD AUDIENCE PICTUREIMPLAUSIBLE TO A DEGREE BUT IT CONTAINS PLENTY OF ACTION AND ENOUGH ROMANCE TO SUIT THE MAJORITY. Cast. .. .Johnny Walker the cub reporter who tracks a big story to earth. Burr Mcintosh good as the railroad president. Lou Archer and Nelson McDowell a pair of holm comedians. Sylvia Breamer. the girl Others Joseph Girard, Mayme Kelso. Story and Production. ... Comedy romance. For the exhibitor catering to the general neighborhood clientele there are a good many pictures among the current releases that are particularly adaptable to his purpose. "The Lightning Reporter" is of this order, a "familiar little yarn, improbable to a degree but snapped up with fast action, good comedy and enough romance and action to supply the full quota of audience pullers. Given a young cub reported for a hero, a railroad president and a competitor at odds in the stock market, a pretty girl as the president's daughter and you have the makings of the sort of picture that seems to keep on thrilling the regulation fan crowd that make up the big majority of picture patrons. Jack Noble plays right to them all the way through. Direction Jack Noble ; good. Author Tom Gibson Scenario Jack Noble Photography Harry Davis; good.